Playstation 2 Game Reviews: Silent Hill 3 Review

Introduction

In the Playstation’s suspense-horror game genre, there are only two great game franchise. Capcom’s Resident Evil and of course Konami’s Silent Hill series. Despite being the best suspense-horror games on the Playstation, these two games differ in one major thing. RE is more action-oriented while Silent Hill is more of a psyhological thriller. And this is true with the third installment in the series. Silent Hill 3 is the true direct sequel to the original Playstation’s Silent Hill. It takes on where the story left off and offers more suspense, mysteries to unravel, and of course long hours of nightmarish gaming hours.

Silent Hill 3 Storyline (3 out of 5)

The storyline of Silent Hill 3 begins 17 years after the first Silent Hill . You assume the character of Heather Morris, one of the main character in Silent Hill . For those who still remember the original Silent Hill, Heather Morris is the daughter of one of the most important characters in the game. The setting is in Heather’s home town where she is again confronted by eerie and mysterious creatures.

Silent Hill 3 Gameplay and Control (3 out of 5)

This third installment in the series did not greatly depart from the gameplay and control of the original game. There are puzzles to solve, rooms to unlock, monsters and creatures to kill and destroy or run away from. Control-wise, it’s pretty much the same as the previous two Silent Hill games. You still use the PS2 controller’s D-Pad for character movement. The responsiveness of the character to controls didn’t quite improve as well. For a third game in the series, Silent Hill 3 should have introduced more new things and features. Unfortunately it did not. Probably because Silent Hill 3 was probably being targeted to be the last game for the Playstation Two. The game did not offer that much room for replayability. No varied endings and was restricted to a linear progression type of game.

Silent Hill 3 Graphics and Sound (4 out of 5)

Now, this is one area where Silent Hill 3 excelled. We’re not saying that Silent Hill 3 has the best graphics engine of all the Playstation 2 games. Certainly not. But for a horror-suspense type of game, Silent Hill 3 was able to pull out some good scare when it comes to rendering horrifying creatures. The game’s cut-scenes were well done and put the PS2 graphics engine into good use. The game also employed real-time change in environment which added to the suspense factor. Overall, Silent Hill 3 gets our good grade in the graphics department, although most of the time the sceneries are too dark, but well it’s a horror-suspense game anyway.

In the sound department, Silent Hill 3’s musical score suits the eerie and mysterious mood of the game. The sound effects are as realistic as they can get. And this is one of the game’s major strengths.

Our Verdict (3 out of 5)

Silent Hill 3 is the last game of the franchise for the Playstation 2 console. If you have played the first two games in the series, we don’t know any reason why you wouldn’t want to grab a copy of this game. It’s definitely a game for solid fans of the series, but other players who have not yet played any Silent Hill game will still find it an entertaining horror-suspense game.