Thanks konami for making this awesome game!!!!!!!!!! One of the best game ever!! Konami is the best publisher ever, i love japan and i love konami and i love konami game like silent hill, pes

Great game.. I think its the best one in the series since Silent hill 2,3 , the graphics are kinda good, combat is OK , and the game is scaries than Dead Space. and while the game have some technial issues/bug, i still think its an amazing game.

PS: i had to give this game a perfect 10 to counter all those trolls one the forums that said they will rate this game 0 , my real score is 8/10

I don't know why everyone is bashing this game it's amazing and the best silent hill since the room. Visuals are outstanding and the creepy silent hill atmosphere is finally revived and the game play is amazing although the combat system is a bit clunky but the silent hill series has always been bad in this regard since the first entry in the series. As for the story it's really interesting and i love the decision making system where your action decides the outcome if the story. Finally the replay value of this game is also great as there many side quests you can find in this game so you can play 2-3 times easily to try different decisions and find new side quests you might have missed. Silent hill fans please buy this game or rent it at least it deserves it.… Expand

Some gameplay elements are taken from the previous few instalments. Most notably is from Silent Hill Homecoming, and a few things from Silent Hill Shattered Memories, such as the over the shoulder chase scenes that were common in memories. It also brings back a few cool things, like the loved classic fixed camera angle. The graphics are by far the best in the series at this time. Sure, visual effects suck big ones, but still, its got some great graphics...The sounds are sometimes creepy, voice acting is very well done, and gunshots sound realistic. But monster sounds and the soundtrack is horrible. Kinda sad that akira could not provide his music this time... and they only allowed mary to do 1 track... hmm... and korn sucks big ones... i did not like the soundtrack.Some of the story is boring at first, but really, starts getting interesting later. Its also kinda sad when you uncover things about murphys deceased little boy... And depending on the end, its nice to see Anne and Murphy become friends.This is a very good change from the previous disappointing titles we got in the series, (Origins, Shattered Memories and Homecoming...), and the story is by far on par with Silent Hill 2 and 3.… Expand

Silent Hill is back with Downpour. All those things that we missed in previous games are here again. The characters, the fog, the story, the gore, everything is back. This is what all SH fans have been waiting for. It may have some bug or a bit of lag, but it can be repared witch an update of the game. Silent Hill is not about gameplay...is about story and ambience. And this one has everything it needs to become the best Silent Hill since the first games of the saga (because SH2 or SH1 are so good that any other SH will be better than them).… Expand

Awesome game.. While its not as good as old Silent hill games its a step in the right direction, and btw that is not my real score i only give it 10 because some people on the forums are saying they will rate this game 0 to lower its user score, i gave it a 8.5/10

From the impressions and reviews I've read so far (aside from ign's farcical attempt) it's almost unanimous that this is the best Silent Hill game in years. Incredible atmosphere, heavy focus on original and creative puzzles, unique and interesting otherworld environments and a captivating and original story. Combat and monster designs have been noted as mediocre for the most part but overall this is a game for Silent Hill fans, but the average gamer who needs everything spoon fed to them might not get that into it. It's been getting good to average reviews so far with the exception of one overtly negative review that failed to provide any info on anything in the game other than technical issues like freezing when autosaving etc. so I would advise people to try and think for themselves where this game is concerned as nothing is more pathetic than blindly following what a review on a site like ign (which has become something of a laughingstock over the past decade) has to say. Having a mind of your own is like totez cool. Honest rating: 8.5/10, rating it higher to counter the little kids giving it a much lower score than it deserves. People who like the old Silent Hill games and psychological horror should love this!… Expand

It's safe to go back silent hill! Downpour feels very similar to the original silent hill games in that the creepy atmosphere is very terrifying, the puzzles are actually challenging, exploration is more prominent, etc. This game is so good I'm actually going to go so far as to say it rivals the third game in my opinion. Get it now!

I think IGN was not too successful in the review of Silent Hill Downpour, as I find it unacceptable to put on a note of 4.5 ... It's a Silent Hill, it may not be as the masterpieces of past generations, but it is a Silent Hill. And mediocre games that do not deserve a pass have fared better this Downpour. I think the work of several years, I think, a good job in a game, should be better rewarded. Konami have been no changes from the direction of play, to the same soundtrack. It's not easy to replace Akira Yamaoka. It is not easy to make a new game with all the weight that the series and the previous chapters.It's not all that easy to adapt to a new game, and I think that some people do not take it into account. They just want to sink the franchise and the game. For everything else, I'm Spanish, and Europe does not leave the game until March 29, but I am quite sure it's not a game of note 4.5, and 6.5 either. Sorry if I made â… Expand

