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[Prince of Space]

I don't think this is a poll.

SH2 is the best game. This is fact.

All that needs to be said, really.

 

[Solid]

SH2 is probably best, i agree with that. but i liked SH3 more. better gfx, better controls, better music... the only thing SH2 wins is the story, which is fucking great.

but i'm a sucker for religion and stuff, so the cult thing in SH3 really got me hooked. i loved that.

 

[echoshifting]

The first encounter is definitely great. But when it comes

Spoiler

out of NOWHERE on the hospital roof

I think I remember throwing the controller and running around in circles about eight times in my room.

Spoiler

Oh, hell yes! Again, though, we're talking about Pyramid Head working via the element of OMG AHHHHHHH ITS THE PYRAMID HEAD surprise rather than "Mega Man Boss #X before you can get to the final boss" level of effectiveness. I, too, nearly jumped through the fucking roof in that sequence on top of the hospital...but the use of PH at the end just kind of turned me off to it. I dunno, maybe it's just me...I just think it's fucking stupid that every game with this sort of "You can't stop it, that one monster is unfuckingstoppable" feel gives it all up in the end.

 

[SolidSnakex]

This is exactly why I hated that sequence, actually.

Spoiler

At the beginning of the game, the Pyramid Head is a fucking monster. If you play it right, you can't kill it. You just have to run away from it until it drags its gigantic fucking sword down the stairs. But at the end of the game...suddenly, it's a fucking Mega Man game, where the Pyramid Head comes back out of nowhere and you actually have to kill it...more than one of them. It completely negates the effect of the apartment building level, during which the Pyramid Head is the ultimate, scary DEMON that will obliterate you if you fuck with it.

And that's why, for me, SH3 > SH2.

Spoiler

Killing Pyramid Head is a way that James starts to overcome what's been getting at him. The PH was there to represent him. In the same way that there were other things in the town that bothered Eddie. He represented James sexual desire (remember the threesome) and that no matter how much he tried to escape it, he was a murderer. Once James came to realise that he was able to kill PH and in a sense kill what brought him there to begin with. Early on that wasn't possible since James didn't want to admit what he was.

 

[brandonh83]

I will say that the final area of Silent Hill 3 absolutely has to be one of the craziest and awesome as far as design and mood goes

Spoiler

I mean seriously, you're in a church - no, an underground part of a church in Silent Hill in the "nightmare" world, and if that alone isn't quite fucked up enough, you have absolutely brilliant little details, such as being able to look through a wall - while you're undergound, mind you - and see an endless, orange sky, and I think even some kind of corpse too

. The word of the day here is "surreal" but honestly that particular area deserves a new word on its own.

 

[Solid]

Spoiler

Killing Pyramid Head is a way that James starts to overcome what's been getting at him. The PH was there to represent him. In the same way that there were other things in the town that bothered Eddie. He represented James sexual desire (remember the threesome) and that no matter how much he tried to escape it, he was a murderer. Once James came to realise that he was able to kill PH and in a sense kill what brought him there to begin with. Early on that wasn't possible since James didn't want to admit what he was.

holy shit, i love to read up on stuff i've basically havent thought about for a long time. we need SH5 for next-gen asap!

 

[Kangu]

SH1 is the scariest, but SH2 was probably my favorite.

On a bit of a tangent, I don't know how you can judge these games based on the combat system. Survival horror sort of needs combat to be clunky and difficult to transmit your characters limitations and to make you dread enemies. If you make the combat fluid and exciting you get RE4: lots of fun, but the horror went out the window.

 

[The Faceless Master]

SH1 for sure... wow, that game was just off the wall...

 

[Ceb]

On a bit of a tangent, I don't know how you can judge these games based on the combat system. Survival horror sort of needs combat to be clunky and difficult to transmit your characters limitations and to make you dread enemies. If you make the combat fluid and exciting you get RE4: lots of fun, but the horror went out the window.

Yeah, the controls in SH have always tried to simulate real, kind of clumsy people inexperienced with combat. I think it works, but I can understand the people bothered by it. Anyway, the controls in SH4 messed everything up. The "wind-up" hit is sooooo unbalanced.

 

[stonedwal]

Silent Hill 3. Cut most of the backtracking shit out from Silent Hill 2, improved the action (slightly), and brought back some continuity.

