If you’re a big Silent Hill fan the time to rejoice is now. The recently released Silent Hill: HD collection for PS3 brings your favorite Silent Hill episodes back to life. Along with the fact that this collection is going to be a pleasant (if not disturbing) trip down memory lane, everything is being presented here in glorious HD. This game’s enhanced graphics and revamped voice acting make it an excellent purchase for die-hard fans as well as newcomers to the series.
So what’s included in the HD Collection?
Value is the key word when talking about the Silent Hill: HD Collection, because you’re actually getting two dynamite titles for the price of one.
Silent Hill 2 – This is the game that put the Silent Hill franchise on the map for a lot of gamers. Extremely creepy, enigmatic and sadly bittersweet, Silent Hill 2 is the type of game that plays on your emotions (mainly fear and sadness). The story hinges around the main character, James Sunderland who after losing his wife receives a letter instructing him to go investigate a little town called Silent Hill. Quickly James finds himself thrust into a surrealistic nightmare in which he must solve puzzles and elude his nemesis throughout the game, Pyramid Head.
Silent Hill 3 – Silent Hill 3 is actually a sequel to the original Silent Hill and expands upon the gaming concepts explored in Silent Hill 2. There are plenty of startling and haunting moments to be experienced in Silent Hill 3; most of which juxtapose intense and spine-chilling visual elements with a narrative which can only be described as breathtaking.
Visuals
All of the original textures and visuals have been re-skinned and updated to true HD standards. This release ensures that these games will live up to your memory of them, or even far surpass your expectations.
Silent Hill HD Collection - Scary!
The Silent Hill HD Collection isn’t without its faults however; many games have noted that there are frame-rate issues which occasionally crop up. Likewise, though entirely new audio and voiceover work has been added, there are several little audio glitches that might spring up. These issues are not so bad that they absolutely destroy the game (as some claim), but they might negatively affect the level of immersion that most games are used to.
Gameplay
The gameplay for this title is largely unchanged from what you might remember from the days of the PS2. Some gamers have complained that there are serious issues with the gameplay, like control glitches, while others seem to have had virtually no problems at all. If you’re a fan of old-school style survival horror, chances are, you’ll love the way this game handles.
Verdict
This is an excellent title to pick up if you’re a big fan of the Silent Hill series of survival horror in general. The two titles included in this collection are responsible for establishing the standard by which all subsequent survival horror games adhered to. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a multiple release package as enjoyable as this for this price. Hours of super intense creepiness and entertaining horror-suspense is what you should expect.
