Silent Hill Origins

Silent Hill … there’s no town quite like it in America. It’s a township rich with history but sadly said history isn’t good. You see, travelers that find themselves entering the town will find a place that’s cursed or, perhaps, caught in the middle of a dimensional rift that is somehow connected with a tragic incident that destroyed most of the town. Fans of Konami’s creepy Silent Hill series have followed the franchise on the original PlayStation and even on the Xbox but Silent Hill 0rigins is the series’ first time on the PSP. It’s also an impressive addition to the wonderfully twisted series.

 
“Ok, that’s the last time I’ll mix Jack Daniels with Pop Rocks.”

Silent Hill 0rigins isn’t so much a sequel to any of the franchise’s four games but rather it’s a prequel to the PSOne original (hence the reason the word “origins” is spelled with a zero). The game introduces truck driver Travis Grady, a kind-hearted man with a troubled past who is simply passing through the town of Brahms near Silent Hill when he sees a little girl run in front of his truck. Startled, Travis stops and steps into the town limits of Silent Hill where he discovers a house on fire. Braving the flames, Travis manages to save a little burnt girl, who turns out to be Alessa (the same girl that shows up in the first game). After that, Travis is caught in a nightmarish fight for survival as he attempts to make it through Silent Hill alive.

Guiding Travis through the mist-covered town, you’ll discover all the typical Silent Hill essentials from the usual skinless monsters, freaky undead nurses and rust-flavored industrialized “other world,” that in past games was announced with that frightful alarm. Instead of changing the series’ gameplay style, Konami was smart enough make interacting with the town and moving the character similar to past games in the series. That means you’ll still have a flashlight and a radio that let’s you know when monsters are nearby and you’ll be solving a number of familiar Silent Hill-styled puzzles.

The town itself is open for exploration even though there are the usual missing segments of street and switching from the “real world” with the “other world” means some places will be available only between worlds. Still, you will find a number of places to explore such as the Alchemilla Hospital, the post office and the insane asylum just to name a few buildings you will be exploring. Like other Silent Hill games, the landscape changes depending on what side of the supernatural or dimensional rift you so happen to be standing on during the change. In 0rigins, Travis can move between dimensions by way of a bloody handprint on various mirrors around town.

 
“Why did I decide to come here during the yearly zombie convention?”

Travis certainly knows how to handle himself since he can make use of everything from a sledgehammer to broken television sets. There are also handguns and shotguns but ammo is very limited in the game so you can’t simply fire away. Combat in the game can be a bit wonky, mainly due to the awkward camera that simply plays against you. Sure, you can manually move the camera but there are moments in the game where it won’t help at all. So there are often times when you will walk right into those zombie nurses in a corridor.

There are also some challenging puzzles in the game and a few that brilliantly require you to jump between worlds to solve. It’s the wacky puzzles that are the most fun to solve, like the medical dummy you have to put together. Aside from the great puzzles, the game does story right. It’s interesting to dive deeper into the very beginning of the series and 0rigins does a great job of connecting all the dots that involve Alessa, her mother Dahlia and the religious order that plays a sinister role in destroying the town. Travis, much like the other visitors from past games, face off against person demons that take a physical form he must battle. Depending on how you play the game you are rewarded with different endings as well as opening up some interesting extras.

Silent Hill 0rigins also contains some pretty visuals that might not be as good as the PS2 releases (something the PSP could have easily gotten away with) but what is seen here is actually good. The game is able to handle the environments nicely enough and the dim lighting makes the other world seem appropriately menacing. Even the character models are nicely detailed but Travis doesn’t move naturally. Still, it’s great to see the town of Silent Hill again and on the PSP the mist looks really good.

 
Silent Hill Real Estate Agent: “As you can see, it’s a fixer-upper.
Oh, and this property sits directly on top of a hellish dimension filled with skinless monsters.”

As far as the sound is concerned, the soundtrack featured in 0rigins deserves to be heard loudly or - better yet - using ear buds. Not only is the score diverse but it’s also hauntingly beautiful and true to the franchise. There’s also a good voice acting cast here that does a great job of bringing personality to each character. Even the sound effects and the awful sounds the monsters make come through beautifully and delightfully disturbingly.

Silent Hill 0rigins for the PSP delivers an exceptional and satisfying installment that captures the essence of the series and while it’s far from perfect the number of positives outshines these weaknesses. While the camera plays against you and combat can be a bit jarring (and not in a good way), the game’s story and feel is pure Silent Hill and the fact that it ties together nicely with the first game will definitely please fans of the series.

Gameplay: 8.5
If it wasn’t for the somewhat poor camera angles or the awkward combat, the game’s controls would have been perfect. Still, this feels and plays like a Silent Hill game and the town could not be any creepier. The origin tale is also fantastic and will be sure to give returning fans a shiver or three.

Graphics: 8.5
The mist that blows through the town still looks creepy but it’s the rust-colored version of the ill-fated town that will not fail to frighten. The game does a brilliant job of recreating the original’s overall look and even the character models look great.

Sound: 9.0
Great voice acting and a superb soundtrack make up an amazing sound experience that is best enjoyed through some headphones. The sound effects will be familiar to anyone who has played a Silent Hill game and it comes through nicely on the PSP.

Difficulty: Medium
Like past games in the franchise, there’s an ammo shortage and certain weapons (like sledgehammers) will break with repeated use. This means you will have very limited resources to combat the number of supernatural freaks.

Concept: 8.5
It’s Silent Hill on the PSP and it tells the tale from the very beginning so recognizable characters from past games show up. 0rigins also features multiple endings and enough extras and secrets that will have gamers coming back for more when they finish the game the first time around.

Overall: 8.5
Silent Hill 0rigins impressively brings all the elements we love about the Silent Hill franchise to a portable format that works wonderfully. Yes, there are a few weak spots that keep this from being just as slick as the console games but the overall presentation, good story and familiar Silent Hill essentials make this an impressive PSP game that captures the spirit of the franchise.