Wouldn't mind playing through 2 and 3 again, but I did sell them because I thought I didn't really have the time/will to play them again :lol

 

[SolidSnakex]

we need SH5 for next-gen asap!

Yep, Yamaoka said they're working on something. But who knows when we're going to get to see it. The more they work on it the better though.

Such a great game.

 

[Wollan]

SH1 was the scariest piece of entertainment...game, movie, book...I've ever experienced. I'll have to go with the first one.

QFT

The original is still the best and most frightening piece of entertainement ever made.

 

[Lyte Edge]

Silent Hill 1 is still my favorite of the series. I was in a hurry to finish the game the first time through since I got it and SH2 at the same time, and I wish I had taken my time; it was the better game. Next for me is SH3; love the level design the best and the story continues from the original. Next is SH2 which I enjoyed, but I just prefer the storyline of SH1 and SH3 more. SH4 would have been number two for me had it not gone way downhill after the "first half" of the game.

 

[brandonh83]

The things that could be done with a next-gen Silent Hill title... I wonder if it will ever be possible to construct an entire town - now, I know the past games have pretty much did that, but I'm talking... being able to fully explore every building, every alleyway, street... everything. I mean, even if the places have nothing to do with the plot at all. The thought of it, to me, is quite magnificent, but I'm sure I'll be satisfied with what we get.

 

[Ceb]

SH Next has the potential to get everything right. As a refresher...

GW- So the series is getting larger, gaining more momentum, and was coming out on a yearly basis, right?

I- Well, keep in mind SH4 was not originally suppose to be a Silent Hill.

Y- We did see a significant increase in popularity after the first game and even more so after the second. Originally the intention was not to make SH3 a direct sequel to the first game. In fact, the scenario was completely different, but fans seemed to want to tie up some loose ends, so we tried that, even though some on the staff did not agree with the decission.

GW- Do you enjoy satisfying your fans or would you rather satisfy your own artistic needs?

I- Naturally when a series gets popular the fans get very vocal. We want to please the fans by just continuing to keep the series new and interesting. Every now and then we decide to listen to certain complaints and desires and try to execute them into the next game.

Y- It's important to try to satisfy both at once- satisfying the fans and our own needs. I feel our needs as creators have taken a back seat since the third game, to be honest. We plan to change that with the next game, but also not isolate our fans.

I- After the underwhelming response SH4 got, we've been gathering opinions from everywhere to make sure we come back strong with the next installment. Sometimes the most vocal opinions, for example the desire for more battles, are not always the best ones, especially for a series like this. We wanted more melee combat in SH4, but realized from fan reaction that there was just too much action, regardless of it being melee or not. That kind of action doesn't make the atmosphere creepy anymore, but kind of obnoxious.

GW- What was the original scenario for SH3? Are you allowed to divulge that?

Y- Unfortunately no, since we plan on using it for a future game. (laughing) It was much more along the lines of the second, where the main character was a damaged human being, summoned to the town for a very specific reason. It was, or should say is, the darkest story we have come up with.

I- I'm sure a lot would have to be cut. Just the preliminary scenario had elements that would most likely not be approved by the ratings boards. Another thing is we really didn't want to use a similar template as SH2 for the game that followed it. That was another deciding factor in changing SH3.

GW- Anything you can tell us about SH5?

Y- Who says it'll be called SH5? (laughing)

GW- Ok, anything you can tell us about SH-Next?

Y- Unfortunately not at this time, but very soon. We also can't tell you the system or systems it will be on, but we can say it will be on the next generation platforms.

I- Maybe I'll get in trouble for this, so Konami Japan don't fire me, but we are interested in playing with the idea of 'light'... as in 'daylight' and shadows. Ever since the pre-production of SH2, we wanted to start a SH in a normal environment- daylight, people going about their business, just normality. What happens when you make that normality rot all around you? It is possible to make a normal sunny day really creepy. Just look at films like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre or even one of our favorites, Jacobs Ladder.

GW- A significant hint to SH5? No more 'otherworld'?

I- I'm not saying that. In fact, the lack of a more dramatic 'otherworld' in SH4 bothered a lot of fans, so we intend to have a very impressive 'otherworld' with the next generation power. I'm just saying a possibility in how a game could start. That's all I can say.

GW- Any closing words to your fans?

Y- Keep your eyes opened for more very soon.