Silent hill Downpour still a good game. Not the best in the series, but still a game to pick up and play all the way through. story is good, get a few scares here and there. the Voice acting is really good and prob the best in the series, it don't seem cheesy and everyone's voice seems to match up just right, Monsters are on the lame side a little bit, but i am happy they didn't Reuse all the monsters from Silent hill 2 and 3 got tired of seeing EVERY monster in the same game. Story is good and i liked this one better then Homecoming. Controls suck BUT its silent hill ALL silent hill games controls suck. Combat is the same way but this is not a Combat game, i see your suppose to RUN from the monsters not stand there and take on 3 at a time. dont come into this game thinking your guy is a MMA fighter or was in the marines or something that is what i see all the bad reviews are for is the bad combat your guy is not a fighter as in all silent hills your just a avg joe reason why i gave it a 8 is because of the monsters (could of been cooler buy hey this is vatra first game so i cut them some slack)… Expand

Silent hill downpour is the best SH game in a long time
The game meets all my expectations of a true silent hill game with a modern day approach.
The story and atmosphere are suburb. voice acting is also really strong.
I haven't been scared of a silent hill game since part 4,and I was worried Downpour was gonna be tame, and not scary, but I'm constantly on the edge of my seat, and is a lot scarier than I thought it would be.
The controls are easy to get a hang of, and the puzzles are original, and fun
The only complaints I have are some of the character designs are a little bland, and rough looking, and the games frame-rate lags, but these issues are small, and don't take away from the great experience.

if your a true silent hill fan you'll love this game… Expand

Why all the negative reviews? I don't see what they are talking about. This game is fantastic. It's atmosphere is great. It's like an alternate version of Alan Wake. It is not perfect with its frame rate dips every now and then, and the fog can't seem to make up its mind weather it wants to fade closer or farther away, but this is a good game. The graphics are great! They are far from lousy. It looks like any other recent console game. It is very scenic! Calming and creepy at the same time. There are fixed camera areas which I don't like, but its fine. My only complaint is you can't save whenever you want. Only at checkpoints. The game deserves a higher score from all the well known review sites. The combat is fine. Quit nit picking. How is it dull or boring? I love walking around and exploring. It's got a lot more going for it than most games lately. 10/10… Expand

"Silent Hill is back with Downpour. All those things that we missed in previous games are here again. The characters, the fog, the story, the gore, everything is back. This is what all SH fans have been waiting for."
Yes! This is the best Silent Hill since SH2!!! Can't wait next Silent Hill game from VATRA!

Silent hill is my favorite video game series.I consider most of the games excellent with the best being 1,2,3 and Homecoming.So i am not new to the series,since I have been playing these games since the release of the original Silent Hill and have not missed a game since.Now let's start with Downpour.I have been playing like crazy since the release and I can say I am hooked.It is the scariest,creepiest and most 'deep' SH since SH2-3.The environments are really well-designed and evoke feelings of fear and anxiety.If you play the game by yourself in total darkness you will know what I mean.The immersion is really great here.Some jump scares really made me jump too!The music and overall sound is excellent (and that comes from someone who LOVES Yamaoka's work). No one will be disappointed. The game provides the best plot and main character since SH2.Murphy is maybe the most interesting main character of the series and is by far the most expressive.The monsters are not THAT great but are decent and quite scary/disturbing and provide some nasty surprises.Combat is a bit 'weak' at times but not as bad as they say.Fans of real survival horror will not have any problem,it just isn't like a modern action game's combat.The other-world is really well designed and creepy/confusing and will play with your mind a lot.The chase sequences are much better than Shattered memories and are a nice touch to the experience rather than a pain in the butt.The bad thing with the game is the frame rate drop but I hope they will fix it soon ( it is not TOO bad btw,just annoying).The city itself is carefully designed and really atmospheric and creepy (as most places you will explore).The side quests are a nice surprise too,with some of them being quite puzzling or frightening.The game also has a lot of cool moments to spare ( like the 'train' sequence and many more).In conclusion if you want a game with great story,excellent main character ( and character development),creepy atmosphere,cool soundtrack and nice exploration and don't mind some technical issues you will love Downpour.In my opinion it is the best SH since SH2.Just have some patience and don't dwell in the past and you will have a really great experience.… Expand

Not much to say. Team Silent couldn't have made it any better! Likable protagonist, nice story, good music, creepy atmosphere, stressful other-world. Silent Hill: Downpour made a great step forward!

Silent Hill Downpour is a good game, though the glitches like framerate and save-stops hurt the mood they will be adressed so it is probably a good option to buy in the next months, while some of the pro-reviews are hard to the game I think they are losing the point, this is a survival horror, so combat is hard, control does not allow for combos, monsters can overpower you easily, itis not Dead Space but I think the story and mood are actually better.There are some good scares in the game, the developers found creative ways to plug you inside the tale. The sidequest are an awesome thing, at least two of them able to freak you out and make you feel incredibly sad at the same time. I have found so far references to SH0, SH2, SH3, the biggest one is of SH4 and cool details for SH 5 HC, no clue if I lost a SH1 and SHSM. For old school survival horror this is as good as it gets, I do not know if it is the best game since SH3 but it is the best survival horror since the Siren remake.… Expand

Despite some technical problems, Silent Hill Downpour is one of my favorite western developed Silent Hill games. Memorable characters, beautiful music, eerie atmosphere and thought provoking symbolism. If you are looking for a true survival horror game then get this.

