PixlBit

Better late than never!

Man oh man did I screw up! I intended to post this blog on Halloween night but I had so much FUN over that evening I didn’t get to bed until late Friday night! And instead of posting this blog I ended up posting my “on the fly” blog about the latest victory against the tyranny of the Online Pass system. It wasn’t till I got a decent amount of sleep over most of Saturday did I realize I may have to do some damage control after my Halloween Night fun. I have so much to explain to teh wife….

Plus I’m still trying to come to terms with my number 1 pick for this year. I feel so dirty….

Well before we get to that I might as well finish up this list today by posting the final two game choices for this year’s Halloween Gaming list. I have to admit that the only reason why I initially chose this game to be my number 2 pick was because of a certain movie that had just come out on Netflix and I wanted a refreshed to see how badly they screwed up the movie. And also because of the other obvious reason being that…well, out of all the games from this series I’ve yet to play it. I know I know shocking! So without further delay there is my number 2 choice for this year’s Halloween Gaming List: Silent Hill 3 for the PS2.

What can I say that has not yet already been said about this game? Silent Hill 3 was developed right after Silent Hill 2 along with another title that was originally supposed to be a side story to the original series. Yet unlike Silent Hill 2 this game is the sequel to the original Silent Hill where we see what has become of the baby girl that Harry Mason was given to care for, who has now grown up to be the 17 year old we come to know as Heather. She seems to be living a normal life until a private investigator finds her. It’s not till then that she being her quest in learning who is after her and why she must return to the mysterious town of Silent Hill.

Before I continue I’ll at least answer the question about the game and Silent Hill Revelations: Well they got the imagery right, yes? *weak laugh*

Okay I’ll leave that for another time. Instead I try to speak on why this game is at number 2. I know that most considered Silent Hill 2 to be the definitive release of the series but Silent Hill 3 can hold its own despite some of the misgivings that have been said about it. Instead of instantly being transported to Silent Hill itself we have to guide Heather thru her Nightmarish experiences in two separate locations even before getting there. I personally liked that aspect of the game for we are in the exact same shoes as the protagonist. We as the player do have some inner knowledge from prior games but besides that we are in the same boat as Heather has she has to progress thru these monster filled areas.

Another thing I thought was done to enhance the horror is from the actual set pieces that were done with this game. Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 may have given us the all-encompassing fog but in here at the beginning we get to see the truly grotesque and hellish set pieces that I haven’t seen the likes of since “SAW”, the Condemned Series or “The Suffering”.  It’s one thing to see an area slowly being transformed by the darkness but to just awaken and see what use to be the norm can be quite jarring. Especially when you end up visiting one area a moment before that was completely normal. But the best part about this game’s mood setting has to be the lighting. OH the lighting! Never have I seen lighting effects done so well in any game! Even though this is the kind of game you have to play at night, not because of the setting but because the screen can be too dark in the outer light, it’s also best played as given the work they did in giving you the choice in how to see in this world. Though you are given a pocket flashlight later on, there are times that you’ll actually WANT to stumble around in the darkness. Just so you can experience the game actually giving you a dark, grainy look to stumble around in. We are not talking about an all-encompassing darkness where you have to turn up the brightness on your TV screen like “Doom 64” and “Carrier”, but a semi-dark setting that one would experience in real life when your eyes are able to adjust to the low level of light in the area. Though this could’ve been brushed aside as a gimmick it’s actually quite helpful if you want to slip passed some enemies in the darkness. It’s truly a sight to behold in how you’re able to just see enough of your surroundings though maddening if you wished to turn on your flashlight if only to see what exactly is making that crunching noise...

Also I dare anyone to turn off their flashlight in an actual dark place and see how far they can make it.

 

I’ve yet to experience a game that gives you that kind of private terror from something as simple as the dark. If all this was done at the price of the game being shorter than most I’d gladly accept that if that’s what it means to have a more personal, intelligent use of lighting/environmental effects.

It’s why I also like the fact that right off the bat Heather is given a gun to shoot the monsters with. I know most people don’t care for the addition of firearms in later Silent Hill games; I personally liked how Heather was given one. Not only does it help for psychological purposes, it actually has a decent use than besides angering bigger monsters when you shoot them. Even though I had the gun, and was able to find a good number of rounds for it, I still found myself using it sparingly in case I needed it for a particularly bad monster that deserved to get capped. Plus you do get the option to use a steel pipe or switchblade if one is feeling old skool.

It’s also cool that they game will “break the fourth wall” when it comes to certain actions. Like Heather’s situation in whether or not to unplug a backed up toilet.

 

Though there is some debate if this was the last great Silent Hill game, I try my best not to get into that kind of train of thought. Silent Hill has added and subtracted so much over the course of the years I still want to visit that place in any of its incarnations. It may not carry the psychosocial fear anymore but it can hit you hard when it comes to the visceral. A barbecued dog! Ick! The only thing that got in my way in fully enjoying this game was how despite the levels seeming so big, they were actually quite smaller than previous games. Though that might be a plus for some I liked the exploration I had when I ran around in Silent Hill 2 itself, even if I wasn’t supposed to. But I have to admit I didn’t want to explore as much as I wanted to in the amusement park section.  Ubiosoft’s rabbids have nothing against these blood soaked bunnies…

Also I found the lack of camera control to be a bother.  I kept playing around with the right analog stick as if you right my camera only to find it useless. I know this was meant to add a more cinematic tone to the game but I found it more of a nuisance when I wanted to confront/avoid a particular enemy in an enclosed space. But it’s at least better than having the camera be focused on Heather’s backside like other games that have this type of camera.

And you’ll NEVER find me playing this game on “hard” difficulty. If I’d had this game would never make it on my list given how all of the puzzles would consist of needing prior knowledge of Shakespearean plays to solve them. I so detest “shakes”…

That’s why this game stands at number 2 this year. After playing it, it makes me wish I had gotten around to playing this game much sooner. I’ve pretty much cherry picked my Silent Hill gaming choices over the years. The only one I’ve played prior to this has been “Homecoming” for a Halloween gaming list many years ago. Though I could’ve bought this game in the “Silent Hill HD Collection”, I chose instead to buy the PS2 game along with Silent Hill 2 itself. Each game cost $14 each so it was about the same price of the collection used. Despite the same price point I wanted to experience these games in the way they were originally meant to be experienced, not in the way this HD collection made them to be.  I don’t care if I would get HD visuals and trophy/achievement support with this collection, I’d rather have the original. And besides, this game doesn’t look half bad upscaled on my PS3. I’ll end up getting this collection eventually, but if you really want to enjoy Silent Hill 3 the way it was meant to be experienced go with the PS2 version. It fits the mood perfectly for any gaming night during Octoberween. It keeps well with the mood of the season with its great use of lighting, visual scares and the general mystery that Heather must go thru in figuring out what per place is in the Silent Hill universe.  Plus it doesn’t hurt that my PS2 copy used came with the game’s soundtrack. Driving home from work in the dark has never been more “intimidating.”

 

My Top 11 Halloween Games for 2013

#11) Resistance Retribution – PSP: $8 used.

#10) The X-Files Video Game – PSOne: $10 used.

#09) Corpse Killer – Sega CD 32X: $14 used.

#08) Doom 64 – Nintendo 64: $14 used.

#07) Castlevania Judgment – Nintendo Wii: $5 used.

#06) The Last of Us Folklore – PS3: $20 used.

#05) Resident Evil 2 – Nintendo 64: $14 used.

#04) Calling – Nintendo Wii: $20 used.

#03) Carrier – Sega Dreamcast: $5 used.

#02) Silent Hill 3 – Playstation 2: $14 used.