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Unfortunately veterans of the series will know that more often than not; nothing much ever does happen next, except maybe the appearance of one of the small number of stock enemies. They'll also be perturbed by the constant recycling of backdrops in this third edition--particularly in yet another visit to the Silent Hill hospital. The game does stop pulling its punches for the especially disturbing last third of the adventure though, and anyone new to Silent Hill is likely to be scared silly for its entire duration.
The game's other faults, such as a clunky control system and storyline are (for no apparent reason) stocks of the survival horror trade so it would take a particularly surly gamer to deny the game's obvious quality. It'll also take someone with concrete underpants to remain unfazed by the whole thing, particularly the church with the bleeding walls... --David Jenkins
Play Silent Hill 3 and you'll never scoff at anyone that admits they got scared by a video game again: this isn't survival horror, it's full on survival terror. Away from the shlock B-movie stylings of the Resident Evil series, the Silent Hill games have carved, with a particularly rusty machete, a rather different niche for themselves with a line in taut psychological horror that really gets under your skin rather than just providing a few cheap shocks. The games' primary means of achieving this is via their superb graphics and sound which immediately create an oppressive atmosphere where you're constantly in fear of exactly what manner of evil will happen next.
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The storyline won't disappoint SH fans, as many of the loose ends from SH1 are tied up. You play a teenage girl named Heather, who is suddenly plunged into a dark and twisted world (though I'm sure any Silent Hill veteran would've guessed that last part). As always SH3 has its fair share of oddballs, but the monsters can out-weird any of the so-called "normal" people. Most of the shambling, scuttling and swirly/scything (watch out for them, they're nasty) things you'll meet look like they've jumped straight off a butchers hook, with the exception of the nurses, who look healthier than they did in their previous incarnation. Luckily for Heather, there are plenty of weapons at your disposal. There's the usual pistol, shotgun and big whacking-pipe, but there's now a sub machine gun for you to play with, along with a few nice close combat weapons. And, of course, there are the compulsory bonus weapons which are provided on completion of the game (that is, if you can meet the requirements).
The environments (my favourite thing about the SH games), while not leaps and bounds ahead of SH2, are all wonderfully done, and the shadows are still as fascinating as ever; shifting around with the sway of your flashlight beam. There are a fair few "Let me out of here!!!" set-pieces, the best of which is in the dark version of the hospital, you'll reach a room with a mirrored wall. Just stand and wait in front of it. Trust me... mwahahahaa!
The sounds are as leap-out-of-your-seat shocking as usual, with the creaking, slurping and crying all adding to the suspense by the bucket-load. The music is pretty darn good too, though the song played during the end credits is amusingly ropey. The voice acting seems to have lost its edge a little since SH2, but still does the trick, though maybe not quite as subtly as last time around.
If you are a fan of the previous Silent Hill games, as I am, then you'll love this like nothing else. However, if you're just a gamer looking for something decent to play, then perhaps you might want to deduct one star from the five I'm giving it, as the few little gameplay flaws may be enough to put you off.
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