Silent Hill 4: Review Thread

[Malitos_Sahkir]

Alright, well... Silent Hill 4 is out next week in the US, and I believe the following week in Europe. I own the Japanese version ( which has an English subtitle option ), and I have to say I was more than alittle disappointed.

First off, the story falls flat, not completely but it is the worst story in a Silent Hill game so far. It has little to nothing to do with the main character, Henry. If you've played Silent Hill 2 you'll remember the games story was centered around James ( the main character of that game ), and his journey. This time it borrows the same story-telling methods, but it's not centered around Henry. It is centered around the Villain of the title, and if you've played S.H: 2 you'll pick up very early on who it is. That being said Henry is just an average-joe who gets caught up in the plot unwillingly. And that's about as much depth as he gets. Infact, none of the characters have much more depth than that except for the Villain.

While still on the subject of the story, there is hardly any cut-scenes in the game, and even when there is there isn't much dialog. The only 'level' that feels like a true Silent Hill experiance is the Hospital ( yes, it's been recycled yet again ). The others feel extremely rushed and lacking in dialog and cut-scenes.

The graphic's are fantastic, but the level-design gets old quickly. You'll have to re-visit locations a second time half-way through the game. And that makes the game feel even more rushed than it already is. The gameplay is interesting, it's quite different than the other Silent Hill games. There is no Radio this time, and no item-menu. You can only carry a certain amount of items, which have to be selected on-screen. Being that the game is much more action-orintated, this makes it abit of a hassel when you need to use a healing item during a fight. There is only one save-point in the entire game, which is in Henry's apartment, his apartment acts as a kind of HUB where you can save, store items, and your heath is automatically replenished. I didn't think it hurt the game to have thing's like that, but then again... Why fix what isn't broken? And the puzzels! The problem is there are none. It's basicly just "find the key, and unlock the door."

Overall a disappointment, I also hear one of the monsters has been taken out of the US and PAL version... The two-headed baby-faced monster. Apparently a kid was born with two heads and Konami doesn't want to upset anyone, so they took it out.

I give it a 7 / 10, I hope Silent Hill 5 is better.

[Malitos_Sahkir]

I also forgot to mention that there was only one point in the game when I was actually scared...

[whosaidwhatnow?]

I played the demo but got bored

[cg124]

Overall a disappointment, I also hear one of the monsters has been taken out of the US and PAL version... The two-headed baby-faced monster. Apparently a kid was born with two heads and Konami doesn't want to upset anyone, so they took it out.

what are you kidding me? thats stupid.

ANways thanks for the review. I still have silent hill 2 but I don't play it much. I guess I should try to pick it up and play it again

[Malitos_Sahkir]

Just what I heard around the IGN boards, there was a link too to one of the developers making it official, I'll see if I can find it.

[Diablo]

Sounds like a dissapointment, I'll still rent it to see how it goes :)

Thanks for the review

[Inval1d]

Out Next Week?!

this game was rushed.

[Diablo]

^Not as much as Chaos Theory is going to be :P

[Inval1d]

CT was in development during the time of Pandora Tommorow.


Now a rushed game is Snake Eater ;)

[Diablo]

Interesting how a game that takes 3+ years to get made is rushed ;)

[Inval1d]

;) i was joking...




but 3 years do seemed rushed :P ;)

[cg124]

The worst example of a rushed game is enter the matrix

[JackBauer]

is the game realy as bad as you say malitos? i hope not, i love the SH franchise, i'm very into survival-horror.

[BEXSTAR]

I too have played a demo and was dissapointed. There didnt seem to be a lot to do.

[Imagination_13]

The two-headed baby-faced monster. Apparently a kid was born with two heads and Konami doesn't want to upset anyone, so they took it out.

I give it a 7 / 10, I hope Silent Hill 5 is better.

What the hell, that was the only thing that actually disturbed me. :(

[cg124]

guys you gotta remeber though that a 7/10 dosn't mean it's a terrible game, it's still probally a good game, but it's more of a dissapointment

[whosaidwhatnow?]

