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baileyface544
09-19-14 06:34 AM
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09-19-14 06:34 AM
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Don't go out!! The town of Silent Hill is a wonderful place, that most gamers will tell you is very low of their list of vacation spots. Maybe it's the horrors that the town decides to visit on it's guest from time to time. Maybe it's the locals that don't seem too big on conversation, but very big on dismemberment. Maybe it's the ever changing landscape that can make navigating quite difficult, and leaving impossible. Or who knows, maybe they just don't like fog. Either way, Silent Hill 4: The Room, shows us that you don't even have to actually be in Silent Hill, to be caught in the malevolent web of psychological torment that this town is so notable for. In fact, you don't have to even go outside your own apartment. If your case is anything like Henry Townshends, in fact, you're strongly encouraged not to. This encouragement for him is found in the form of bars on his windows, and padlocks with chains all over his front door. It so happens his entire apartment is sealed up tight....from the inside. Also, a bloody note scrawled over his door, signed by some man named Walter that simply states "Don't go out!!". As if he could. And all this after he had the good sense to ignore properties inside of Silent Hill, and instead opted to live in the nearby, but less menacingly named Ashfield. But if you don't come to Silent Hill, it'll come to you. Now the character does of course enter Silent Hill at some point, though he never gets to breath in the fresh fog. He never even gets a chance to walk around the town proper at all. While this appears to be one of the biggest gripes with this game other than the combat, it serves the story quite well. For that, I'll forgive it...unlike the combat. How he does travel, is through a mysterious tunnel that opens in his apartment, that he crawls through to appear in certain areas in something so obviously a metaphor for birth it's painful. You remain locked in these areas until you are returned back to your apartment (Prison? Womb? Both?). In fact, your only connections to the outside world except for that tunnel, are from looking through your window, peephole in the door, and small hole drilled through the wall into the bedroom of the girl next door. And....wait what? Was that there before Henry? Shame on you. Although, I don't get the impression that this is a big change for him. I'll let you work it out on your own, but there are a lot of clues that suggest he had little to no social life to begin with, and that being trapped in his apartment was only gonna be a problem for him when he ran out of food. More time to peep on the neighbor girl huh? Anyway, I think it's time to go out, and check out the specifics of this game. Graphics I will say that while this game doesn't have the disturbing details of silent hill 1 and 2, or the impressive visual effects of silent hill 3, it does have generally better graphics. Characters and enemies are animated better and naturally, terrain and buildings are well textured, and every area you travel look realistic. I still think the previous installments had more to offer in this department, but trust me, this game can still send you into a spiraling madhouse, plastering the walls with you own inadequacies and fears. Of course, while previous games focused on terrain that seemed twisted and surreal, this game is going more for a feeling of claustrophobia (wouldn't have guessed from the opening scene huh?), and likewise you find smaller rooms and lots of tight corridors. As this leaves smaller areas to begin with, and that leaves less room for details. While some areas do seem pretty...well..bland, others have had a lot of work put into them, and are done in a way that really makes the walls feel as if they are closing in around you. At one point in the game, you have something called "hunting's" where spirits begin to haunt certain areas in various ways. Many of these hunting's look disgusting, unsettling, and down right creepy. Which, seeing as that was the goal, I'd say they did a pretty good job. One part that they did not do so well on in my opinion is the enemies. Other than a few who's design grossed me out, or had me cowering in a corner, most were boring, and lack any real design or ingenuity. Most of them being just cardboard cut out enemies, or ones we'd already seen before. While some of the ghost look pretty interesting, they managed to make most of them plain as well. All in all, the visual side of this game was very strong and well done, if not revolutionary. Just don't expect much from the enemies, and you'll have no problems. Sound The music of this game is very hit or miss. I can remember points where I enter and the sound effects I heard around me had me paralyzed and unable to move forward, but too frightened to stand still at the same time. These moment made all the more intense and terrifying