11/14/05 >> Silent Hill 4: The Room (Xbox)

Genre: Survival Horror

 

 

 

 

Silent Hill has always been a good title if you've ever wanted to play a freaking scary game. The atmosphere of the little town called Silent Hill is chilling and can make even the most hardcore gamer shiver. But would Silent Hill 4 be a bad game because of Konami's initiative to start making a fourth right after number 3 was released? Would it be the same old concept? Now, it's finally been released to the States. Is it good? Is it bad? Let's find out.

 

Henry Townshend has been locked in his apartment for five days now. The door has been chained from the inside with a note that says "Don't go out!” Not only that, but the windows are bolted shut. His phone has been cut, his television won't work, and even his stereo gives only a creepy static. Of course, those are the least of his problems. He's been having horrible dreams that feel as if they were real; demons burst through his walls and try to take him. Unluckily for Henry, there is only one escape route: A newly formed hole in his bathroom that leads a horrific alternate dimension.

 

 

You control Henry in two different environments in this game. In the game, you can control Henry in his apartment and you can control him in the alternate world of Silent Hill. When you are in the Apartment, you control Henry in First-Person. I found this difficult because it's extremely hard to get used to. Most things in his apartment are close to each other so it's hard to view certain things unless you can master the first-person mode very quickly. Another big problem with it is that you cannot move in certain places. Sometimes it will look like you're too far from a door, but in reality that's how close you can get. I did like Konami's new approach, but it's a bit hard to control. You will get used to it after a while, though. There are many interesting things you can do in your room; the most interesting thing is that you can actually look through the peep hole on your Apartment's door, and also a hidden hole near your couch which shows you a nice view of your female neighbor, Eileen. Yes, Silent Hill's very first peeping Tom.

 

Aside from being in first person, once you get to the alternate dimension you'll be in third person like all the other Silent Hill games. Konami has really made the controls a lot easier to use since Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams. Using the left analog stick, you can move Henry quite efficiently. He's also pretty fast when he's running like hell away from his enemies.

 

 

Silent Hill has never been a game with a large assortment of weapons to choose from; luckily most of the weapons you can get are pretty damn powerful. Two things have been added to Silent Hill 4's battle system: A health bar, rather than the usual blinking picture which turns redder when you're taken a lot of damage and an attack gauge. The attack gauge is pretty interesting. Let's say you're fighting a deranged looking dog with a long chameleon-like tongue that drags on the floor. You'd first bring up your weapon, then you'd hit the attack button. Now you'd see the little circle next to your new health bar fill up with yellow: once the circle is completely full, you can seriously beat the hell out of that stupid dog. Of course, you don't have to wait for the circle to fill, you can just attack but that will do minimal damage.

 

 

Ghosts have also been added in Silent Hill 4 (Well, if you don't count those little chirping bastards in the first Silent Hill). Most of the time you won't be able to kill them, and let me tell you: You'll want to. These guys are annoying, unlike the ghost babies in Silent Hill, these guys can actually inflict damage on you. Hell, just by being near them drops your health slowly. You'll be running from these guys a lot in this game.

 

 

I think Konami did a very good job all in all. The graphics and controls (at least when you're in 3rd person) are astounding for the Xbox, if you own a PS2 and an Xbox I'd say get it for the Box. It's really great. If you've never played a Silent Hill game and you own an Xbox, I suggest you try Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams first before you try this one only because they're a bit connected.

 

 

 

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Game Score: 8.8