What they describe is basically my dream scenario for the next SH. I just hope that Konami will give Team Silent the necessary budget to fully realize their vision with. They should, because after the decline in sales with SH4, Konami will probably wanna try to restore the series. Next-gen gives them a chance to do that.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Those hints also lead you to believe that the outdoors will play a big role in the next game which is something that they haven't really tried too much with up to this point. I'd like to see that happen. An outdoor alternate world would be really cool.

When did that interview take place? Yamaoka keeps saying in that we'll know soon.

 

[F.Be@PSG]

2 was great. And... stop.

 

[Wollan]

An outdoor alternate world would be really cool.

You haven't played the original have you?(or have you? You're too hardcore not to)
Anyway, outdoor otherworld is freakish as hell. Probably the area of any game were you feel the most 'unsafe'.

 

[SolidSnakex]

You haven't played the original have you?(or have you? You're too hardcore not to)
Anyway, outdoor otherworld is freakish as hell. Probably the area of any game were you feel the most 'unsafe'.

I have just not in awhile. I guess i should go back and try it out again.

 

[Ceb]

Those hints also lead you to believe that the outdoors will play a big role in the next game which is something that they haven't really tried too much with up to this point. I'd like to see that happen. An outdoor alternate world would be really cool.

When did that interview take place? Yamaoka keeps saying in that we'll know soon.

That interview is from March/April.

I absolutely loved the outdoor stuff in SH2. The whole walk through the woods and the run-down outskirts of SH is just perfect. Exploration of the town is also something that was missing from the following titles. I really hope Ito returns for the Art Direction slot. Tsuboyama's stuff for SH4 was really dreamlike, surreal and pretty cool, but the designs of SH2 felt like something you could (but hopefully never would) encounter in real life. Love the faded color palette.

 

[Kiriku]

I still like the first game the most. It was a fresh experience back then, and it looked really good and unique as well. Silent Hill 2 didn't feel as scary or bizarre which was somewhat disappointing. Silent Hill 1 had a more "raw" feeling to it, and more memorable freaky events...and better in-game "music". And no drawn-out loading with a designated loading screen between areas that kind of took you out of the game. The storyline in SH2 was clever though, and it looked great. Maybe I was just better prepared for the Silent Hill experience when playing SH2. I mean, you kinda knew what to expect. Which I felt even more with Silent Hill 3...the whole formula felt like it was going stale, so to speak. Never even tried the fourth one.

 

[brandonh83]

Thanks for posting that interview Ceb, I hadn't read it. Good info.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I still like the first game the most. It was a fresh experience back then, and it looked really good and unique as well. Silent Hill 2 didn't feel as scary or bizarre which was somewhat disappointing. Silent Hill 1 had a more "raw" feeling to it, and more memorable freaky events...and better in-game "music". And no drawn-out loading with a designated loading screen between areas that kind of took you out of the game. The storyline in SH2 was clever though, and it looked great. Maybe I was just better prepared for the Silent Hill experience when playing SH2. I mean, you kinda knew what to expect. Which I felt even more with Silent Hill 3...the whole formula felt like it was going stale, so to speak. Never even tried the fourth one.

I think SH and SH2 set out to do different things. SH1 was basically your standard horror flick in terms of plot. Dealing with cult themes and such. The way it was executed was unique but the premise was fairly standard. SH2 was going for more of a human approach to just make you feel uneasy. All the characters were given realistic themes to carry,

Spoiler

James being somewhat obsessed with sex while having to deal with whether or not what he did by killing Mary was out of love or out of hatred, Eddie's being picked on all his life and what it can bring you to doing, Angela being a rape victim, and Laura being confronted face to face with someone she thinks murdered the person she considered her mom.

. That's why I think they stand out the most in the series to fans. While SH3 is well liked too, its much more simplistic as a package than the first 2 games were.

 

[Nick]

You should really try Silent Hill 2.

Your avatar so totally reminds of of Aphex Twin. Damn Shiggy, you really let yourself go.


Oh, and Silent Hill rock. yadda.

 

[Elios83]

I think SH2 is the best in the series because of the story.


But now please Konami show us SH5!

 

[brandonh83]

I'm expecting to see something before the end of the year, and if not, at LEAST by, say, March. I think Silent Hill 4 was announced/shown in January of 2004?