by the subtle music rising and building the tension until the point where I was relieved when something finally did happen, and I could focus on killing it, or getting away. But, those moments were less frenquent than I would have liked. Moments I didn't like is when I heard the slobbering dog for the 20th time, and I could only roll my eyes as someone layed on the piano in an attempt to try and startle me. An obnoxious sound that wouldn't go away till I thouroghly beat said beast, and stepped on it. The ghost sounded pretty unsettling at first, but due to a lack of variety, and the sheer frequency you see them, they becoming boring quick. Still, the music is generally decent at least for most of the game, and great at points. Addictiveness Again for the series, the game has multiple endings. Also, it has different things that can happen at the end. Like many players, you might be compulsively compelled to play through multiple times to see all the endings. After that point however, there isn' a lot to draw you in again. SH4 is not one of the Silent Hill games I periodically replay. It had an amazing story, and a lot of ambiance, yet the game play was frustrating enough to keep me from coming back as often as I have with, say, Silent Hill 2. Now, I'm not saying it's a bad game, quite the opposite. It's just that once the story is explored, it doesn't have enough to offer to balance out the gameplay mistakes they made. Speaking of amazing story though.. Story Hey, remember that random newspaper article from Silent Hill 2 that mentioned a serial killer named Walter Sullivan, who killed 10 people, and then himself in prison? Well apparently he didn't do a very good job, and/or the doctors at that particular prison were horrible. Why? Well because here Walter is locking people in their own apartments, and getting all stabby with others. The story is easily the strongest part of this game. It's what truly makes this game, and makes all of it's shortcoming forgivable. To begin with, the starting concept is unique and really draws you in. You awoke one day a week ago in an apartment sealed from the inside. The story only gets more intriguing as the game progresses. It does an amazing job of making you feel utterly isolated and trapped. Like you have no options but to move deeper into a hostile and strange world, populated almost solely with creatures who want you for dinner. While I don't want to give anything away, some of the scenes when returning to the apartment filled me with mounting anxiety and tension. One scene in particular genuinely freaked me out. This story is not just a story of isolation however. It's also the story of Walter Sullivan. A weird, violent, and very tragic antagonist. While he certainly has some...odd ideas in his head, and dangerous believes, you can't help but feel sorry for him. Through the course of the game you find out more and more about this antagonist. As you lean his entire story, you begin to feel that ending his existence would be doing him a service. That you would be ending his misery and pain. Again, I won't ruin it, but there is a particular scene in the game that I am convinced the only way to avoid tearing up is to be a robot. He's a tragic character, with a lot of depth. At the same time though, he's a dangerous and unfeeling serial killer who's mere presence is terrifying. He is hands down the best antagonist this series has ever had beyond the town itself, and your own psyche, and he really drives the story home for me. A story that starts strong, and gets deeper and more melancholic as it goes along, All the while suffocating you, as it slowly takes away every bit of small comforts you have been able to find within the prison it has laid out around you. Dangling hopes only to snatch them away. Depth The game essentially has hub based gameplay in disguise. After each mostly liner area, you are brought back to your apartment that has changed quite a bit. Depth of story, this game offers a lot of. You find newspaper clippings, diaries, notes, and messages left all over the places. Reading each one and connecting the pieces can be fun, and gives a much broader view of whats going on than the main story gives itself. Lots of small easter eggs to be seen about as well. A picture that references Silent Hill 1, a bunny rabbit from SH3, and an antagonist that was, himself, referenced in SH2. It gives a stronger feeling of connectivity between the games. While this game has a lot of depth on the story front however, considerably less is shown in game play. As I stated, you have hub based gameplay that leads you down a lot of areas with simple and linear layouts. You spend a lot of time just going from point A to point B, and while you'll sometimes find yourself pulling up that map to orient yourself, it won't be needed often. Also half of the game is spent going through all the previous areas. Difficulty Combat is awkward and annoying...even for Silent Hill. You know have to fully charge attacks to pack the same punch, and many melee weapons break. You