“IN MY RESTLESS dreams, I see that town”.

And in my worst nightmares, I see this game. Double Helix have taken the phenomenal series that Konami created way back when on the original Playstation console, and perverted it into a pale imitation of it’s former glory. When the PSP game, Silent Hill Origins was released, it was met with mixed views by both players and critics alike. Some saying that Team Silents decision to pass the series on to an outside developer (Climax Studios in that case) was a bold, and not all together wise move. So when it came to the sixth chapter in the series, it seemed even more bizarre that they would do so again.

Unfortunately, whilst Climax rose to the challenge and produced a, somewhat different, but still fundamentally Silent Hill experience, Double Helix just…didn’t. I can only surmise that they were relying heavily on the name alone to bolster sales, because it is clear to me that only minimal effort was put into programming the game. The textures are…well, textureless, the complete lack of expression on every single person in the game is downright insulting, and the gratuitous use of needlessly dramatic music and ridiculous popping and squelching noises on a number of the cities warped denizens combine to transform this from a sparkling addition to the Silent Hill franchise into a painfully clichéd Hollywood style monster of the week movie.

Which brings me to the next point. I honestly cannot fathom why, but this latest foray into the misty burg relies very heavily on the Silent Hill movie (widely accepted as being utter crap apart from the outstanding direction by Christopher Ganz) for it’s source material. Featuring, for no discernible reason that I can find, the movies signature gas mask clad cultists and even some of the same locations such as the Church which hosts the films gore infested climax. Even the inclusion of fan favourite Pyramid Head does little to lift this game beyond anything more complimentary than the mediocre. Especially when he comes toddling out with massive thumping noises much better suited to a scene from the Incredible Hulk. The dude is seven feet tall, carries a knife (yes, a knife) that’s six feet long and has a giant metal pyramid for his freaking head. He doesn’t need screen shaking footsteps to scare the bejeezus out of you.

You may be wondering if I have anything at all positive to say about the game. And, sadly, I actually do. As always, the scripting is positively top notch and the voice acting, though not the best in the series, is still utterly outstanding. And, of course, the soundtrack by the ever talented Akira Yamaoka-sama is eerie and chilling as ever (if a little overused in places). Unfortunately, all this succeeds in doing is reminding us of how good the came could and should have been. And, in my case at least, left me pining for previous titles in the series to such an extent that I was only part way in and put it back on the shelf for a while in favour of a trip back to the previous generations for a reminder of what Silent Hill used to be like.

However, eventually, I took the plunge and muddled my way through to the end. A far more laborious task than it really should have been. When you face minor enemies that are more resilient than the major boss fights you know something is seriously wrong. That little section in the prison immediately after being separated from Wheeler had me spitting nails for a full two days. Those Schisms (odd creatures with a bladed hammer shaped head) kept cornering me and effectively cutting me to ribbons in only two or three head wiggles. Supposedly no major challenge, they were a bloody nightmare for muggins here. Whilst the final enemy, though genuinely quite frightening, bashed me around a good half dozen or so times and only had my health down half way. Hmm, not quite what you expect really.

So, having said all this, would you be surprised if I still gave it a tentative (and sanity questioning) recommendation? There are a lot of flaws with the game, this is true, and it is far and away the worst chapter in the series (yes, even worse than the film) but any true Silent Hill fan will still find something in there to satisfy their appetite until the next chapter comes our way. If you can plow your way through the horrendous gameplay and tedious, overly complicated monster battles, there are some fantastic plot moments. Unfortunately, those self same moments that make the whole thing worth the immense effort in the first place still leave you pining for something better because of the before mentioned utter lack of expression. If not for the quality of the voice acting, even the great script wouldn’t be enough of a draw.

Overall, a thoroughly disappointing, shameless cash in from a series that has shocked, thrilled and titilated like no other. If this had been produced by Team Silent themselves it would be inexcusable, but since it was passed out to someone else we can let it slide this time.

Just

Graphics: 6/10
Gameplay: 5.5/10
Audio/Music: 8/10
Plot/Scripting: 9/10
Overall: 6.5/10

By the way, some people have noticed that my ranking system is not mathematically correct. This is because the overall score is not linked only to the other four areas I list. I picked those four out because they are the most commonly noticed by your average player, whilst the final score takes into consideration my overall impression of the game. I hope this clears up any confusion

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