 

[Kiriku]

I think SH and SH2 set out to do different things. SH1 was basically your standard horror flick in terms of plot. Dealing with cult themes and such. The way it was executed was unique but the premise was fairly standard. SH2 was going for more of a human approach to just make you feel uneasy. All the characters were given realistic themes to carry,

Spoiler

James being somewhat obsessed with sex while having to deal with whether or not what he did by killing Mary was out of love or out of hatred, Eddie's being picked on all his life and what it can bring you to doing, Angela being a rape victim, and Laura being confronted face to face with someone she thinks murdered the person she considered her mom.

. That's why I think they stand out the most in the series to fans. While SH3 is well liked too, its much more simplistic as a package than the first 2 games were.

Yeah, you may be right. SH2 did feel different, but I still prefer the SH1 style with cult themes and such.

 

[Zylander]

Silent Hill 1 = Amazing.
Silent Hill 2 = Ditto.
Silent Hill 3 = Silent Hill by the numbers. Boring, shallow characters, idiotic script, non existent character development, totally lacked the depth and mystery of the prior games.
Silent Hill 4 = An absolute travesty. I was ok with it for the first half, and after than hated playing this game. No longer is any attempt to make a story which is both intelligent and complex, now it's just plain stupid and complex. Playing through that second half with Eileen staggering around looking as if she'd just been mauled by dozen cats, and enemy's that didn't stay down (kind of like the Shibito in Siren, but even more annoying) that was a nightmare for all the wrong reasons.

The Silent Hill series took an absolute dive this gen in terms of quality.

 

[ourumov]

Both Silent Hill 1 and 3 are the most frightening games I've ever played...But 2 is still the king. It afraids you, the story is awesome and the soundtrack is the best to ever grace a videogame

 

[aku:jiki]

You are all (partly) wrong about the Pyramid Heads...

Spoiler

James doesn't kill them. They kill themselves by skewering themselves on their spears. This can be achieved by shooting the shit out of them, or simply running around the room and avoiding them for five minutes. They will still kill themselves no matter what you do. So, no, I can't agree that the fight somehow lessens their badass-ness, if you will.

I really have no idea how or why them killing themselves has any significance for the story, though. Underlying feelings within James that he deserves to die for what he did, maybe?

 

[Baron Aloha]

SH2 > SH1 >>> SH3 > x (infinite) SH4

 

[beerbelly]

SH2 made me want to learn more and more about each character. Each character had a unique personality, a twisted past and a reason for existing in the town of Silent Hill. If you do buy the game, make sure it is the version with the extra subgame with Maria. Her story with Hemingway was truly depressing.

 

[dark10x]

Yeah, SH2 is easily my favorite.

The original sits right behind that with 3 sitting very near 1. SH4 is way down at the bottom of the list. Having gone through it again recently, I realized that it isn't that bad...but it just can't compare to the others

 

[manngc]

You are all (partly) wrong about the Pyramid Heads...

Spoiler

James doesn't kill them. They kill themselves by skewering themselves on their spears. This can be achieved by shooting the shit out of them, or simply running around the room and avoiding them for five minutes. They will still kill themselves no matter what you do. So, no, I can't agree that the fight somehow lessens their badass-ness, if you will.

I really have no idea how or why them killing themselves has any significance for the story, though. Underlying feelings within James that he deserves to die for what he did, maybe?

I was waiting for somebody to say that.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, but I still believe if Tsuboyama and Imamura were able to keep the game Room 302 instead of 'Silent Hill: The Room', it would have been much more affective. Konami forcing them to make it a SH game seemed to limit a lot of original ideas... as well as isolating a lot of SH fans.

The Room had some awesome potential... and I still love the dreamlike overall feeling the game has. I hope the team, with a concentrated SH project from the start, use some of the ground work from SH4- i.e. the voyuerism, the feeling of being isolated even when the real world is going on right across the street, etc.

By now many of us SH fans know that SH3 and SH4 divided the team, so I'd imagine SH Next will have all the guns working together- and Ceb, I'd be willing to bet Ito is back on creature designs.
What would really get me excited is seeing Sato back doing the characters and animation.

 

[Dr_Cogent]

SH2

Loved the story and the ending. Top notch.

 

[jett]

I've only played SH1 and SH3, but SH1 is by far the best. The atmosphere the game manages to create is freaking disturbing. SH3 has nice graphics, but that's pretty much it. I don't know how fun would be to play either game nowadays(especially the first one), the controls/gameplay/mechanics are pretty shitty.