can only carry so many items, and key items take slots. Combat isn't as avoidable as in previous games either. Basically, combat in general is clunkier, and you have to actually take part in it more often. This makes the game harder, and more frustrating to play. Also, the ghost can't be killed, and just get back up. You have something to do about that later, but it's still frustrating. Final Verdict Silent Hill 4 is game that has a stunning story, stunning atmosphere, and stunningly horrible combat. Not at all the game to play if you are the type of gamer who tends to skip cutscenes and dialogue, and run through levels without paying them any attention. If that's the case, this game has absolutely nothing to offer you but frustration. However, if you are the type who listens to every bit of dialogue, reads every note and piece of paper you can find, who soaks in the ambiance of every single new area, who cares about the characters and what happens to them...than this is the game for you. It'll make you feel trapped and isolated, and caught in the world of a man who's mind as clearly been distorted beyond all logic or reason. A man who's tragic life will make you weep for him, but one who will instill fear in you as well. It's terrifying, lonely, creepy, and has one of the stronger stories of the series. This is defiantly a game I would suggest you play. Don't spend too much time playing it though. After all You really should get out more. The town of Silent Hill is a wonderful place, that most gamers will tell you is very low of their list of vacation spots. Maybe it's the horrors that the town decides to visit on it's guest from time to time. Maybe it's the locals that don't seem too big on conversation, but very big on dismemberment. Maybe it's the ever changing landscape that can make navigating quite difficult, and leaving impossible. Or who knows, maybe they just don't like fog. Either way, Silent Hill 4: The Room, shows us that you don't even have to actually be in Silent Hill, to be caught in the malevolent web of psychological torment that this town is so notable for. In fact, you don't have to even go outside your own apartment. If your case is anything like Henry Townshends, in fact, you're strongly encouraged not to. This encouragement for him is found in the form of bars on his windows, and padlocks with chains all over his front door. It so happens his entire apartment is sealed up tight....from the inside. Also, a bloody note scrawled over his door, signed by some man named Walter that simply states "Don't go out!!". As if he could. And all this after he had the good sense to ignore properties inside of Silent Hill, and instead opted to live in the nearby, but less menacingly named Ashfield. But if you don't come to Silent Hill, it'll come to you. Now the character does of course enter Silent Hill at some point, though he never gets to breath in the fresh fog. He never even gets a chance to walk around the town proper at all. While this appears to be one of the biggest gripes with this game other than the combat, it serves the story quite well. For that, I'll forgive it...unlike the combat. How he does travel, is through a mysterious tunnel that opens in his apartment, that he crawls through to appear in certain areas in something so obviously a metaphor for birth it's painful. You remain locked in these areas until you are returned back to your apartment (Prison? Womb? Both?). In fact, your only connections to the outside world except for that tunnel, are from looking through your window, peephole in the door, and small hole drilled through the wall into the bedroom of the girl next door. And....wait what? Was that there before Henry? Shame on you. Although, I don't get the impression that this is a big change for him. I'll let you work it out on your own, but there are a lot of clues that suggest he had little to no social life to begin with, and that being trapped in his apartment was only gonna be a problem for him when he ran out of food. More time to peep on the neighbor girl huh? Anyway, I think it's time to go out, and check out the specifics of this game. Graphics I will say that while this game doesn't have the disturbing details of silent hill 1 and 2, or the impressive visual effects of silent hill 3, it does have generally better graphics. Characters and enemies are animated better and naturally, terrain and buildings are well textured, and every area you travel look realistic. I still think the previous installments had more to offer in this department, but trust me, this game can still send you into a spiraling madhouse, plastering the walls with you own inadequacies and fears. Of course, while previous games focused on terrain that seemed twisted and surreal, this game is going more for a feeling of claustrophobia (wouldn't have guessed from the opening scene huh?), and likewise you find smaller rooms and lots of tight corridors. As this leaves smaller areas to begin with, and that leaves less room for details. While some areas do seem pretty...well..bland, others