Synopsis: Released in February of 1999, Konami's Silent Hill
was its first in the survival horror genre and was highly touted as the
company's answer to Capcom's Resident Evil. However, the game managed to
distinguish itself from RE by concentrating on adventure style gameplay
and a heavy emphasis on character and storyline. It was commonly
thought of as one of the scariest games on the system and had what was
arguably one of the best stories on the system.
David Smith's Take: Resident Evil brought the term "survival
horror" into the gaming lexicon. Silent Hill cut off all the trimmings,
and just delivered horror. The first RE might have had suspense, and
RE2 might have delivered shocks, but Konami's dark-horse 3D adventure
had moments more genuinely frightening than anything ever crafted in a
videogame. Built around fully realtime-rendered environments, the game
took advantage of the resultant freedom of camera movement to create a
powerful sense of cinematic terror.
To be sure, the PlayStation's 3D capabilities didn't allow for much of a draw distance. But that was often an asset rather than a detriment - the hellbound town of Silent Hill appeared only as a small pool of weakening light surrounded by mists and darkness. And regardless of what you could say about the game's technical qualities, Silent Hill presented a story that would be excellent no matter what medium it appeared in. Scary as hell, yes, but still a remarkable achievement.
To be sure, the PlayStation's 3D capabilities didn't allow for much of a draw distance. But that was often an asset rather than a detriment - the hellbound town of Silent Hill appeared only as a small pool of weakening light surrounded by mists and darkness. And regardless of what you could say about the game's technical qualities, Silent Hill presented a story that would be excellent no matter what medium it appeared in. Scary as hell, yes, but still a remarkable achievement.
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