SH5 or whatever should ditch the action elements and turn into a straight adventure/"point and click"-sort of game.

 

[Mau ®]

IMO

SH2>SH4>SH1>SH3

I don't really understand the SH4 hate... I thought it was awesome except for the backtracking...

 

[TheJollyCorner]

IMO

SH2>SH4>SH1>SH3

I don't really understand the SH4 hate... I thought it was awesome except for the backtracking...

I like this man

 

[BuckRobotron]

Indeed, I'd be inclined to also say SH2, SH4, SH1, SH3, with the caveat that SH1 and SH4 could trade places easily, more of a tie there perhaps.

SH4 I enjoyed more than apparently most others did. I liked the challenging restrictive inventory and Eileen protection elements. And though not ideal, the revisited worlds never really bothered me. Only thing that really grated on me in SH4 was the belching nurses, so utterly ill-considered. I have the remote to the stereo ready when I get to those areas to mute the sound... :lol

That will do for putting in some positive word for poor ol' SH4 before letting the hater flock swarm the carcass again. Returning to consideration of the whole series SH2 is actually quite far ahead of the rest as my personal favorite.

 

[gamergirly]

Silent Hill 3

 

[dark10x]

My largest complaint about Silent Hill 4 is that it had very little impact on me. I enjoy falling into the Silent Hill games and allowing myself to feel fear. Very few games can pull it off, but when they do, the results are very memorable.

Silent Hill 4 just wasn't scary in the least.

 

[Parallax Scroll]

I haven't played SH4, but out of the first three, SH1 is definitely my favorite. For me it was much creepier.

 

[Ceb]

My largest complaint about Silent Hill 4 is that it had very little impact on me. I enjoy falling into the Silent Hill games and allowing myself to feel fear. Very few games can pull it off, but when they do, the results are very memorable.

Silent Hill 4 just wasn't scary in the least.

It wasn't supposed to be "scary" like the past games. It was planned as more of a psychological "examination", something the final product only succeeds partly with. The story was simply too unoriginal, some of it probably a result of the patchwork of turning it into a SH title.

Recently, Team Silent has stated that they're getting tired of having to fit everything inside the "horror" genre. Yamaoka has stated that he believes more games will morph into interactive stories without so much traditional gameplay. I believe that most of all, the team wants to do an adventure game dealing with human drama, with little or no "action" or "horror" elements. But until they can make that, we're getting another Silent Hill.

 

[Gamedude]

I finished my first Silent Hill a few days ago, Silent Hill 2.. damn did I enjoy that ending... (one of my best game endings) I got the

Spoiler

Water Ending, the ending where James gets in a car and starts riding really fast.. resulting in suicide. that was awesome to hear.. especially because Mary said he needs to get on with his life

By now many of us SH fans know that SH3 and SH4 divided the team, so I'd imagine SH Next will have all the guns working together- and Ceb, I'd be willing to bet Ito is back on creature designs.

Since I'm no real SH fan (after I finished SH2 I'm becoming one though) I didn't know this.. so basically you're saying SH1 & SH2 were made by team A and SH3 and SH4 were made by team B

but SH5 will be made by team A+B?

Maybe I was just better prepared for the Silent Hill experience when playing SH2. I mean, you kinda knew what to expect. Which I felt even more with Silent Hill 3...the whole formula felt like it was going stale

Interesting, more people who have this feeling? People that finished at least 3 of the SH's: agree or disagree?

 

[dark10x]

It wasn't supposed to be "scary" like the past games. It was planned as more of a psychological "examination", something the final product only succeeds partly with. The story was simply too unoriginal, some of it probably a result of the patchwork of turning it into a SH title.

Recently, Team Silent has stated that they're getting tired of having to fit everything inside the "horror" genre. Yamaoka has stated that he believes more games will morph into interactive stories without so much traditional gameplay. I believe that most of all, the team wants to do an adventure game dealing with human drama, with little or no "action" or "horror" elements. But until they can make that, we're getting another Silent Hill.

Oh, I know what it was trying to do...but I didn't think it was really successful at it. The idea of The Room was actually a very good one...but the way in which the room functioned did not work nearly as well as it could and should have. The concept had so much potential...