I too have played a demo and was dissapointed. There didnt seem to be a lot to do.
Yup, i just want to know how it ends. The demo also got annoying when you encounter the first zombies, i was like wtf because for some reason they were flying...i just walked away from them and they couldnt keep up. So whats the ending like?

[Malitos_Sahkir]

The ending of the game? Well, the beginning sets it up really well, but it doesn't follow through. So, let's start from the beginning and work our way to the end;

No spoilers below...

The game begins with Henry having a dream, and it's a recurring nightmare. He's been living in an Apartment building for two years, room 302. In Ashfield, a town close to Silent Hill ( the game doesn't actually take place in Silent Hill at all, it is just connected because of the Villain ). He wakes up from one of these said-nightmares one morning to discover that he cannot leave room 302. This is five days before the game begins, and now five days later we begin playing.
Henry tries to dial the phone to see if it works, it's still not working. As he turns away he hears the phone start ringing, he picks it up and on the other end someone says 'Help me,' it goes dead, and then Henry notices that the phone cord has been cut...
As you walk toward the door, Henry starts to talk about the last five days, the nightmares, how nothing works in his apartment anymore and that the door is chained up and the windows are sealed shut, and how no one can hear him yelling. And then he notices, written in red on the door, a sentence that says 'Don't go outside!' which is signed by "Walter."
As Henry looks through the peep-hole in the door, he sees Elieen Galvin, the woman who lives next door to Henry. As he watches her pick up some groceries she's dropped, he hears a thud in the bathroom. 'What the hell was that?' - he goes to investigate, and as he finds a strange hole, he goes through it to find himself then decending on an escalator, and the game begins...

Basicly, this Walter is actually Walter Sullivan. The serial-killer who is mentioned as killing two children in Silent Hill 2. That is where the two-headed, baby-faced monster comes from. Anyway, as a child he was born and abandoned in room 302, where Henry now lives. Because his parents left him, he believed that the room was actually his Mother. I believe in the game, Frank Sunderland ( Yes, James from S.H: 2's Father ) talks about how Walter was shipped off to an Orphanidge in Silent Hill. This Orphanidge was run by the cult of Silent Hill that worships Samueal, and their leader Dahlia told Walter about an anicent ritual called 21 Sacraments which can bring back people from the dead. Frank is the super-intendent of the Ashfield Apartments, he talks about how a young Walter often came by the Ashfield Apartments to visit Room 302, and would annoy the people who lived there. Anyway, as Walter grew up he decided to perform the 21 Sacraments ritual around Silent Hill and Ashfield to "bring his Mother back from the dead," and to do so you must kill 21 people and carve numbers into them. He got to 16 before he was caught, and later killed himself in prison with a spoon. Some years later, Henry now resides in Room 302, when all the strange thing's start happening. Henry is locked in his room, and murders are taking place in Ashfield, which have the Cops spooked because some of them remember when Walter was doing it before. Indeed, Walter has come back from the dead because of the ritual, and if he does not finish the ritual, he will cease to exist. He appears in the form of an Adult and a young Boy. Bloody handprints begin collecting outside of Henry's door, first 16 then 17... Until you descover that Elieen, Henry's naughbor, is Number 20 and Henry himself is number 21. Upon descovering this, it is up to Henry to stop Walter from killing Elieen and himself...

Now, there are four endings...

21 Sacrements ( Walter wins ), Elieens death ( Henry defeats Walter, but Elieen dies ), Mother ( Henry and Elieen survive, but just before the credits roll Room 302 is seen swarming with Monsters ), and finally Escape ( Henry brings Elieen some followers in Hospital, and they joke about how they will need to find a new Apartments ).

[Malitos_Sahkir]

is the game realy as bad as you say malitos? i hope not, i love the SH franchise, i'm very into survival-horror.
It's alright, but it's very rushed and overall a disappointment. But it depends on what perspective you are going to play it from. The Gameplay was fresh, but not perfect. The story is alright, but it's the weakest of any Silent Hill game so far. And the game is not scary, the atmosphere is not over-killed like it was in Silent Hill 3, but it certainly doesn't compare to the atmosphere in Silent Hill 2.

