[52] [28], During Sony Computer Entertainment's presentation at Gamescom 2014, an interactive teaser titled P.T. Harry then awakens in the hospital again, next to Lisa. [41] The 17th track on the album is the ballad "I Want Love" performed by Romina Arena. Another recurring plot trait in the Silent Hill series is a fictional religious cult known only as The Order. Bobba Fatt of GamePro labeled Silent Hill a "shameless but slick Resident Evil clone",[4] while Edge described it as "a near-perfect sim nightmare". The game chronicles Alex's search to find his missing brother. [19][20][21] Konami sought to produce a game that would be successful in the United States. was also pulled from the PlayStation Store and is no longer available for download.[32]. After searching in and exploring the mysterious town, he ultimately realizes her death's true nature. Alessa's never-healing wounds terrified her, as she fell deeper into a drug addiction fueled by Kaufman. [citation needed], The third installment in the series follows a teenaged girl named Heather as she becomes caught in a conflict within Silent Hill's cult and discovers her true origin. After completing the game once, the player has the option of playing as Cybil in a second scenario, with a third made available for download once the second scenario has been completed. [15][16], Four different endings are available, dependent on the player's previous actions. :satisfied: :grin: :wink: :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: :grinning: :kissing: :kissing_smiling_eyes: :stuck_out_tongue: [5] Waking up in town, he realizes that Cheryl is missing and sets out to look for her. [35], The soundtrack for Silent Hill was composed by sound director Akira Yamaoka, who requested to join the development staff after the original musician had left. [30][31] This favorable reception persuaded Konami to allot more personnel and public relation initiatives to the project. An ordinary man, Harry cannot sustain many blows from enemies, and gasps for breath after sprinting. Development of the Silent Hill series started in September 1996 with the beginning of the development of its first installment, Silent Hill. It was named the fourteenth best game of the PS2 by IGN, saying "It preserved most of the original game's what-might-be-out-there fear, but with major advances to the graphics and sound, the game was able to deliver a far more immersive, frightful and compelling storyline. It was praised for its graphics and audio, but the horror and gameplay have been met with mixed reactions. Silent Hill 2 features the option to use both the old and new voices; however, Silent Hill 3 features only a new voice track, with the old voices unavailable due to legal reasons. [63] The story of the second installment, Silent Hill 2, was conceived by CGI director Takayoshi Sato, who based it on the novel Crime and Punishment, with individual members of the team collaborating on the game's actual scenario;[64][65][66] the main writing was done by Hiroyuki Owaku and Sato. The town in the first three games was inspired by concepts of a small town in America as depicted by various media from various countries of origin. [37] The town's cult repeatedly participates in illegal acts: ritual human sacrifices whose purpose is the deity's resurrection,[39] illegal drug trade,[40] and kidnapping and confinement of children in a facility to teach them its dogma through brainwashing, while presenting the facility as an orphanage. Multiple endings are a staple of the series, with all installments featuring some, the realization of which often depends on in-game actions performed by the player. [114][115], In comparison to the previous three installments, Silent Hill 4: The Room was met with a mostly positive reception, though lower than that of the game's predecessors; many reviewers disliked the increased emphasis on combat, lessening the focus on the horror aspect of gameplay, while praise was aimed at the atmospheric tone and direction, the sound design, graphics and the storyline, while the changes from the series' conventions were met with a range of responses, varying from positive to negative. An extended version of the game was released for the Xbox in December of the same year as Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams in North America and Silent Hill 2: Inner Fears in Europe, and for the PlayStation 2 in 2002 as Silent Hill 2: Director's Cut, with a port of Director's Cut to Microsoft Windows released in December 2002. [37] Certain religious items appearing in the series were conceived by the team and for some others various religions were used as a basis: the evil spirit-dispelling substance Aglaophotis, which appears in the first installment and Silent Hill 3, is based on a herb of similar name and nature in the Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism); the name of the talisman called "Seal of Metatron" references the angel Metatron. A second film adaptation, titled Silent Hill: Revelation and based on Silent Hill 3,[127] was released in 2012. [73] The games also feature soundtracks scored by Yamaoka. The game achieved mixed reviews due to lack of storyline and poor execution. [29], Artist Takayoshi Sato corrected inconsistencies in the plot, and designed the game's cast of characters. Praise was particularly aimed at the dark, cerebral narrative and storytelling, exploration and handling of mature themes and concepts, such as incest and domestic abuse, the sound design and musical composition, the atmospheric and frightening tone and direction, fear-inducing and tense gameplay, along with the graphics, use of symbolism and metaphors and the monster designs. [82][83], Spin-off video games based on the series include the visual novel Play Novel: Silent Hill for the Game Boy Advance,[84][85] the arcade game Silent Hill: The Arcade,[86] and the mobile games Silent Hill: The Escape and Silent Hill: Orphan. Accessible from the menu and readable only when sufficient light is present, each map is marked with places of interest. It was praised for going back to the old gameplay formula—according to IGN, "Origins does justice to the series as a whole." It was rejected by Konami for various reasons involving Konami not wanting to trust a small company with the Silent Hill license. [18][19][20] Book of Memories utilizes an overhead isometric view, follows a new storyline and features returning creatures from the series' fictional universe, as well as cooperative gameplay;[21] the game is the first installment in the series to feature multiplayer gameplay. Click here for information about the Save Archive and instructions. The style of his compositions was influenced by Twin Peaks composer Angelo Badalamenti. [3], Silent Hill opens with Harry Mason's drive to the titular town with his adopted daughter Cheryl for a vacation. Silent Hill 3 was well-received by critics, especially in its presentation, including its environments, graphics and audio, as well as the overall horror elements and themes that are continued from past installments. [38] The group's dogma is derived from a myth: the deity set out to create paradise, but ran out of power during the process; she will someday be resurrected, thus becoming able to finally create paradise and save mankind. It was released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows and it also marked the end of Team Silent's contributions to the series. Visibility is mostly low due to fog[3] and darkness; the latter is prevalent in the "Otherworld". The later five games, Origins, Homecoming, Shattered Memories, Downpour and Book of Memories, were developed by other unrelated groups. [44] Two days later, the game was removed due to "unforeseen circumstances". [64][65][67], The first game, Silent Hill, utilizes real-time 3D environments. While certain critics praised the soundtrack and story elements, it has been let down by "sluggish combat" and "occasional freezes". [29] As a young employee, Sato was initially restricted to basic tasks such as font design and file sorting. Yamaoka had to explain that this noise was intended for the music, and the team only withdrew their initial objection after he elaborated on his reasons for choosing this style. Upon completion of the teaser it was revealed to be for a new Silent Hill game entitled Silent Hills, being developed by Kojima Productions using the Fox Engine, and a collaboration between Hideo Kojima and film director Guillermo del Toro, featuring actor Norman Reedus. [87], The Silent Hill series has been praised for its graphics, atmosphere, and story. The game is played in a first-person perspective. [3] Adding to the atmosphere was the audio, which was well-received; Billy Matjiunis of TVG described the ambient music as "engrossing";[68] a reviewer for Game Revolution also praised the audio, commenting that the sound and music "will set you on edge". The organization has certain members who act as antagonists in most of the series' installments (such as Dahlia in the first and prequel, Claudia in 3, Walter in The Room, and Judge Holloway in Homecoming), and operates the "Wish House" (also called "Hope House"), an orphanage for poor and homeless children built by a charity organization called the "Silent Hill Smile Support Society". Gans himself is a big fan of the Silent Hill game series. The objective of the player is to guide main protagonist and player character Harry Mason through a monster-filled town as he searches for his lost daughter, Cheryl.