Logan Booker wonders why he can't just break a window.
This time round the game's hapless protagonist is Henry Townsend. The player is introduced to Townsend's character through a series of cinematic sequences that explain his predicament, having been trapped in his apartment for the past five days and suffered nightmares of ghosts and bizarre, sinister events. Henry quickly becomes unsure of his sanity and is short on ideas. Relief comes via a strange hole that appears in the bathroom of the apartment and from there, the game officially descends into crazy town.
Like Resident Evil, Silent Hill 4 is a survival horror title, yet the scares come courtesy of the story, rather than a dark corner or from behind a door. Because of this, SH is a far more engrossing than any RE title, and it's easy to see the effort Konami has gone to in making the game one long, impressive mind screw. The visual effects are very similar to movies like The Ring, so anyone familiar with this brand of horror will feel at home immediately.
SH 4 has a strong focus on melee combat and while you do end up finding firearms, ammo is so scarce it will hardly see use. Health items are also rare in the earlier parts of the game. The view camera is intelligent and the PS2 version looks great, with dynamic shadows and high detailed models making a big impact. While not amazing, the sound has a noticeable role, but it's the hauntingly beautiful music that really steals the show.
If there's anything wrong with SH 4, it's the nonsensical puzzles. Short of a walkthrough, there are a few that can only be solved with random experimentation. Expect to lose a few hours to these, only to scratch your head in confusion once you solve them.
Otherwise, Silent Hill 4 is a great piece of work from Konami. Anyone after a solid survival horror title would do well to pick it up.
Issue: 111 | April, 2010