I enjoyed this entry into the Silent Hill series quite a bit. It was a bit like part two in the series in that it really had nothing to do with the little girl who is actually the cause behind the terror, but rather it is about people who get a bit too close to the haunted town and find themselves having to face their sins. Of course, I thought the second game was better than this one. I also enjoyed Origins more than this one and I think it was on par with the third game. I did enjoy this one more than Homecoming and The Room though. One of the main problems with the game though is the fact it starts out so incredibly well. You are introduced to Murphy in a great opening. Then you get two very interesting locations to start the game with: A gas station/hotel and then a cave park. Then you reach Silent Hill and at first it is pretty good, but you quickly begin to learn that the game has one too many flaws and other things that detract points and make what could have been the best in the series a game that is just about middle of the road, instead.
The story has a convict in the middle of a prison transfer stranded in the middle of nowhere due to a bus crash. He wanders around and soon finds himself on the outskirts of everyone's favorite town Silent Hill. One of the officer's responsible for the transport of the prisoners is also alive and well and she seemingly has an ax to grind with the main character Murphy. As Murphy makes his way through a gas station and through some caves, strange creatures assail him at every turn! Also, a kindly mailman offers Murphy advice and soon Murphy finds himself in Silent Hill where he not only has to figure out why the town is tormenting him, he also has the option to solve other mysteries as well.
The game play is a bit more like Origins as Murphy has the ability to punch and fist fight the monsters of Silent Hill. You can also use many other objects as weapons from axes and knives to mundane objects like vases and chairs. There is also guns for Murphy to find and things like nail guns. This also causes a problem, as many times a pick up icon will appear and you may think that you are about to find a clue or an item that is not weapon related. The game also has glitches as it will freeze up when multiple enemies appear on screen . It just does not make sense to me how a game on the PS2 like Grand Theft Auto Vice City can have a ton of NPC on screen and vehicles and this one has no more than three enemies yet this game seems to struggle more than that one. Too many games these days are rushed out and all the bugs not worked out and that along with other factors make this Silent Hill middle of the road, rather than one of the best. You have side quests in this one as the town of Silent Hill is more open ended, but they still needed more. More places to explore, more stuff to do that does not revolve around Murphy's story. If you are going for a more open ended approach, you do need more to do.
So, yes, I liked this Silent Hill game. It could have been better and it had multiple flaws, but overall I enjoyed it. This is mainly due to the story which kept me wondering what was going to happen next. It answered more questions than most Silent Hill games and the game's resolution was pretty good too. Still, there were a couple of questions that were unanswered like what was the strange light that pursued Murphy in other world, who was the mailman who disappeared after the orphanage stage. And what exactly happened to the DJ? They indicated that he perished, but it was never anything that was really shown in game. Still, this trip to Silent Hill was interesting and fun for the most part and a bit of a tease, because when it first started I thought it was going to be one of the best.