have had a lot of work put into them, and are done in a way that really makes the walls feel as if they are closing in around you. At one point in the game, you have something called "hunting's" where spirits begin to haunt certain areas in various ways. Many of these hunting's look disgusting, unsettling, and down right creepy. Which, seeing as that was the goal, I'd say they did a pretty good job. One part that they did not do so well on in my opinion is the enemies. Other than a few who's design grossed me out, or had me cowering in a corner, most were boring, and lack any real design or ingenuity. Most of them being just cardboard cut out enemies, or ones we'd already seen before. While some of the ghost look pretty interesting, they managed to make most of them plain as well. All in all, the visual side of this game was very strong and well done, if not revolutionary. Just don't expect much from the enemies, and you'll have no problems. Sound The music of this game is very hit or miss. I can remember points where I enter and the sound effects I heard around me had me paralyzed and unable to move forward, but too frightened to stand still at the same time. These moment made all the more intense and terrifying by the subtle music rising and building the tension until the point where I was relieved when something finally did happen, and I could focus on killing it, or getting away. But, those moments were less frenquent than I would have liked. Moments I didn't like is when I heard the slobbering dog for the 20th time, and I could only roll my eyes as someone layed on the piano in an attempt to try and startle me. An obnoxious sound that wouldn't go away till I thouroghly beat said beast, and stepped on it. The ghost sounded pretty unsettling at first, but due to a lack of variety, and the sheer frequency you see them, they becoming boring quick. Still, the music is generally decent at least for most of the game, and great at points. Addictiveness Again for the series, the game has multiple endings. Also, it has different things that can happen at the end. Like many players, you might be compulsively compelled to play through multiple times to see all the endings. After that point however, there isn' a lot to draw you in again. SH4 is not one of the Silent Hill games I periodically replay. It had an amazing story, and a lot of ambiance, yet the game play was frustrating enough to keep me from coming back as often as I have with, say, Silent Hill 2. Now, I'm not saying it's a bad game, quite the opposite. It's just that once the story is explored, it doesn't have enough to offer to balance out the gameplay mistakes they made. Speaking of amazing story though.. Story Hey, remember that random newspaper article from Silent Hill 2 that mentioned a serial killer named Walter Sullivan, who killed 10 people, and then himself in prison? Well apparently he didn't do a very good job, and/or the doctors at that particular prison were horrible. Why? Well because here Walter is locking people in their own apartments, and getting all stabby with others. The story is easily the strongest part of this game. It's what truly makes this game, and makes all of it's shortcoming forgivable. To begin with, the starting concept is unique and really draws you in. You awoke one day a week ago in an apartment sealed from the inside. The story only gets more intriguing as the game progresses. It does an amazing job of making you feel utterly isolated and trapped. Like you have no options but to move deeper into a hostile and strange world, populated almost solely with creatures who want you for dinner. While I don't want to give anything away, some of the scenes when returning to the apartment filled me with mounting anxiety and tension. One scene in particular genuinely freaked me out. This story is not just a story of isolation however. It's also the story of Walter Sullivan. A weird, violent, and very tragic antagonist. While he certainly has some...odd ideas in his head, and dangerous believes, you can't help but feel sorry for him. Through the course of the game you find out more and more about this antagonist. As you lean his entire story, you begin to feel that ending his existence would be doing him a service. That you would be ending his misery and pain. Again, I won't ruin it, but there is a particular scene in the game that I am convinced the only way to avoid tearing up is to be a robot. He's a tragic character, with a lot of depth. At the same time though, he's a dangerous and unfeeling serial killer who's mere presence is terrifying. He is hands down the best antagonist this series has ever had beyond the town itself, and your own psyche, and he really drives the story home for me. A story that starts strong, and gets deeper and more melancholic as it goes along, All the while suffocating you, as it slowly takes away every bit of small comforts you have been able to find within the prison it has laid out around you. Dangling hopes only to snatch them away. Depth The game essentially has