Amazing game! Great atmosphere, creepy and funny, wonderful plot, no more framerate problems (patch), so, what I gotta say, WALCOME TO SILENT HILL!!!!

People who bash this game are idiots and only do it cause they claim to be OG Silent Hill fans. We don't need SH 1, 2, 3, or 4. We need a game that doesn't stutter every time you walk in new room. Downpour is great aside from the tech. problems. The combat is good comparing it to the older games. The shooting is great if you aren't autistic. The soundtrack and story are all good. Get over yourselves people, minus the bugs in this game, it could be the greatest thing to touch this series since SH: 3.… Expand

Stop listening to the critics!This is one of the best games I have played.And I have played a lot.The developers have put a lot of love in this game.They can be proud of their Silent Hill.Go buy this!You will not regret it!Thank you Vatra and Konami for this great game!

Silent Hill has never been about advanced combat mechanics, stylish gameplay or flashy graphics. It's always been about story, characters, art direction and the dark atmosphere. This game is what a Silent Hill is supposed to be and it delivers in all the elements that make this series so unforgettable. It's quite puzzling how Homecoming was butchered for not sticking with the Silent Hill classic gameplay yet those same professional sites trash this game to death for not "evolving" to the standards they are now used to. Trust me on this one, if you have followed this series for a long time, or you value an adult, dark and well told story, you won't be disappointed. My advice: do not take game reviews from sites like IGN as absolute, indisputable and correct in every way, reviews provide a single opinion or perspective (this review does it as well), so I prefer to try things myself to make up my mind.… Expand

Silent hill downpour is game truly based on the roots of survival horror.it has it's issues as little framerate slowdowns and a clunky combat system but into it's heart lives the town of silent hill.Great story and a very good sound score makes it unique and special.Reviewers are based on its combat system.i loved it and i hope Vatra games to be the company that will continue the saga...

Silent Hill has been one of my favorite game series since I was young, and I can honestly say that this is true to the games original routes. With the occasional fixed camera angles, the revealing yet un-revealing story and the characters are so original and great, just as the originals were. I love Murphy, as it is hard to tell if he is good or evil at this point, a neutral hero that you craft with the choices you make in the game. The graphics and color scheme, in my opinion, are also very good. Though it does not look as good as games like Dead Space, it is still a very high caliber game in the graphics department. The color scheme is also very dark and horrifying, I think that its easy on the eyes but not only that, the dark tones make moving into new areas a harrowing experience. When I move into a new area thats dark in tones I don't feel happy or energetic I know that its dark and it helps me to set my tone appropriately. The combat system is great in my opinion. It moves back to the old Silent Hill combat systems. Its wonky, but its survival horror so what do you expect? It's supposed to be difficult. The blocking and swinging and the breaking of weapons makes the combat feel frantic, hurried and horrified. I've also heard complaints that there isn't enough ammo for guns.... REALLY? In a survival horror game, not enough ammo?! OOHHHH **** PLEASE! Anyway, the game is great. There aren't many enemies but the current enemies are horrifying and scary looking, the originals didn't have much variety either, they usually reskinned enemies later with similar AI. All in all, besides some technical glitches and framerate issues, this is one of the best Silent Hill games i've played.… Expand

I have never fet foot in Silent Hill. But this game. I am really loving it! Only for fans who aren't ashamed to be freaky, geeky and creepy! :P
ps: Combat is not that bad on easy settings.

silent hill downpour is an incredible game thats capture the old school spirit of the silent hill series good grafics creepy atmosphere and really scare moments. ignore ign score , the game is exellent

Grabbing your attention from the start we find Murphy Pendleton, a prisoner, to be morally ambiguous. Is Murphy a good guy in a bad situation...a good guy who got off track or a bad guy from the start? These are the questions that follow you throughout the game as even the loading screen seems to taunt you with accusations of "Why are you lying?" and "Was it worth it?".

