RPD Dispatch 13 - Playing Silent Hill 1

[YamiYumes]

The part that always messed with me was Nowhere.

I honestly could NOT play through that level with the sound on. Too freakin' creepy for me. Then again, I'm stupid and was playing it at like...2 in the morning. Go me. xD

[A-J]

A notice in an elementary school saying "Hell is coming". Now that's just wrong ;P

[Sunglasses]

This odd camera view is done by choosing "Self View" and selecting the camera control to "Reversed" in the options menu's second page. You need to have a cleared game save file to get the Self View mode though. Again, thank you gamefaqs.

It's a cross between FPS and the over the shoulder camera most recent games use, you can only see Harry's head for some strange reason and the alien gun is the only weapon that projects a laser reticule.

what the fuck... first time i see this, a sort of over the shoulder view, it looks pretty cool. I still can't believe i never noticed before this optional camera point of view.
I need to play Silent Hill again, thank you A-J

[Dot50Cal]

Yeah, I never saw that either. Nice stuff AJ

I recall seeing Silent Hill 1 for the first time. A friend was playing it when I went over his house. He was in the hospital and I was scared as hell watching it, lol. I never touched the thing after that until a couple years ago. Can't wait to get back in.

CR29, I wouldnt play it on the PS3. It has a crappy bug with the firearms, where it plays a screeching sound after you shoot them. This is probably why it was pulled from the Euro PSN, lol.

[A-J]

so based on the screens above, the graphics seems fairly competent for the Wii, a direct port should've sufficed.






i kid i kid :p

[Harry Mason]

I'm glad to see someone found the RE4 style camera. It really pissed me off when Silent Hill 2 removed it.

[GuardhouseMusic]

Well, being used to RE-style horror when Silent Hill came out, I played the demo. From the moment I saw the corpse hanging on that fence, I must have said to myself "okay, no more sound." I was impressed enough to get it, but I was too scared to play it with sound, plus I just used a walkthrough. Or did I? I remember having trouble with the piano puzzle. Either way, the story made absolutely no sense to me, and it was only years later I discovered the significance of it. That's the only SH I've played; unfortunately, I never picked up any of the others (though I played a SH 3 demo). That's a massive regret.

I enjoy the references in it, from the streets named after horror fiction writers, to the film references (like the SotL one A-J mentioned), to the music references (Sonic Youth- Last names in the school directory, Psychic TV- The PTV drug).

[Canas Renvall]

I'd love to call in, but my computer is messed up so I'm using my dad's computer from work. Can't download anything. No Skype. D: Can I send an e-mail or some such thing?

[Harry Mason]

Ahh, Silent Hill...yet another game that NEEDS to be on the US PSN Store.

I'll be honest. I only played the demo for Silent Hill, once, around 10 or 11 years ago. It creeped me out, obviously. The awkward camera angles, the foggy mist, the eerie soundtrack and oh yeah, that man who was gutted and tied to a fence at the end of the demo before Harry passes out and wakes up in the diner. I'm pretty sure I turned off my PS1 then and there.

The funny thing is after you play the game through you never start from that point ever again, he always wakes up in the cafe in the next fear mode..unless you start a new game then he starts from the jeep..and if you beat the game you can use the semi FPS camera in a new game so you get to see Harry holding his lighter in the alley in the intro, which is pretty freaky in itself.

[Dot50Cal]

I'd love to call in, but my computer is messed up so I'm using my dad's computer from work. Can't download anything. No Skype. D: Can I send an e-mail or some such thing?

Yeah, thats the new preferred method. We took down the skype call in line. Just send me an mp3 ;) Theres a stick in the forum here with the email.

[Vector]

CR29, I wouldnt play it on the PS3. It has a crappy bug with the firearms, where it plays a screeching sound after you shoot them. This is probably why it was pulled from the Euro PSN, lol.

Damn it, that's lame. All the PS1 games I still own run pretty smoothly on my 60GB.

[TyrackT71]

ive never played any of the silent hill games, this episode will be a learning expirience lol

[Becky's Butt]

Though I made sure I know the story of each SH game I've only actually played 2 and 4. And since going by what I know those two definitely had the best storylines, (and why else would you play a game like Sh or RE; the great game control and voice-actings?) I won't be playing any of the others. Thus, I'll only call in for the podcasts on 2 and 4.

[Rombie]

Dot - If you're a PAL owner of Silent Hill that bug doesn't exist playing it on a PS3... but there could be others (I haven't played that far but I know that screech bug isn't in the PAL version anyway).

AJ - Wow, I totally forgot about that camera in the game... that was one of my fav things to do once I unlocked that, go around reading all the signs and stuff.

Nikkolas - The story for the original Silent Hill, prior to 3 and Origins' screwing with it, was actually better than 4's. Mostly because, and as they kept with Silent Hill 2, it was multi-ended and open to interpretation of the pieces, additionally while AJ's card enhanced screens fail to show, on the original console the enviroments and monsters had a very unique and original design that just was it's own (much like the original MGS on the PlayStation). On top of that it's the first game I can think of that got and deserved an indepth plot analysis and debate because of the possibilities of what was going on, not what wasn't going on. Of course if you've never played it, especially when it came out, then you missed this point and as 3 and Origins now set their own new version of events then it seems a little irrelevant. Still I strongly suggest playing the other two titles if you get the chance... you're missing out on more of the series, and better titles than the last two games especially.

Additionally Silent Hill 4's problem was that the game actually had far more backstory than the actual game showed... there was numerous detailed files on the official Japanese website, which were thankfully translated eventually.

[A-J]

Leg 2


Midwitch Elementry School -> Alchemilia Hospital


a whole bunch of interesting posters here..





School infirmary, as if dialing 911 is going to do any good also funny how the school infirmary thinks of itself as the Silent Hill hospital lol.




The same infirmary from the school as above, in Alternate world. Notice the creepy "Hell is coming" sign in place of the 911 sign.




It's kind of hard to make it out, but the poster says "The Martians Have Arrived". An obvious reference to the UFO ending, also i've read that this is supposed to be a direct reference to the original War of the Worlds as well.




The body of a (formerly) young girl in the elementry school girl's rest room.




The school is littered with interesting posters and drawings, here's two of them. The dog one says "Dog Kill", third word is completely unreadable. And the creepy "A friend in need" one in the background.




Who knew Konami had their own chain of burger stores.




Kinda smudgy, but you can see a poster for Stephen King's "Carrie" on the wall.




Another nod to Stephen King. Pet Sematary poster.




What do you get when you mix Shell and Silent Hill ? Hell of course.



This is found in the police station in central silent hill. It's supposed to be a reference to Psycho, at the end when a skull is super imposed on Norman Bate's face.



The alter in the middle of the lizard boss fight. Look at the round thing below, it resembles the "magnetic sphere" from Event Horizon, or atleast that's what it looks like to me.



Another interesting poster, this is probably one of the many references to some old bands, the center line says "The Big Beat" in reverse.




whe hew.