Silent Hill
Overview
By 1999, games such as Resident Evil and Parasite Eve had already brought the survival-horror genre mainstream success, but it was Silent Hill that truly introduced us to how frightening a video game could be. Developed by Konami’s Team Silent for the PlayStation, Silent Hill shifted the importance of survival horror games from strictly survival to more of a horror approach. Silent Hill was an immediate critical and commercial success, spawning several sequels on the PS2, Xbox, PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and PSP, and a movie adaption released in 2006.
On March 19, 2009, Silent Hill became available for download from the European PlayStation Network store of the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation Portable. However, the game was removed two days later due to unknown reasons. It was re-released on October 26, 2011. Silent Hill was released on the North American PlayStation Network on September 10, 2009.
A remake/ reimagining of the game titled Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was released for the Wii, PS2 and PSP on December 8, 2009. It featured the same characters (plus some new ones) from the original but the storyline was completely different.
Unveiling
1998's E3 show held in Atlanta, GA was the first time Silent Hill was shown to the public in the form of a trailer. The game wouldn't be demoed to the public until London's European Computer Trade Show later that same year.
Controversy
Outside of Japan, Silent Hill had problems passing censors due to a specific monster design of the "Grey Child". The questionable design that caused the controversy was the killing of a nude, knife wielding, child monster found in the school areas of the game.
To pass censors, the "Grey Child" went through two design changes in the North American release, resulting in a larger, faceless version of the creature. It took four design edits before the European version would see a release, with the "Grey Child" eventually just being taken out of the game entirely, and replaced with the "Mumbler" monster.
Plot
The game’s opening FMV (full motion video) has the protagonist Harry Mason wrecking his jeep after avoiding what seems to be his daughter standing in the middle of the road. The onset of the game has Harry running along the dense, foggy streets of Silent Hill in search of his missing daughter Cheryl. After an unexplainable and bizarre event, Harry awakens in a restaurant where he finds a police officer from the next town, Cybil Bennett, who warns him of strange events that have been reported in Silent Hill. Harry must traverse through the explicit horrors of Silent Hill and its diverse environments to find his daughter.
Along the way, he meets several anomalous characters, ranging from a maniacal religious zealot in Dahlia Gillespie to Dr. Michael Kaufmann, whose paranoia and fear appear to stem from a suppressed knowledge of the situation at hand, and finally Lisa Garland — a young nurse who shares your abundance of confusion.
As Harry delves deeper into the mysteries of Silent Hill, it becomes clear that not everyone is as forthcoming as they once seemed. The dark history of the quaint vacation town comes to life as events dictate the ending that will result from the player’s choices. Of the endings, two particular points would result in either the Bad, Bad Plus, Good, or Good Plus endings. A fifth ending was available to those who obtained the Good ending and then ventured through the game a second time.
Setting
Just as memorable as its characters and story are the environments contained within the town itself. Horrifying environments highlight a chilling atmosphere that succeed in inducing feelings of fear and panic upon the player. The town’s many environments range from city streets, an elementary school, a hospital, and much more that all serve to make you afraid of what lies beyond the next corridor.
Perhaps most importantly is the inclusion of the “Hell” side of Silent Hill, known as the Otherworld. Triggered by certain events, this version of Silent Hill is practically the same area but with a far darker overtone. Walls can be seen seemingly melting and/or rusting away, exposing horrific sights ranging from blood to the silhouettes of creatures not present before.
While the settings were enough to scare the average player, the music and sound effects brought a new dimension of terror to visitors of Silent Hill. Shock value was in plentiful supply with well-timed sound effects laid atop an already frightening atmosphere. Combine this with the fog and intense encounters with the unknown, players were never quite sure if investigating the strange sounds abound was really the greatest of decisions.
Legacy
Silent Hill was a runaway success with critics and players alike upon release, leading to sales that warranted inclusion in Sony’s Greatest Hits line. The experience of the game, composed of its unique plot and graphical advancements for its time, inspired many game developers to push the boundaries on survival horror gaming. The game also introduced a side of horror unfamiliar to gamers, and brought to life an entirely new idea of what it meant to be scared of a video game.
If you are new to the genre, prepare for some of gaming’s greatest thrills right here in the original Silent Hill. Veterans of the series have no reason to doubt why the game and its subsequent franchise have been so successful, and the original that spawned it all is sure to be a landmark in video game history for many years to come.
Soundtrack
The Silent Hill Original Soundtrack is composed by Akira Yamaoka.
Tracklist:
01. Silent HIll (2:47)
02. All (2:06)
03. The Wait (0:09)
04. Until Death (0:51)
05. Over (2:04)
06. Devil's Lyric (1:26)
07. Rising Sun (0:57)
08. For All (2:39)
09. Follow the Leader (0:52)
10. Claw Finger (1:32)
11. Hear Nothing (1:33)
12. Children Kill (0:19)
13. Killed by Death (1:25)
14. Don't Cry (1:29)
15. The Bitter Season (1:26)
16. Moonchild (2:48)
17. Never Again (0:45)
18. Fear of the Dark (1:13)
19. Half Day (0:39)
20. Heaven Give Me Say (1:47)
21. Far (1:14)
22. I'll Kill You (2:52)
23. My Justice for You (1:21)
24. Devil's Lyric 2 (0:25)
25. Dead End (0:17)
26. Ain't Gonna Rain (1:12)
27. Nothing Else (0:51)
28. Alive (0:33)
29. Ever Again (1:01)
30. Die (0:56)
31. Never End, Never End, Never End (0:46)
32. Down Time (1:38)
33. Kill Angels (1:16)
34. Only You (1:16)
35. Not Tomorrow (0:48)
36. Not Tomorrow 2 (1:38)
37. My Heaven (3:17)
38. Tears Of... (3:14)
39. Killing Time (2:52)
40. She (2:33)
41. Esperandote (6:24)
42. Silent Hill (Otherside) (1:38)
43. Silent Hill Bloopers (1:33)
44. UFO Ending (2:29)
45. Silent Hill Pianissimo (3:05)
46. Not Tomorrow (Extended) (1:19)
Trivia
- Lisa Garland's last name is taken from the famous Wizard of Oz actress, Judy Garland.
- Cheryl Mason's first name was taken from Twin Peaks actress Sheryl Lee.
- The name for the character of Dr. Michael Kaufmann is actually a combination of Lloyd Kaufmann and Michael Herz, both are founders of Troma Entertainment which is an American independent film production and distribution company.
- In the resort area, there is a motel, and the owner's name is "Norman", being also the name of the motel owner in the movie " Psycho".
- The word REDRUM (Murder spelled backwards) can be found on a garage door, a reference to the movie the " The Shining."
- Most, if not all of the roads in the town are named after famous horror and mystery authors, including Richard Bachman (Steven King's pseudonym), Dean Koontz, Richard Matheson, Michael Crichton, Ray Bradbury, Carl Sagan, F. Paul Wilson, Jack Finney, and finally Robert Bloch, to name a few.
