Silent Hill

This was the game that catapulted the genre of psychological horror into the video game medium. And my, oh my, what a beginning. I can't quite give this game a 10 simply because its sequel is THE BEST survival horror game ever made, but this is definitely a near-masterpiece. The fact that they were able to pull a game like this off on the PS1 is nothing short of incredible. The graphics, gameplay, story and character development all stand out; I think what impressive me the most about this game at the time, however, was the actual environment of the town itself. We don't think anything about open areas in games these days but at the time this was really mindblowing.

If you somehow haven't played this game, do not be afraid to jump in due to its age. You'll get used to the graphics in no time at all and will find yourself sucked into the game as if it was brand new.

Silent Hill is a cross between King's "The Mist" and Barker's "Hellraiser". And it makes excellent use of both. From the very first moments of the game, you are truly scared. There were so many parts where I was like, "Oh no, I don't want to go out there." There was into the foggy streets, on foot, all alone, and there are monsters out there. EEEEK! I've been into horror my whole life and this game totally freaked me out. I think the Hospital area was one of the scariest. Just wait till you have to go into the hospital basement. And you just know you have to go in the morgue, too. Really scary. This is the best horror game I have ever played. It beats Resident Evil hands down. If you love horror games, this one is the best.

Forget "Resident Evil" if you want to play a game with lots of scares. "Silent Hill" is the scariest game you will ever play! It's certainly the scariest one I've played anyway. What makes this game so terrifying is the sense of isolation and pure silence. I remember running in the streets, and the music track was purely the wind blowing. Then, the radio(which detects incoming monsters) emits a shrieking noise, letting you know somewhere near you, is a monster silently stalking you. The game is very atmospheric, with fantastic graphics that make "Resident Evil" crummy by comparison. Some of the camera angles move up in the air and then pan down again as you move, making it feel cinematic and dynamic. That kind of stuff blew me away immediately! I never completed this game, because it was too frightening for me to deal with. With some respects, video games are much more terrifying than films, because you are no longer observing. You become the characters, who are plummeted into a nightmarish hell of fear. Sure "Resident Evil" scared me when I first played it, but not like this! This was just too much! Try it out, but God knows how long you can handle it!

Think you don't find any films or games scary any more? You fancy a scare? If the answer to both of these is yes then you definitely wanna play Silent Hill! Just a piece of advice...

Don't play it alone! The atmosphere in the game, How realistic it is, and whats happening around you all contribute to the best horror game ever, and will probably be the best for a long time to go. The closest i have gotten to being this scared was playing The Suffering on PS2, But that doesn't even touch on the effect this game has on you. You'll be walking along and you'll hear footsteps and nothings there, and it will make you freeze! I've heard many a time that the character you play is not very good at shooting, but thats whats good about it. If you just picked up a gun and aimed at something chances are you wudnt hit it! Also the locations; Hospitals, Schools, Petrol Stations, Apartments, this makes you think its even more real which is the main reason i found it scary. You definitely wont find me in a deserted school any more.

This is my personal equation for the game....

(The Suffering x 100) + The Shining = Silent Hill Seriousely the jumpiness, the atmosphere, the locations all make this the scariest game of our time and even 7 years on, the graphics are still playable... My advice is to play this game with at least 2 other people.

If you do not have the game already you will find its a very hard game to get hold of! My advice is try ebay. I got it on there for £22 yes it maybe 7 years old but for how great this game is its worth every penny! Hope you find my review useful :)

With movie companies wanting to turn games into celluloid, why can't they do it for games that deserve such a distinction. Tomb Raider, Super Mario Brothers and what not were horrible. The industry finally got it right when they made Resident Evil. So now its time to give Silent Hill its due.

As for the game, it was one of the few that ever got my heart racing. The music added so much atmosphere to the game, and the never ending stream of bad guys made my skin crawl a few times. When I get the Playstation 2, I'm going to purchase Silent Hill 2. I highly recommend this game, and its best you get yourself the players guide.