 

[silenttwn]

Since I'm no real SH fan (after I finished SH2 I'm becoming one though) I didn't know this.. so basically you're saying SH1 & SH2 were made by team A and SH3 and SH4 were made by team B

but SH5 will be made by team A+B?

No, SH1 and 2 were made by one team (A+B), and then SH3 by A and SH4 by B. SH5 will be a whole team again.

 

[Ceb]

Since I'm no real SH fan (after I finished SH2 I'm becoming one though) I didn't know this.. so basically you're saying SH1 & SH2 were made by team A and SH3 and SH4 were made by team B

but SH5 will be made by team A+B?

The "cores" of the different teams go a little something like this:

SH1

Director/Planner: Keiichiro Toyama (went on to make SIREN for Sony)
Sound Director: Akira Yamaoka
Art Director: Masahiro Ito/Masahi Tsuboyama (unclear)
Monster Design: Masahiro Ito/Naoko Sato (the latter joined Toyama at Sony)
Cutscene Director: Masahi Tsuboyama
Character Designer: Takayoshi Sato
Camera Programmer: Naoto Oshima (ex-Sonic Team )
Writer: Hiroyuki Owaku/Keiichiro Toyama (?)
Producer: Gozo Kitao


SH2

Director: Masahi Tsuboyama
Sound Director: Akira Yamaoka
Art Director/Monster Design: Masahiro Ito
Cutscene Director: Suguru Murakoshi
Character Designer: Takayoshi Sato
Writer: Hiroyuki Owaku
Producer: Akihiro Imamura
Exec. Producer: Gozo Kitao

SH3

Director: Kazuhide Nakazawa
Sound Director: Akira Yamaoka
Art Director: Masahiro Ito
Monster Design: Masahiro Ito, Masahi Tsuboyama, some others
Cutscene Director: ?
Character Designer: ? Mentioned in the Making Of
Writer: Hiroyuki Owaku
Producer: Akira Yamaoka
Exec. Producer: Gozo Kitao

SH4

Director: Suguru Murakoshi
Sound Director: Akira Yamaoka
Art Director: Masahi Tsuboyama
Monster Design: Masahi Tsuboyama, others
Cutscene Director: ?
Character Designer: ? Various
Camera Programmer: Naoto Oshima (back from SH1, this is pretty noticeable)
Writer: Suguru Murakoshi
Producer: Akira Yamaoka
Sub-Producer: Akihiro Imamura
Exec. Producer: Hirotaka Ishikawa

...plus a bunch of other, more technical-minded staff. You can see some of the shuffling around there.

Interesting, more people who have this feeling? People that finished at least 3 of the SH's: agree or disagree?

Agree and disagree. Of course the basic formula is relatively similar, but I think all of the games are different enough from a thematic sense.

EDIT:

dark: If you're talking about the backtracking to the room as an unsuccessful factor, then I agree. Otherwise, I thought everything about the "room" aspect was brilliant. Easily the best thing about the whole game.

 

[LakeEarth]

Absofuckinglutely. Goddam.

Spoiler

I agree that none of the end bosses have been great in SH, but the SH3 end boss was at least not terribly intrusive. The end boss sequence in SH2 was pretty silly, and tarnished the rest of the game for me, I think. I'm pretty sure I'd rate SH2 higher than SH3 if not for that last sequence.

Isn't there two different intros to the final boss depending on which ending you might get? I can't really remember.

 

[Future]

-------
dark: If you're talking about the backtracking to the room as an unsuccessful factor, then I agree. Otherwise, I thought everything about the "room" aspect was brilliant. Easily the best thing about the whole game.
-------

I thought backtracking to the room was the best part. Wondering how the room would change each time you renetered, where the next portal may appear or whatever. Gotta admit, most of tension I felt was due to thinking they would do more with the room that they did, but the idea was awesome. Too bad the horrible action and constant backtracking to the core levels screwed it up.

Silent Hill 2 had a great story, but I didn't like wandering through the city. Specific areas were cool (the hotel, the hospital) but I dreaded going outside not because I was scared, but because it was simply boring. Wandering through the dark trying to find shit on the map just wasn't fun.

Silent Hill 3 got rid of the city aspect, which I liked. It had a simplified story though, which wasn't as good. I thought the gameplay was more fun though, so I put that over 2.

But the first was the best for me. Loved the spin they put on the RE formula, and it really did freak me out the first time I played through it