Cultivating Incoherent Panic In Silent Hill 3

Thanks to Tokyopia.org for posting their spoiler-free post-game impressions from Silent Hill 3, the 'survival horror' PS2 title from Konami that's already been released in Japan and Europe, and is out in the U.S. on August 6th. The piece says that "The third game combines the tone and feel of the first game with the stronger emotional intensity of the second", but reassures on the creeping nature of the in-game horror: "Don't worry: the game hasn't devolved into cheap monster-jumps-through-window style gimmicks, a la Resident Evil. It's a more subtle 'shocking' and 'directness' than that... the pieces of Silent Hill 3 build slowly towards a sort of incoherent panic. The tension rises bit by bit.. [until] the player.. snaps and goes on a blind, unthinking rampage of running and shooting in cathartic self-defense."

blind AND unthinking

[kLaNk]

blind, unthinking rampage of running and shooting in cathartic self-defense

Seriously, this happened to me once. When I stopped dropping acid though it went away :(

Maybe this game is an acid replacement?

Silent Hill 2

[RaboKrabekian]

Silent Hill 2 was one of the single creepiest things I've ever experienced. Played in the dark with the sound turned way up loud there were some really freaky moments. The music and sound effects alone were worth the price of admission. If you've never gone through the game (it's not really difficult) do yourself a favor and rent it.

I remember at one point in the game omething in the apartment above me was thumping loudly back and forther across the room. It definitely made the experience that much more..involing, I guess. It was right up there with the scairest movies I've ever seen.

Re:Silent Hill 2

[TermAnnex]

You too?

Oh man. I was freaking out during the whole thing, I had the character reach through some grates to pick up a key, and I was freaking out the entire time. I really didn't want to have him do that, even though there was no where else to go.

I love that game. But I don't think I would ever want to play it again. /me shivers at the thought

I hope its as good as the 2nd

[I am Emmitt Smith]

I never played the first one but SH2 was the scariest game/movie I've ever experienced. My wife and I played it together because neither one of us wanted to be alone when we played. The sounds were just awesome

Wuss

[ChibiTaryn]

Well, I'm too much of a wuss to actually *play* it, but I help out my partner when he does.

I gotta admit, part of me is itching with excitement over this. I REALLY enjoyed Silent Hill 2, and out of all the survival horror my partner and I have "played" together, I find the Silent Hill series to be the best.

Let's hope that Silent Hill 3 is as good as that guy makes it sound :)

Static

[{8_8}]

I never touched the second game, but the first freaked me out. I'll never forget running through that damn fog and hearing my radio slowly become louder and full of static. It wasn't a sudden OH LOOK TEH MONSTAR AM SUDENLY ON TEH SCREEN~ kind of freaky. You knew what was out in the fog: bird or dog things, usually. The bursts of static followed by silence were just unnerving. The dark underworld-type place was freaky as well, especially the school. Maybe I'm easily satisfied, but if the third game has fog and a staticy radio I'm definitely buying it :D

Re:Static

[akudoi]

You should seriously pick up the second game. It's amazingly good. And it also has the fog and radio thing going on. I actually like it better then the first.

Re:Static

[Flunitrazepam]

Seattle has fog and a lot of staticy radio... maybe you should move here

thanks

[Tuxinatorium]

That little snippet completely runis the game. thank you for discouraging me from actually _buying_ software. I mean, what kind of spendthrift would do that nowadays?

dont forget the cat

[cyrax777]

man the Silent Hill series is by far some of the scaryiest games ive ever played. and we musnt foget the cat from the first one. The cat that jumps out at you from the locker and of course by the time you get to that point in the game your expecting the most vile being from the pits of hell to come at you and its just a damn CAT! that part is by far one of the scaryiest parts it the game. locker room and the door just clanging back and forth you walk buy it BAM door opens and the damn cat jumps at you.

I don't want to buy this thing....

[analog_line]

...but I won't be able to stop myself.

Silent Hill 2 freaked the everloving bejeezus right out of me, down the road, and off into some inconspicuous bushes to hide from the bad plastic coated zombie men scraping their exposed leg bones on the pavement somewhere out there in the blackness.

I do not want to play Silent Hill 3. However, I will be there on Aug 6 with my debit card, trying to hold my friend back from the game store dorr as he tries to hold me back from the self-same door. But we won't succeed.

Surviving

[Riff10111]

I found that the best way to get through SH2 was to keep a Powerpuff Girls tape in the VCR, so that when my blood pressure got too high, I could pause the game and switch over to some soothing high-velocity cuteness.

BTW, Fatal Frame was much scarier than SH2, IMO, but the story wasn't as interesting - a combination that prevented me from getting even halfway through it before I sold it back to the game store...