[whosaidwhatnow?]

Oh, so what was all the crap that happened in the demo, i met a woman, she ran off being sick, some dogs turned up which i killed, the woman just dissappeared and i never seen her again, i encountered flying zombies,rescued a woman from a train then got bored. Between these i would return to the apartment where furniture would be moved and people would be doing wierd things in the apartments opposite and although the phone line was cut, i dialled a number i seen on an advertisement outside and zombies answered making noises...i dont see how it fits with the story.

[Malitos_Sahkir]

Werid **** happens in the apartment, it's the most entertaining aspect of the game... The lady you met was Cynthia, she is one of the first killed by Walter in the game. Number 16 or 17 I think.

[whosaidwhatnow?]

Ohhh, thanks for explaining :). That demo just really confused me.

[Malitos_Sahkir]

Not everything is really supposed to make sense in the S.H. world, if something it explained it loses it's mystery and terror.

[whosaidwhatnow?]

Did you watch the people in the other apartments? Alot were doing some random strange things.

[Malitos_Sahkir]

Yeah... The further you get in the game, the stranger it gets.

[Imagination_13]

Those endings sound pretty cool.

[Malitos_Sahkir]

The endings are about as good as previous Silent Hill games, which isn't saying much. The endings have never been their strong point, especially in this one which has an under-developed story. Not original or fresh.

Firstly, I don't like the characters. Henry - I know that he's just an average-joe who gets caught in the plot and this is how it's supposed to be according to the storyline, but I never heard him saying anything interesting. Except for one sentence about dying in "this" world, although one does not have to be a genius to figure it out. But I don't know why they've decided to make such an idiot out of protagonist. He's too shocked to say anything relevant? Konami didn't want to pay the voice artist more?

Eileen, and Cynthia - They look like they've run out of an E-class go-go club or Eileen looking like some exclusive S&M whore for 50 year-old-bankers while she's swinging this horse riding crop, which I find ruins the overall atmosphere alittle. And both of them don't have anything to say either. Uh, I forgot Eileen can read this writing in red, which makes her a genius, Einstein reborn...

Gein and Richard are the ones that I like, but still these characters are insignificant. They could simply replace them with other characters and it wouldn't matter. There's really no relation between them and the player being created during these 10 hours. Yeah, Walter is an awesome character, I always imagined a serial killer in a similar way, but what do you expect if approximately 90% of the stroyline is about Walter? For me it's alright, but this gives an unpleasant feeling that someone took away a part of the storyline from somewhere and made a whole game. There are actually ten characters making their appearance in Silent Hill 4, but only one ( maybe two ) of them bears true significance. Quantity does not equal quality.

I got the same feeling while I was battling the final boss. This duel has a great concept, but well... I didn't find any special reason to fight, excluding that I wanted to complete the game. In the first game we've got a Father losing his child, and he fights right until the end to get her back. In Silent Hill 2 James has been through hell, and we want him to survive now that he's found redemption. Silent Hill 3 ends with a revenge for killing the dearest person in the world and yes, the theme of revenge is present in every second movie / video game, but it's a strong motivation. Silent Hill 4, in my opinion, lacks something like this. Anything. Because characters' backgrounds are not sufficently developed.

EDIT: Fixed up a few thing's so that it wasn't too spoiler-heavy.

[cg124]

Ok I'm try playing silent hill 2 again, maybe this time I'll like it and I will want to play the sequels

[Malitos_Sahkir]

I think you'll like it Cg, great story and atomsphere. Let me know if you get stuck.

[cg124]

well i played it before but I had trouble getting into the game and it was a really creepy. Also the combat system still needs more work but I'm sure thats been fixed in the other sequels

[JackBauer]

SH2 is one of my fav games ever. i just love it from the beginning to the end. i played it like 10 times through.

and malitos, tell me how's the SH4 soundtrack? it sure rocks as in any other SH game. i think one of the best things about SH is the music, its so damn beautyfull!!! i'm glad they use the same composer for the movie.

