Silent Hill?

Is anybody still playing Silent Hill?

I've never played it, but I hear that it really gets under your skin.

I'm one of the world's biggest Silent Hill fans. Best game series ever. And best survival horror game hands down (zombies got nothing on Silent Hill's disturbing monsters and subtle psychological spooks). I suggest playing Silent Hill 2, if you have the chance. Although it's best to play the game in order, SH2 is mostly stand alone (Silent Hill 1 and 3 are directly connected) and the story is simply fantastic. + It's got Pyramid Head in it and everyone loves Pyramid Head!

Silent Hill 3 has the best graphics though, if that matters to you. It's got a great story, too. But it's a little confusing if you don't play or know the first Silent Hill well (I know, because SH3 was my first Silent Hill).

All the games have the most beautiful music. And all except SH4 have fantastic riddles (my signature is actually a snippet of one). They're all kind of light in the action department, which I always liked but it bothers some people and that's why SH3 is more action oriented than the first two and why SH4 is overly action-oriented and has fairly clunky controls. SH4 is still a good game...just not a particularly good Silent Hill.

OK, where have I been? I have never heard of this game. I need to check it out.

And there's also a movie that was based on the game, right? How's the movie? I know it's in the video stores now.

There is. It's probably the best video game movie out there based on quality and loyalty to the subject material, but it's not as good as it could be. It roughly follows the first game but kind of distorts the plot and ends up making it more cheap and confusing, perhaps because they took too much influence from the real life town of Centralia instead of the fictional Silent Hill from the games. They also place Silent Hill in West Virginia instead of Maine, where it's supposed to be. It's still good though, I think. It's visually stunning, gory but not excessively so, and it uses music from the game. It's good, just not great.

Oh, and it has the greatest credit sequence I've ever seen.

I've wanted to play these games for a while now. They sound interesting. I hear they're good, too. What is the story of the first one, exactly? Does anyone know?

Said By Chaotic Psycho

I've wanted to play these games for a while now. They sound interesting. I hear they're good, too. What is the story of the first one, exactly? Does anyone know?

I do!

I'll tell you spoiler-free: Harry, the single parent of his adopted daughter Cheryl, is taking his daughter to the tourist town of Silent Hill. Cheryl insisted they had to go. Harry is driving there in the middle of the night and it's extremely foggy. A cop passes them on a motorcycle, seemingly in pursuit of something. A ways up the road, a girl steps out into the middle of the road. Harry slams on his brakes and turns to the wheel to avoid running her over and promptly crashes. When he comes to he's in Silent Hill, it's snowing (in the middle of summer) and Cheryl is nowhere to be found. And that where you take control of Harry =D I could tell you more, but I'd be spoiling the game for you.

So is the movie loosely based on Silent Hill 1?

Said By dexaroni

So is the movie loosely based on Silent Hill 1?

Very very loosely. Rose isn't just female Harry, I should say. Dahlia is also a completely type different character in the game than she is in the movie, the link and reasons behind the whole Cheryl(Sharon in the movie) and Alessa thing is different in the game and movie, and the movie has a very different (infact, polar opposite) cult than the one in the game. Also they placed Silent Hill in West Virginia...where it's not. It's a bit of a blend of the three games (Pyramid Head is from SH2, not the first one), taking most of it's inspiration from SH1.

However, the portrayal of Cybil is pretty accurate. But...yeah...it's loosely based on SH1, but I'd recommend not seeing the movie thinking it's following the game. It's really very different. And just to say, the cult in the games is much more interesting than the one in the movie. I probably complicated this by delving too much into it. But I'm a fan and that's what we do XD

I'll have to find the ISO.

I watched the movie yesterday. I thought it was good, but maybe took a while to get things happening.

I want to watch it again. I do like the "feel" of it with the ash falling and the ghost town storefronts, etc.

Said By Taggart

I watched the movie yesterday. I thought it was good, but maybe took a while to get things happening.

I want to watch it again. I do like the "feel" of it with the ash falling and the ghost town storefronts, etc.

Ah well, that's Silent Hill for ya. Traditionally, it's not heavy on the action. They all take a little while before you run into the first monster. Although I guess SH1 gets to it the quickest, excluding the New Game opening to SH3 (because it's excluded in Extra New Game). And that's pretty much where they got the first actiony-monster scene in the movie, with the squealing Gray Children. All that and the camera angles were for us fans, I think :3

Gans focused mostly on the feel of Silent Hill (which is why the plot is a little lacking) and it came out so well. Most of the storefront were taken from the games, actually, which always strived for realism to give you the feeling that the town is abandoned. That's pretty much why I love the movie so much, it's visually stunning. OH, I should mention - the real Silent Hill (the game one) does not have coal mine fires burning underneath it (the snow/ash and smoke/fog are from something else), that bit was taken from the real life town of Centralia. Interesting, but not Silent Hill and thus I have to point it out.
OH - a sequel has been greenlighted, by the by, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet =\

Said By Artemis Panthar

Said By Chaotic Psycho

I've wanted to play these games for a while now. They sound interesting. I hear they're good, too. What is the story of the first one, exactly? Does anyone know?

I do!

I'll tell you spoiler-free: Harry, the single parent of his adopted daughter Cheryl, is taking his daughter to the tourist town of Silent Hill. Cheryl insisted they had to go. Harry is driving there in the middle of the night and it's extremely foggy. A cop passes them on a motorcycle, seemingly in pursuit of something. A ways up the road, a girl steps out into the middle of the road. Harry slams on his brakes and turns to the wheel to avoid running her over and promptly crashes. When he comes to he's in Silent Hill, it's snowing (in the middle of summer) and Cheryl is nowhere to be found. And that where you take control of Harry =D I could tell you more, but I'd be spoiling the game for you.

Oh, sounds pretty cool. Is it a spooky game? Like freak you out of your wits? I don't know want to get random nightmares over a game, which is what I'd probably do at some point. xD

Said By Chaotic Psycho

Oh, sounds pretty cool. Is it a spooky game? Like freak you out of your wits? I don't know want to get random nightmares over a game, which is what I'd probably do at some point. xD

It's survival-horror so...yes XD While I don't personally find them scary (I'm one of those weird people who find gore and dilapidated buildings interesting, so that might be why), most people do. It's very psychological so while it's less 'jump out and go BOO' than Resident Evil, it does pretty well instilling fear with a sense of a restrictive environment, music and silence as a sound, and morbid imagery. It's somewhat dated, though, so the monsters are obviously pixelated. But you can only play the game with tank controls (you have to press forward to move, and the left and right to turn - whereas with 2D controls if you press right, you go right) which restricts movement.

Anyway, yes it's scary. But that's what makes it great.

Said By Artemis Panthar

Said By Chaotic Psycho

Oh, sounds pretty cool. Is it a spooky game? Like freak you out of your wits? I don't know want to get random nightmares over a game, which is what I'd probably do at some point. xD

It's survival-horror so...yes XD While I don't personally find them scary (I'm one of those weird people who find gore and dilapidated buildings interesting, so that might be why), most people do. It's very psychological so while it's less 'jump out and go BOO' than Resident Evil, it does pretty well instilling fear with a sense of a restrictive environment, music and silence as a sound, and morbid imagery. It's somewhat dated, though, so the monsters are obviously pixelated. But you can only play the game with tank controls (you have to press forward to move, and the left and right to turn - whereas with 2D controls if you press right, you go right) which restricts movement.

Anyway, yes it's scary. But that's what makes it great.

Well, after I get out of my cocoon, I was going to try and play these games, since I hear they're good. If they make me afraid, so be it. It will make me less afraid of things later.