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(More customer reviews)When it comes to the Silent Hill franchise, I'm a pretty dedicated fanboy.I could probably dedicate several chapters worth of pages to each and every one of the installments, from the masterpieces to the mediocre.In the name of dignity, however, I'll keep my opinion on Origins, like the game itself, fairly brief.And the brief here is that Origins doesn't quite capture the same charm as any of the straight-to-console releases; it does, however, maintain the trademark feel and standards of the franchise, and it even adds a couple cool new things to the mix, making it a completely worthy addition to what is hands down the best survival horror series around.
Probably the most important challenge facing the developers behind Origins was the necessity to prove to fans that they could harness the very distinct feel created and maintained by Team Silent, the original group, throughout the four previous titles.It couldn't have been an easy task.One of the things that makes these games so successful is the incredible atmosphere.The horror found in Silent Hill is often psychological and always enigmatic, and there's a really deeply disturbing sense of pathos that elevates the terror from strictly visceral to a very emotional level.The original composer was on board, so the famously spooky music and audio effects were there to help bolster the effect, but the rest was up to the new guys.Well, they delivered.Origins feels absolutely genuine; the foggy streets, the shambling, crippled monsters, the radio, the peeling paint and the layers of rust and blood - every motif within the series is reproduced with meticulous care, and it just feels right.The gameplay is still the same, with the one addition of breakable weapons (a potential inconveniance offset by the sheer abundance of weapons lying around).This, then, might be Origins greatest accomplishment in relation the series as a whole - proving that an American team can take the creative child of a very tight, very Japanese team and do it justice by finding its roots, all of which bodes well for the upcoming Shiny-developed PS3 release of Silent Hill 5.
Of course, there can't be enough said for innovation, and Origins' incredible conformity to the series formula has the aforementioned downside of robbing it of that certain individual charm that holds up the other titles, even the controversial black sheep entry SH4. For the most part it plays as a great homage to the other games.It even attempts to cover the two overarching themes that have up til now mostly been handled seperatly - that is, the malevolent cult that resides within the town and its mythology (SH1 and SH3), and the physical manifestion of personal torment (SH2 and SH4).These two themes have done a good job of keeping the town itself suitably mysterious by begging the question whether the forces behind Silent Hill are driven by the demons worshipped by the cult or a more vague force that projects the subconcious of its victim into its twisted Otherworld.In trying to work both sides, however, Origins becomes somewhat muddied and the benfits of both themes are diminished.The focus on the protagonists dark past seem to be the intended focal point, but it comes off a a little bit of an afterthought.This point is perfectly illustrated by the Butcher, Travis's own version of Pyramid Head, who in Silent Hill 2 was meant to be a reflection of a particularly dark element of our hero's psyche.The developers attempt to recreate this with the Butcher, but the monster unfortunately lacks the development and plot integration of Pyramid Head and ends up looking like a weak imitation.Likewise, the cult aspects we're shown, which lead directly to the occurences of SH1, are extremely shallow.
On that note don't be fooled by the title:Origins is a prequel to the storyline covered in SH1 and SH3, nothing more.It doesn't attempt to explain the origins of the actual evil residing in Silent Hill, which is probably a good thing.The mystery is part of what keeps the town frightening.Plus, I think if any installment were to take a whack at a real origins story, a PSP title wouldn't be the one to do it.The scope is necessarily too limited to tackle such an important issue.
What Origins lacks, then, in forward momentum, it gains in a few nice additions to gameplay.The most noteable of these is the fact that, unlike all previous installments, the player has control over when the foggy world will switch to the nightmarish Otherworld.This is achieved by travelling through mirrors which display a reflection of the parallel world, which is a pretty savvy callback to Travis's story and one example of the psychological themes being handled effectivly.I wouldn't want to see this in any of the future titles, mind you, as nothing quite compares to being suddenly thrown unknowingly into a nightmare realm from which there's no short escape, but it does add a whole new element to the horror in Origins; the really ominous necessity to willingly throw yourself into Hell's open jaws.In fact, while playing the game I really tried to do everything I could to stay in the foggy realm as long as possible and make my stay in the Otherworld very brief.My really visceral reaction to having to enter the Otherworld really surprised me as to how good the game is at creating genuine fear.
Another gift Origins gives to the series is the addition of probably one of the very best environments in the whole series - the theatre.One thing that tends to plague the other games is typical of all survival horror, and that's very linear environments.Halls upon halls, all boasting rows and rows of locked doors, can get tired really fast.The theatre really avoids this problem and its wonderful for it.One part in particular, which involves a puzzle utilizing stage props from the foggy realm transformed into real locales in the Otherworld, is brilliant and probably the highlight of the entire game.Even the enemies here are great - dummies that at first seem innocently inanimate that eventually come alive to attack Travis by crawling along the ceiling - very creepy.
All in all Origins is a pretty small addition to the Silent Hill franchise, but a worthy addition nonetheless.It maintains the core qualities of the series while adding a few cool new things of its own.And while its additions to the cult storyline aren't really substantial or even essential, they do feel very organic and real, which is pretty impressive.If you're new to the series, definitely start with one of the other games - as I said, Origins' beautiful imitation cripples it from attaining the same immersive charm - but if you're already a fan, what are you waiting for?Get this!
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Product Description:
The renowned Silent Hill survival horror series continues on the PS2 with a brand new adventure that reveals many of the series most hallowed secrets. Assuming the role of a lone truck driver who becomes trapped in Silent Hill, players must escape the city's horrific inhabitants and confront the strange hallucinations that have haunted him since childhood. Featuring enhanced graphics, sound and control, Silent Hill Origins sets a new standard for this survival horror classic.
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