Silent Hill: Homecoming Preview

by Nicholas Gasse - 2008/09/03 7:13pm

The chilling sound of a blaring war siren is muffled by the heavy fog. Day gives way to night. Walls peel away, revealing rusted wire frames entwined with barbed wire. The white floor tiles decay, leaving a smattering of blood and dirt in it's place. Lights dim and flicker before shutting off completely. Twisted ululations fill the air. Its a scene all too familiar to Silent Hill fans, but never before has it created such a horrifyingly visceral feeling of raw terror as it does in the latest offering of the series, Silent Hill: Homecoming.

As the first next gen entry into the series, the first noticeable improvement is the graphics. As opposed to the Resident Evil series, which uses quick surprises to deliver a scare to the player, Silent Hill uses a genuinely creepy and horrific atmosphere. The beefed up graphics serve to increase the feeling of anxiety and fear induced by the atmosphere and the disturbing imagery is surreal. For the first time in the series, the player can actually watch Silent Hill as it transforms from the real world to the hellish Otherworld, which is not only a visual treat but also a terrifying experience. The dynamic lighting and shadows further enhance the mood and are shown off well by the flashlight, a necesity of the game. The flashlight creates dynamic shadows off everything in the game, from items to actual character models. The character models are not as refined as some other titles due out this holiday season, but aren't shoddy either. Of course, the main protagonist, Alex Shephard, is very detailed, sporting a jacket that moves and sways with his every movement. The demonic monstrosities that haunt Silent Hill look creepier than ever, and fans will be happy to see a number of the series' popular oddities returning, like Pyramid Head and the nurses. As Alex does battle with them, their individual models will suffer real time damage, meaning that if you slash a monster's chest with a knife, a cut will appear their. Its small effects like these that show just how far the series has evolved graphically.



Homecoming, the first Silent Hill console game not developed by Team Silent, is not just a receiving next gen face lift, either. The controls of the last few games have attracted a lot of criticism, being described as archaic, unintuitive and clunky. Konami has taken note of this and made this their primary area to address. The tank style controls, used in the series as its primary control mechanism since its inception, are gone. Alex, a Green Beret returning from the military, has a whole slew of new moves that ensure the sticky gameplay mechanics are a thing of the past. The player is now able to lock on to enemies, perform combos with melee weapons, dodge out of the way of attacks, manually aim the gun, and a lot more. A quick inventory has been added to ease the flow of gameplay. Emphasis has also been placed on making the boss fights more unique and interesting. Another new feature making its debut in Homecoming is the dialogue tree. In each interaction with another character, the player is a given a few options in terms of the dialogue, ranging from cold and harsh responses to more welcoming ones, and everything in between. Silent Hill has always been famous for having multiple endings and it's safe to assume that the dialogue tree will have some effect in determining these. The puzzles that have been an integral part of the series also remain, serving as the driving force to go from point A to point B.

Long time Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka returns for his sixth Silent Hill game. Yamaoka has said the theme of the music for Homecoming is to create a feeling of suspense, even in daylight, and it works right into the game, setting an eerie backdrop for the action. Voice acting, on the other hand, seems to be a bit campy, with some overemphasized and cheesy delivery.



Silent Hill: Homecoming is shaping up to be a revitalization of the series. With Resident Evil shifting more and more towards an action orientation, hopefully Silent Hill will be able to take it's place as the head of the survival horror genre. Homecoming is due out on September 30, for the PS3, 360, and PC. Look forward to our review closer to that time!