Silent Hill 3
by Konami
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Video Game Reviews of Silent Hill 3
Customer Review: Doesn't Live Up....
Summary: 4 Stars
First I played Silent Hill 2, and it was one of the best gaming experiences I'd ever had -- so I rushed out and bought Silent Hill 3. Now that I've finished it, my final verdict is: Very good, but somewhat lacking. The third installment in Konami's groundbreaking survival horror series has better graphics, more monsters, a more coherent storyline, a better combat system, and more interesting environments -- and yet, it doesn't quite live up to the overall experience.
The thing is, Silent Hill 2 took a break from the mythology-laced storyline of the first game and went off in a totally different, Freudian direction. I found this change to be bold and fascinating. Silent Hill 3 gets back on track; our protagonist is Heather, a cheerful girl with strangely haunted eyes. She's at the mall on an errand for her father and everything seems normal -- except for her nightmare about being killed by a speeding roller coaster in a dark, twisted amusement park. Heather's day goes downhill from there; a detective named Douglas starts following her, claiming to have important information about her birth. She gives him the slip....but suddenly, the lights dim and the bustling mall falls eerily quiet. Where did everyone go? And why is the mall now crawling with horrifying monsters?
Here we see one of the game's biggest problems: considering that it's a Silent Hill game, it takes a awfully long time to actually get to the town of Silent Hill. The first half of the game chronicles Heather's attempts to make it home and evade the creeping nightmare world that follows her everywhere she goes. In the process, she starts to come to grips with the truth about who she really is. The religious cult that inhabits Silent Hill wants Heather for reasons I will not reveal, and two cult members -- the zealous Claudia and the enterprising Vincent -- are both trying to manipulate her for their own ends. The game's "shocking twist" is one that anyone familiar with the Silent Hill mythos will see coming a mile away. Still, the storyline is one of the game's strongest features, fleshing out Silent Hill's history and creating a complex and likable heroine.
It's in the technical details that Silent Hill 3 doesn't fully succeed. First, the game is too short and too linear. I finished it in just over six hours, which was disappointing. In Silent Hill 2, I loved being able to explore the town. In this game, as previously noted, it's a long time before the action shifts to the town itself. When it did, I was briefly ecstatic (The fog! That creepy metallic throb on the soundtrack!), but my enthusiasm faded once I discovered that you can only explore a small corner of town; the rest is blocked off. The other environments (which include the familiar Brookhaven hospital) are similarly limited. When you finally visit the creepy amusement park from Heather's dream, the game designers waste the opportunity to give you a large, rich environment to explore -- you don't even get a map, that's how linear it is. Aren't these games supposed to have endless replay value? The only reason to replay Silent Hill 3 is for the usual unlockable items and secrets. (Which, I hear, include a "Sailor Moon" outfit for Heather....please, say it ain't so...)
Overall, I think this game tries too hard to be bigger and better. Yeah, the graphics look great -- the "dark" areas are a nightmare of bloodstained walls, rusted metal, and ghastly forms squirming behind oily steel grilles, and one room in Brookhaven hospital provides one of the freakiest moments in the entire series (it involves a large mirror and an oozing bathtub). However, I found that the slick graphics lessened the atmosphere of horror; the muted look of Silent Hill 2 was far more sinister. There's a whole rogue's gallery of monsters to fight, but the creature designs, while disturbing, aren't really scary. The infamous Nurses have been given a disappointing makeover; now they just look like ordinary women having a particularly bad day, and the fact that some of them wield pistols only makes them more annoying to fight. Speaking of fighting, the combat system has gotten a major upgrade; Heather can even wield a weapon in various ways. I don't buy it; Heather's mad butt-kicking skills and the unlikely selection of weapons she finds seems a little too Hollywood. (A submachine gun is one thing, but a katana?!) Both the action and the soundtrack are dialed up several notches, and that's bad. Once again, Heather gets a handy radio that crackles with static when monsters are near, but Silent hill 3's beasties make such a racket that the radio is almost redundant. The best analogy I can think of is that Silent Hill 2 feels like a quiet little indie film, while Silent Hill 3 is like an attempt to remake the indie film as a mainstream Hollywood blockbuster.
