Silent Hill Origins – PSP – Review

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.

Review Scoring Details for Silent Hill 0rigins

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.