[cg124]

iI think I'm gonna need to give a little patients to the game though because thats what it seems what it recuires(sp). Right now I need to Go to the hotel and I have to take the long long way.

[JackBauer]

you barely started playing. you'll see it will get better. this is realy a game with atmosphere. i don't actually know what i like about it so much, it just rocks from the beginning to the end. the story is awesome and bizzare. the music is brilliant imo and you should have lot fun with SH2.

[cg124]

it's actually pretty fun right now. I got in the hotel (i forgot there was another gate) I'm at the part where you first get to see pyramid head

[Malitos_Sahkir]

If you're just seeing Pyramid Head for the first time, you're in the Apartments, not the Hotel. The Hotel isn't until the very end of the game, you've got awhile to go yet.

And Jack, the music is good... It's sort of a mixture of S.H: 2 and 3, being that it sets up the quite well with different tones ( one of the Monsters makes a Monkey noise though ), and it also has a 'theme' song of sorts with lyrics. Like S.H: 3 did.

[cg124]

sorry i ment to say apartment

[Imagination_13]

I was playin' the demo earlier and it's pretty awesome. Cythina is prettyful. :redface: But the demo pissed me off 'cause when you're in the apartment and you walked straight it'd sort of lean to the right. Annoying it was. :/ Xbox version by the way.

[Malitos_Sahkir]

At the moment Japan only has the PS2 version, so I haven't played the Xbox version, though I'm sure it's mostly the same but with better graphics.

[Malitos_Sahkir]

Bump, it's out today in the US.

[SJBKAT]

Regardless, I must buy this game. I love Silent Hill and found 2 to be the best in the series. Glad everyone else agrees. Also, I am wondering, was the game longer than 3? I sure as hell hope so, part 3 felt a bit short in a way.

[Malitos_Sahkir]

It's probably about 10 hours first time through... On my second time I did it in 7 1/2 though. So they're about the same.

[Malitos_Sahkir]

Forgot to mention, 7.9 from Gamespot on both PS2 and XBox.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/adventure/silenthill4theroom/review.html - XBox version review.

http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/adventure/silenthill4theroom/review.html - PS2 version review.

"Silent Hill 4: The Room is an interesting sequel that attempts to branch out in several areas of gameplay and setting while remaining true to the psychological thriller-style that's always set the Silent Hill series apart from more action-oriented scares. While not all of the changes made necessarily serve to enhance the series, the dark, gripping storytelling is what allows this game its Silent Hill credentials. If you're an existing horror fan or a Silent Hill fan, Silent Hill 4: The Room is certainly worth looking at--if not for purchase, at the very least for rental."

And just for Jack... ;).

"The ambient and creature sound effects are often very important to horror games as well, and the sound in Silent Hill 4 is great, for the most part. Creatures all have their own distinct calls, footfalls, and death rattles, and the environments are peppered with nice ambients like dripping water and gusting wind--or even something as simple as an object clattering to the ground. The voice work in the game is uninspired but solid, with the exception of Henry himself, who has an incredibly milquetoast delivery and seems to never get emotional about anything, despite the fact that his apartment is horribly cursed. The haunting main theme is one of the only pieces of music you'll ever hear in the game, and the times that it plays are few and far between. That's fitting, though, for a horror game that seeks to create mood through subtle sounds in the environment rather than through music."

[JackBauer]

yess!!! now that sounds friggin awesome!!! thanks malitos. i will get this game as soon as it comes out here. and i so can't wait for the movie!

[Malitos_Sahkir]

The main theme is fantastic... My favourite thing from this chapter in the series. I can't remember it's name, you might've heard it in the trailers it goes something like "Heres a lullaby now close your eyes, it was always you that I despised."

IGN has their reviews up aswell, 8.0 for both. I checked at Game Rankings and it has about a 74% ... So yeah, like I said in my review, 7/10. Disappointing but not totally unplayable.

[JackBauer]

The main theme is fantastic... My favourite thing from this chapter in the series. I can't remember it's name, you might've heard it in the trailers it goes something like "Heres a lullaby now close your eyes, it was always you that I despised."