hub based gameplay in disguise. After each mostly liner area, you are brought back to your apartment that has changed quite a bit. Depth of story, this game offers a lot of. You find newspaper clippings, diaries, notes, and messages left all over the places. Reading each one and connecting the pieces can be fun, and gives a much broader view of whats going on than the main story gives itself. Lots of small easter eggs to be seen about as well. A picture that references Silent Hill 1, a bunny rabbit from SH3, and an antagonist that was, himself, referenced in SH2. It gives a stronger feeling of connectivity between the games. While this game has a lot of depth on the story front however, considerably less is shown in game play. As I stated, you have hub based gameplay that leads you down a lot of areas with simple and linear layouts. You spend a lot of time just going from point A to point B, and while you'll sometimes find yourself pulling up that map to orient yourself, it won't be needed often. Also half of the game is spent going through all the previous areas. Difficulty Combat is awkward and annoying...even for Silent Hill. You know have to fully charge attacks to pack the same punch, and many melee weapons break. You can only carry so many items, and key items take slots. Combat isn't as avoidable as in previous games either. Basically, combat in general is clunkier, and you have to actually take part in it more often. This makes the game harder, and more frustrating to play. Also, the ghost can't be killed, and just get back up. You have something to do about that later, but it's still frustrating. Final Verdict Silent Hill 4 is game that has a stunning story, stunning atmosphere, and stunningly horrible combat. Not at all the game to play if you are the type of gamer who tends to skip cutscenes and dialogue, and run through levels without paying them any attention. If that's the case, this game has absolutely nothing to offer you but frustration. However, if you are the type who listens to every bit of dialogue, reads every note and piece of paper you can find, who soaks in the ambiance of every single new area, who cares about the characters and what happens to them...than this is the game for you. It'll make you feel trapped and isolated, and caught in the world of a man who's mind as clearly been distorted beyond all logic or reason. A man who's tragic life will make you weep for him, but one who will instill fear in you as well. It's terrifying, lonely, creepy, and has one of the stronger stories of the series. This is defiantly a game I would suggest you play. Don't spend too much time playing it though. After all You really should get out more. |
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Post Rating: 1 Liked By: endings,
09-30-14 12:26 AM
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baileyface544 : I really like this review, its well detailed, and sections can flow right into the other. Very well done, and your choice background lends spookiness for the review, haha! |
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10-02-14 03:51 PM
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Another great review! I love the amount of detail you gave to each section, and i also like the font you used. You know, this was the only Silent Hill game i played. You can kill me for this, but i actually kind of liked it. It was scary, had a good story, and some decent game play. Again, that's not a popular opinion, but it's just what i think. You know, this was the only Silent Hill game i played. You can kill me for this, but i actually kind of liked it. It was scary, had a good story, and some decent game play. Again, that's not a popular opinion, but it's just what i think. |
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11-07-14 12:19 AM
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Wow amazing review, I love the direct point you made, yet subtle and amazing, ah Silent Hill 4 where do I even start with this iconic, and amazing series. I don't even know if I could give this series justice really. This series is so amazing I mean seriously, the feeling of dread the first few games have giving me was legendary. This ranks with Resident Evil at least the first few games of that series to me in creepiness. This series brings back so many memories, from laughter, to pure fear, and agitation. Silent Hill 4 that particular game had one of if not my favorite character in it, Henry Townshend, such an amazing character, it's truly sad though that Konami threw him under the bus, as well as the amazingly hot and beautiful Heather Mason, hopefully some day, and I mean some day soon they will decide to bring these two wonderful and iconic characters back in a game or two.I really think Konami should really start showing love for the lesser more obscure characters in the Silent Hill lore. Now on to the game. The music in this game, is simply amazing, pure eeriness at it's finest, I remember there was a few |
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