XGS Che Guevara wrote:
Let me start by saying that I'm a fan of the Silent Hill series. I've played the original Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 4: The Room. Silent Hill Homecoming isn't the best Silent Hill of the series, but IMO it's better than Silent Hill 4: The Room and almost on par with Silent Hill 2.
Okay, here's the review.
CHALLENGE : Silent Hill Homecoming is a very challenging game and is on par with the challenge of other Silent Hill games in the series. Some corporate reviewers have claimed that Silent Hill Homecoming isn't that challenging due to plentiful health pickups and ammo. I can say that claim is false, ammo and health pickups are few and far between most of the time and there were MANY times where I was without ammo for a long period of time (although I did use my firearms a lot because I loves them). The only thing that's plentiful in Silent Hill Homecoming are the enemies, which can be difficult to fight, especially when there are more than one at once.
CONTROLS : Silent Hill Homecoming's controls are a mixed bag. On one hand, the movement, combat and interaction controls are great. On the other hand, the looking sensitivity is slower than what you're probably used to and it does take a while to get used to. The area where Silent Hill Homecoming really shines is with the combat controls. In previous Silent Hill games, combat was about either fight-or-flight like in the original Silent Hill or basic melee/firearms combat with lock-on targeting like in every other Silent Hill. In Silent Hill Homecoming, the combat system has been completely revamped. Now, melee combat is based on timing, dodging and combos and the firearms combat is now free-aim like in most third-person shooters.
GRAPHICS/ANIMATIONS : Silent Hill Homecoming's graphics are the best in the series SO FAR. HOWEVER, when compared to other games on current gen consoles (XB360 and PS3), they don't hold up as well as some other third-person games (but don't let that turn you away because as I said Silent Hill Homecoming does have the best graphics in the series). The animations are pretty good for the most part. Occasionally the framerate will drop but it's not an issue that affects the gameplay.
INTERFACE : The interface in Silent Hill Homecoming is pretty generic. Nothing we haven't seen before.
LENGTH : Silent Hill Homecoming is pretty average in terms of length. I beat it in about 10 hours. However, like every other Silent Hill, there are alternate endings (5 of them) and unlockable costumes/weapons, so there is at least some replay value.
SOUND : Silent Hill Homecoming's sound is great. The series is known for creepy sound effects and an original score. There are plenty of creepy sound effects in Silent Hill Homecoming, but sadly the music is not up to par when compared to past games in the series.
STORYLINE : The story for Silent Hill Homecoming is great and is easily one of my favorites in the series. There are plenty of twists and turns to be had and most of them are impossible to predict. IMO, Silent Hill Homecoming's story is the second most mature in the series (the first being Silent Hill 2). More importantly, the story of Silent Hill Homecoming IS connected to the series.
BOTTOM LINE : If you like the Silent Hill series or even if like true survival-horror games, pick up Silent Hill Homecoming.
Pretty good review, but you missed one catagory, orignality. This game lacks so much of it that made the series so great. It's missing ALL the creepy moments and enviroments. Homecoming is IMO the least scary Silent Hill (havn't played Origins though) It was way to obvious where you needed to go. There are no hard parts in this game, the puzzle solving was incredibly easy. Story is nothing of what Silent Hill is about. I'm not bashing this game, I thought it was decent but nothing compared to previous Silent Hill titles.