Beautyful, just beautyful!! This is also my favourite one, it's called "Room of Angel". I'm tryin to get it from kazaa.

as for the reviews. i don't care, i'm gettin this as soon as possibe.

[Necross]

I think this game is fantastic, I have loved every SH game and I love the ones with this kind of story. I mean 1 and 3 were amazing but it was strictly, evil god, doing everything. SH2 and 4. Have more confusing storylines that keep you wondering. I also like the new charge up ability. Its my favorite SH so far.

[FilmJerk]

that damn red bunny is creepin

[Malitos_Sahkir]

Yeah, Robbie the Rabbit.

The way I'd rank the SH games is something like this:
Silent Hill: Great.
Silent Hill 2: Excellent.
Silent Hill 3: Okay..
Silent Hill 4: Good.

In my opinion, SH4 was a let-down, if you're looking for a psycological thriller this year go for Fatal Frame II.

[FilmJerk]

so does the bunny move ever? Or change? Spoiler tag that mutha

[Necross]

Yeah, Robbie the Rabbit.

The way I'd rank the SH games is something like this:
Silent Hill: Great.
Silent Hill 2: Excellent.
Silent Hill 3: Okay..
Silent Hill 4: Good.

In my opinion, SH4 was a let-down, if you're looking for a psycological thriller this year go for Fatal Frame II.

Fatal Frame II didn't scare me.....

[FilmJerk]

I HATE this game. Those damn ghosts are soooo mutha freakin annoying I gave up. Just pissed me off big time

[Malitos_Sahkir]

You have to pin them down with the sword of obediance, but they get up again once you take it out... Heh. Unkillable enemies is a nice change, but they are annoying as ****, I agree.

[cg124]

There selling a couple new copys of this game on ebay. They go pretty high

[whosaidwhatnow?]

Anyone know the specs for the pc version, i cant find info anywhere, all i found was japanese sites.

[FilmJerk]

You have to pin them down with the sword of obediance, but they get up again once you take it out... Heh. Unkillable enemies is a nice change, but they are annoying as ****, I agree.
plus you gotta escort that broad around thats anoying too

[SJBKAT]

I just beat the game and got the '21 Sacraments' ending. I have to say...I don't get it. I loved this game though. It had such a different feel than the other three installments. The song that you guys keep mentioning is fantastic. I have to say that I was a little worried about having to protect Eileen all the time, but once you play its not so bad seeing as how she fights, too. Plus once you learn how to leave her in certain areas, you can fly solo again and save her from damage. I can't wait to see what Konami has in store for the fifth game...

[Malitos_Sahkir]

What didn't you get?

[SJBKAT]

Well I beat Walter, but Eileen died (I am having trouble ebating him faster in order to save her). So then Henry gets a headache and Walter appears in Room 302 and wins? I thought I beat him...

Also, I swear I was at a site that had downloads for Silent Hill 4 music...or at least clips, but now I can't remember where I saw the link. It was on a message board, I just don't know if it was CS or not...damn I want that song...

[whosaidwhatnow?]

Anyone know the specs for the pc version, i cant find info anywhere, all i found was japanese sites.
Anyone?

[cg124]

Man silent hill 2 ****ing rocks. I can't believe I have never really gotten into it. Tonight I figured out the coin puzzle I got the key and I did all the other crap then I finnally got in the first boss battle with pyramid head. It was pretty easy because all you had to do was run around since he's very slow. Then I went down all the steps saw the cut scene then i went throught the park and now maria is following. I walked forever down the street I went to the entire freakin end and the bridge was broken. Then I found the dead body and went to the bowling ally. After all of that I ran around forever looking for a save spot and then I finnally found it. this game kicks ass but I wish they would have put a save spot in an easy place to find

[cg124]

I think I might have to buy the rest of the silent hill games once I beat the second one. After I beat the second one I'll probally get the third game of the first one. ANd after I beat them I'll get the 4th one because by the time I beat them all the 4th game will proballly be only 20 bucks

[Patman]

i have beaten every one. i love the entire set