courtesy of ign
When we first saw Silent Hill Origins we were very, very scared. Not because it's a brand new adventure in Konami's long-running and deeply disturbing survival horror series, mind. More that developer Climax seemed to have been bitten by the Resident Evil 4 bug, talking up a more action-focused expedition to everyone's favourite lakeside getaway, Silent Hill. When SH4 ended up this way, we thought it was rubbish - and hopes weren't high for the PSP iteration either.
However, it's been one long year since then and, with development now shifted to Climax's Portsmouth studio in the UK, things have come on leaps and bounds. While our US comrades have already dabbled with Origins for some initial impressions, we were lucky enough to enjoy - if that's ever the right word for a Silent Hill game - some extended play time with a far more polished build of Origins.
As a refresher, Origins follows protagonist Travis Grady, a truck driver with a murky past. Of course, it wouldn't be Silent Hill if the lead didn't have one or two demons and - given the sudden flashbacks and static-concealed references on the CB radio during the intro - it looks like Travis might have more untapped psychosis than most. Incidentally, about that intro: it's an impressive opener, with the usual sky-high quality pre-rendered Silent Hill cinematics in tact, replete with some gorgeous scoring from series stalwart Akira Yamaoka. In fact, fans will be thrilled to note Origins has an absolute ton of Yamaoka's beautiful, ethereal compositions - not just his more-prevalent otherworldly bonks, bangs and industrial screeches.
This sucker-punch opening is actually indicative of the game as a whole. Climax told us that Konami's only real stipulation during development was that Origins matched the same triple-A standards expected of the series. By all accounts, Climax seems to have risen to the challenge, with everything from storyline to stunning graphics right up their with Konami's best, bonkers Japanese efforts. Graphically, Silent Hill's interiors and exteriors - alternate reality or otherwise - are rendered in exquisite detail, with the series' staple fog and shadow as gloriously oppressive as ever. This version even goes as far as incorporating real-time self-shadowing on all torch-lit objects, which is an impressive feat for PSP, whichever way you look at it.
Story-wise, we've got high hopes for Origins too - although clearly there are still massive questions begging to be answered after our initial couple of hours play time. As the name suggests, Origins visits Silent Hill prior to the PS1 game's events, introducing (or re-introducing, depending on your perspective) some of the series' most memorable characters. These include creepy little girl Alessa, her mother and - steady your beating heart, long-time fans - nurse Lisa Garland. However, if, like us, you find the Silent Hill mythology explored in parts 1 and 3 a bit hackneyed, Climax is also promising a return to the deeply unsettling abstract psychological horror of Silent Hill 2 in its exploration of Travis Grady.
In fact, one of the game's key new mechanics is intrinsically woven into Travis's back story, with Travis's ability to hop from 'normal' Silent Hill to its rust-hewn, hyper-industrial counterpart via mirrors tied directly to his past. Truthfully though, as neat as it is visually, this dark world/light world mechanic isn't perhaps as involved as it might be. From what we've seen so far, it merely serves as window dressing on your standard Silent Hill exploration, acting as a road block between different areas rather than offering any increased depth. There looks to be less of the sudden, unexpected reality switches too as a result, removing one of the tenser, unpredictable elements of previous games.
Other welcome new additions include the ability to lock onto enemies during combat, significantly reducing the wild directionless flailing of past titles, as well as numerous improvements to melee fighting. For instance, alongside standard attacks, Travis can hit while moving forward for some extra force or even charge a strike. Obviously, this leaves you open to assailants and, in Origins, any mis-steps trigger a Resi 4 button-mashing fest, demanding you follow on-screen prompts to shake off your foes. Thankfully though, Climax seems to have ditched the utterly arbitrary Resi 4 over-the-shoulder combat camera witnessed in earlier builds of Origins.
Improvements to Silent Hill's combat system are certainly welcome, particularly given the increased attention to melee weapons in Origins. There's ne'er a gun in sight for the first hour or so of Origins, although Climax promises a more traditional arsenal as you delve deeper into the town's secrets. During our play time we picked up everything from scalpels to a hospital drip stand, with all melee weapons having different levels of durability; overuse an object and you'll likely suddenly find yourself unarmed against a slathering, skinless attacker. Origins also introduces one-hit weapons, ranging from crates to filing cabinets - handy for knocking assailants down with one strike. Admittedly, we're not exactly sure where Travis stashes an entire TV set between brawls but, hey, realism isn't exactly Silent Hill's strong point.
For all its improvements on the fisticuffs front though, there's good news Silent Hill 4 detractors: Origins sees the series' much-missed puzzle elements make a return. Admittedly, there's nothing here quite as head-scratchingly contrived as Silent Hill 3's toughest puzzle setting, but that's not necessarily a bad thing in our book. For instance, your initial trek through Silent Hill's now overly-familiar hospital requires you to locate and reassemble the organs of a plastic cadaver to progress. Elsewhere, the later sanatorium level has you fumbling mercilessly with the pressure valves on an iron lung. There's even increased incentive to replay the game once you're through, with the introduction of 'accolades' - awarded and rewarded with unlockables as you meet unspecified criteria and experiment with different styles of play.
Actually, the inclusion of the previously unvisited sanatorium bodes well for Origins too, having had to trawl far too many of the same locations during the previous four Silent Hill games. It's a beautifully designed, if far from aesthetically beautiful, new addition to town's growing collection of landmarks, even if it does follow the series' rust and ruin motif to a tee. Of particular interest here was our first glimpse of some of Origins more formidable foes. According to Climax, the PSP game contains the largest enemies yet seen in the series and, if the enormous shambling half-goat, half-prolapsed anus creature roaming the subterranean areas was anything to go by, they're not joking. Certainly, it looks like Origins sees a return to the psychologically-inspired creature design of Silent Hill 2. This time it's back to unsettling semi-humanoid horror rather than the grumpy dogs and angry pillows of more recent Silent Hill games.
That developer Climax seems to have managed to improve on nearly every facet of Konami's long-standing series deserves credit in itself. However, the fact all this has been achieved on a handheld is even more staggering. For instance, despite the PSP's horrendous control nubbin, manoeuvring Travis is, by and large, a smooth, responsive experience - far from the stop-and-swivel mechanics of earlier Silent Hill titles. What's more, those traditionally problematic camera angles have been addressed too - in Origins, the camera intelligently follows your movements with optimal visibility in mind, while never losing an eye on jaunty-angled atmospherics. You can even re-centre the camera behind Travis quickly and accurately in those rare instances where the system fails. It's undoubtedly a massive improvement on previous games' juddering viewpoint epilepsy.
Best of all, despite initial concerns surrounding the validity of a horror title on handheld, Climax has really played up to the PSP's strengths. Slap on a pair of headphones and the more personal play experience on offer really does make this version of Silent Hill one of the most involving, unsettling entries yet. Helpfully, Origins also features a sophisticated gamma-adjustment option independent of the PSP's own brightness setting, meaning you can even get your Silent Hill fix in the sun, if you must. It's impressively implemented too: increasing the game's brightness manages to maintain the depth of shadow while upping the richness and contrast of highlighted areas, never once compromising that trademark Silent Hill grit.
Frankly, given how much of a balls-up this portable Silent Hill could have been, we've come away with nothing but admiration for Climax. On the evidence so far, the team has managed the seemingly impossible with Silent Hill's transition to a handheld. Rather than a scaled-down, half-arsed sub-set of the Silent Hill universe, Origins looks set to be a fully-fledged, console calibre addition to the series.
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