 Review By: Jared Black |
Developer: | Konami |
| Publisher: | Konami | |
| Genre: | Survival Horror | |
| ESRB: | Mature | |
| # Of Players: | 1 | |
| Online Play: | No | |
| Accessories: | Memory Stick Duo | |
| Buy Now: |   |
When Konami announced that it would bring the next installment in its Silent Hill franchise to the PSP, many hardcore fans of the series complained. While it would appear that Konami is set to appease them (and shareholders) with a PS2 port of Silent Hill: Origins early next year if rumors are to be believed, the move really made sense regardless. Many PSP owners already own a Sony home console, and both The Silent Hill Experience and the UMD release of the Silent Hill movie have introduced PSP owners to the franchise. Most importantly, Silent Hill: Origins proves that the PSP is more than capable of doing the creepy franchise justice.
Silent Hill: Origins tells the story of Travis Grady, a trucker with a mysterious past who’d rather live a lonely life on the open road than settle down. Late one night while on the job, Travis passes near the town of Silent Hill, and of course that’s when his troubles begin. After a shadowy figure appears on the road and forces Travis to skid to a stop to avoid her, a mysterious young girl named Alessa leads him into the town of Silent Hill, where he must confront the evil that resides there, as well as his own personal demons.
Origins is actually a prequel to the original Silent Hill on PlayStation, and features several characters from that game (including Alessa, Dahlia, Dr. Kaufmann and Lisa Garland) that play prominent roles in this game as well. As a result, while the game focuses mostly on Travis’ personal struggle, there are elements of the game (including the ending) that probably won’t have as much meaning for gamers that haven’t played the first game in the series. For that reason, from a storyline perspective it’s better to have played the original game first, although not required by any means. That isn’t necessarily a good thing however, as it’s a little lacking as a true prequel as a result. Sure, the characters are there and there are hints of what’s to come, but on the whole it doesn’t really feel like a true prequel (even to someone that has never played the original like myself) until the very end of the game.
The gameplay in Silent Hill: Origins is typical of the series despite the move to the PSP, with all of the staples of the franchise here as well. Travis carries with him a flashlight to see while creeping around the game’s dark environments, as well as a radio to signal when monsters are near. To fight off those monsters, Travis has a surprising number of weapons at his disposal, as anything not nailed down can be used as a weapon. This includes objects like jagged pieces of wood, IV drip stands, portable TVs, alcohol bottles, and many more to go along with six different types of firearms that get progressively more powerful over the course of the game.
Posted: 2008-01-19 18:21:23 PST