Silent Hill HD Collection
Silent Hill HD Collection (Available for PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360)
ESRB Rating: M
Players: 1
Genre: Survival Horror
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Hijinx Studios
Release Date: March 20, 2012
Parent Talk: This is easy for parents to avoid. In this series, you try to stay alive while all manner of creatures attempt to kill you. It’s also psychologically draining; your children could suffer trauma.
Plays Like: The pre-RE4 Resident Evil games, with the tank controls everyone loves to hate.
Review Basis: Being a Silent Hill up to The Room, I tried both games (PS3 version) in the Collection to see the improvements and changes.
Silent Hill was the most terrifying videogame series out there. Resident Evil used scare tactics to make you jump, but Silent Hill would get in your head and stay there. The first three SHs are particularly frightening, but the franchise has lost its way. When Resident Evil 4 reinvented RE, Silent Hill failed to follow suit, becoming redundant and archaic. Silent Hill HD Collection gives Silent Hill 2 and 3 the HD treatment, and improves the audio to Dolby Digital 5.1 support. If you haven’t played these games, lock yourself in a tiny room, shut off the lights, and prepare for an unforgettable, horrifying trip!
The Great:
Two of the scariest videogames, plus Born From a Wish (Silent Hill 2′s bonus chapter starring Maria). There are so many moments of dread and uneasiness if you play alone with the lights off. Your heart will pump from start to credits. Are you prepared?
The Good:
+ Vastly-improved visuals. I compared both games to their originals. The fog has been pushed back significantly, lighting is improved, and the darkness isn’t quite as obstructive. Both games haven’t looked better.
+ New voice acting. It’s a wonderful upgrade! As good as the originals were, the voice work was awful. You can switch between the new and old content to hear the differences.
+ Unaltered plots. James is still looking for his wife, who happens to be dead… and Heather just wants to go home. Both characters come off as normal human beings, which is why SH has always been different.
The So-So:
+/- Really a collection? I don’t count two games as a collection since SH spans way more games. Why didn’t Konami add Shattered Memories and give it the same treatment? That would’ve at least accounted for the trilogy, and The Room would’ve sealed the deal
+/- Same controls. Yes, the tank controls return. I always found them slow and tough to master, but they work. That doesn’t mean you’ll enjoy them though.
+/- Aged puzzles. You may come across some very confusing puzzles, and become frustrated.
The Bad:
- Framerate drops. This is frequent with many enemies onscreen in SH3. It also pops up in 2, but not as often.
The Ugly:
Some of the nasty monster designs are even more disgusting now thanks to the HD facelift.
The Lowdown:
Ideally, Shattered Memories would have been included in this package. As it is, you get two excellent games for an OK price. Current-gen enthusiasts may not appreciate the controls and puzzles, but these minor inconveniences shouldn’t stop you from enjoying two highly disturbing tales of madness.
Average Score Scale: 8.0 (+/- 0.5) out of 10
Personal Final Score: 8/10 (Neutral)
Reason for +0.5 Inflation: You loved Silent Hill 2 and 3.
Reason for -0.5 Deflation: You don’t want to learn the tank controls, or feel gipped of other titles that were reasonable to expect.
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I REALLY want to play Silent Hill 2 and 3. This is one horror series I’ve never gotten into. I actually do have Shattered Memories (Wii) and Homecoming (PS3), both of which I received as gifts, but I haven’t played them yet. Should I hold off and play the HD Collection first? I’ve heard so much about these games so I really want to play (and since the weather here has been so foggy lately, it reminds me of Silent Hill, lol).
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Tim play the HD remake of the original first. That remains just an incredibly twisted game and my personal favorite in the series. Part 2 is a close second, but play the original remaster right away before anything else. You’ll see why as you go on.
Ahmed I had a few minor issues pop up, but nothing to even mention to be honest. Not sure what glitches people are reporting and yes, I tried out the PS3 version. Keep in mind I only tested them and did not go through both games until the end as I have already completed both.
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People have mostly been complaining about the audio cuts in the voice acting and music in some occasions, followed by some parts which have a missing effect/texture…particularly parts when there should be fog and there isn’t, which kills the atmosphere of the game according to these people. Now that I’ve read your review, I kind of have the feeling that they’re nitpicking a bit too much because you’ve mentioned that the framerate is the most significant problem. But man, the PS3 version has been trashed in amazon too because of these glitches, yet the 360 version surprisingly has okay scores. So I’m not really sure what to do here or which version to get.
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It’s possible problems occur later on. With all of these HD remakes I simply compare them to the originals, but don’t finish them all the way to the end so we can have a comparison review out. I mention that in the review basis portion, whereas in all the other reviews I state I finished the game, etc. The fog has been scaled back though so I’m not sure if that’s what they’re saying. I’ll progress further into SH 2 and get back to you.
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Good stuff. I heard that there were a lot of graphical glitches and audio bugs in the Silent Hill 2 HD port, so I’m wondering if you ever noticed any of that stuff or is it only for the 360 version? You played the PS3 version, right?
I’m one of those people who has never played a Silent Hill game before, but I always hear of how SH2 is arguably the greatest horror game of all time so I’m inclined to play it. The glitches scared me off to buy this collection, not to mention the lack of titles such as the forth installment or the Wii remake of the first one.