I'm not saying that Silent Hill 3 is bad -- far from it. The graphics are very impressive and vivid. The plot is nicely structured and will satisfy anyone who enjoyed the first game. The voice acting is better too, although it's anyone's guess why a native of Silent Hill would speak with a British accent. The puzzles are fun as ever. A happy(ish) ending is easy to achieve, and easter egg hounds will be pleased to know that this game, like the first two, has a UFO ending. Yes, Silent Hill 3 is a worthy entry into a standout series and many people will consider it the best of the lot. I just think that it tries too hard to be scary, when the previous games proved that less is more. Silent Hill 2 was a bold and visceral tale of terror, but with this follow-up, it seems like the creators have lost touch with their nightmares.
Customer Review: Silent Hill 3 a challenge
Summary: 5 Stars
Finished first walk thru. This is the first game my character died more than 9 times. I loved the challenge. Plus the xtras at the end. But before I go to the New Extra Game I need a break. This one compared to Silent Hill 2 and 4 was definitly more of a challenge to me.Customer Review: Fantastic, Scary and addicting!!
Summary: 4 Stars
Silent Hill 3 was the game that go me addicted. I loved this game so much i went out and bought a PS2 of my own! ( i was playing a friends at the time) I may not have played SH 1 and 2 however i believe i know something thats good when i see it.
Graphics: AWSOME! The monsters were scary and unique, i loved that fat man and the dogs! Each monster has its own personality.I dont know how anyone could say that the graphics were lacking in this game. it may have been repetitive that the walls were covered in blood and bugs but it was NEVER boring! Every time i turned the corner there was a new image or scene that creeped me out! look for the wheel chair and cute pink bunnies! Very creative and kept me at the edge of my seat throughout the whole game! The only thing that was alittle dishearting was the camera, it does get alittle frustrating to not see where your going at some times but i felt that after playing the game alittle i was able to pretty much master the tehcnique. I believe that the camera adds to the suspense when walking into a room...may have been done on purpose.
Sound: It made me pee alittle! it was scary! Beware when you hear heavy breathing in the subway! The howling dogs and monsters lurking around the corners was enofe to send your mind into a panic! I loved the Music and am going to get the CD for the sounds track. Look for it here on amamzon.
Story line: Im still confused. I got the gist if the story line but i felt that the complexity took away from enjoying the game.
Overall: i would give it 5 stars but the story line dropped it to 4
Best Part : Haunted house in carnival
Customer Review: doesn't stand test of time - too linear
Summary: 1 Stars
I got this game after seeing the new Silent Hill movie which I was quite surprised by. Not a bad horror film. So I was inspired to revisit the game title. I did a bit of research and found Silent Hill 3 was rated the highest by fans so I chose that one. When I started playing it I was pretty disappointed. It is an old game so I have to keep that in mind, but I don't evn think I'd have liked it when it first was released. The story is utterly linear - you can't deviate from the one and only possible path. You can only interact with predetermined items. If there's a small pile of cardboard bloacking your way, you can't just climb over it, it's a dead end. Super frustrating. There are only a few types of monsters and their graphics are terrible. You just end up going in circles. Some cool horror cut scenes but just not a fun game to play. Don't bother!
jon
Customer Review: more excitement
Summary: 5 Stars
Silent Hill 3 is where the amount of fear REALLY goes up a few notches. Encountering a monster in this game will probably scare the crap out of you, thanks to the graphics being a big improvement this time around.
The music isn't quite as good as the original Silent Hill, but in this case, the music doesn't really hurt the gameplay at all. You will be scared regardless of what tune happens to be playing. The sound effects alone can make you afraid. Playing as Heather is a really nice twist, also. As you play the game, imagine what she must be feeling.
I would recommend this game to anyone who has a strong enough mind to handle this kind of psychological horror. Remember, it may be a video game, but the violence and fear may be too much for many folks to handle. I recommend NOT buying this game for your children.