What and who Murphy is will be determined by you...by the choices you make and in how you play the game. With quite a few sidequests in a free roam environment and several different endings the game warrants more than one playthrough. While the puzzles and chase scenes can sometimes seem daunting, completing these challenges (which sometimes takes patience) will leave you with a feeling of great accomplishment. Nothing less than a pleasant surprise and a pure pleasure.… Expand

O jogo está bom justamente porque manteve-se fiel às raízes da série. O problema é que muitas vezes os jogadores esperam que a evolução do jogo traga uma mudança drástica na mecânica do jogo. Silent Hill é isso aí que vocês estão vendo, simples desse jeito. Graças a Deus que não se transformou em um jogo cheio de pancadaria ou tiros. Na boa quem estiver procurando mais combate, mais tiro e pancadaria, melhor procurar por Resident Evil, porque aqui o que temos é o bom e velho estilo Silent Hill de fazer terror, e que bom!
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The game is good precisely because they stayed true to the roots of the series. The problem is that often the players expect the evolution of the game bring a drastic change in game mechanics. Silent Hill that's it you are seeing, simple like that. Thank God that did not turn into a game full of beatings or gunfire. In the good who are looking for more fighting, more shooting and beating, look for best Resident Evil, because here we have is the good old style of Silent Hill to terror, and that good!… Expand

Downpour is very good and rare game, surely the best SH game made on playstation 3 and the best SH since SH2 and 3. Really i enjoy this game. This game got sOme glitches, but for me it's solid 9/10

IN DEPTH, LONG REVIEW:

In Silent Hill Downpour, you play as convict Murphy Pendleton. Though you don't know why he's in prison, you do see that he deserves to be there. After a particularly brutal scene in a shower that serves as the game's combat tutorial, Murphy is being transferred to another prison when the bus transporting him and a half dozen or so other inmates crashes and tumbles down the side of a hill. Unfortunately for Murphy, this takes him into the dreary monster infested town of Silent Hill.

It may sound like a simple start to a story, and that's because it is. The beauty of this opening is that, much like Silent Hill 1 & 2, you don't have to know the lore of Silent Hill. You don't have to know its tropes, its back story, or anything about it at all, really. All you have to know is that you're Murphy Pendleton, and strange things are afoot in the quaint titular town.

This is all the exposition needed, and it lets itself be known from the beginning. The way this story is told is absolutely excellent. Instead of having cutscene after cutscene after cutscene, you piece most of it together yourself through different newspaper articles, in-game storytelling and your own wit. It's quite simply one of the best executions of storytelling I've seen in any video game ever. Period.

Story isn't all that's here, though. While it may be one of the huge draws to the game for me, personally, the gameplay here is just as good as any Silent Hill deemed a classic. You wander through the beautifully rendered yet unnerving town with one simple objective; Escape from Silent Hill. Things aren't so simple, though. Most roads are closed off, or worse, simply missing; leaving nothing but an impossible chasm in the distance. As Murphy, you have to traverse your way through this meticulously detailed town to escape. That's your motivation, and with monsters, black hole entities wanting to swallow you, and characters that would seem "off" to any sane person, it's quite a good goal for Murphy and in turn, the player, to have.

Thankfully since this town, while not exactly huge, is extensively detailed, you'll have a blast exploring, solving puzzles, collecting items and searching for that perfect weapon to take down the, admittedly, terribly designed monsters with.

Even with poor monster design, the game is absolutely filled to the brim with frightening moments. From monsters jump scares to the eerie sounds of cries in sparsely lit apartment buildings, there are a lot of moments packed in that either made my skin crawl or jump out of my seat. This used to be a normal occurrence in the PS1 days, but the reason it's so noteworthy here is because horror games simply aren't made like this anymore. The atmosphere is downright creepy, and sometimes you really will feel unnerved. This is what survival horror is supposed to feel like, and I applaud Konami for taking this direction with the series again.

Downpour feels like, if anything, a modernized version of the first 3 Silent Hill games with a much more realistic behaving protagonist. Through playing, Murphy will say things that you, the player, are probably thinking yourself. He gets frustrated when the oddball cast of characters aren't being straight with him, curious when it comes to puzzles, or absolutely frightened when a monster jumps out at him. This is extremely effective, since I felt I haven't empathized with a character in a Silent Hill game this much, ever. I felt bad for Harry in the first game. I thought James, in the end, was a bad person in the second game. Murphy Pendleton ended up being one of my favorite Silent Hill protagonists of all time due to this reason, and VATRA games deserves to be credited for all of their amazing work on this guy.

The game, as a whole, looks great. The lighting effects are gorgeous, as are the main character models. Murphy himself moves realistically, and even the way his clothes move (particularly his prison outfit in the beginning of the game) looks absolutely wonderful. It's a very realistic look that payed off.
However, in taking that realistic design choice, parts of the game get the short end of the stick. The framerate for instance, in particular areas can literally stutter along. Texture pop in is commonplace. The former can become quite a problem, even leading to some freezes, but the latter, not so much. Much like the bad monster design, these are terrible blemishes on an otherwise near-perfect survival horror outing.

Silent Hill Downpour is a game that deserves to be played. It quickly seems to be fading into obscurity, and it seems people are willing to dismiss it based on the merit that it's a newer Silent Hill game, but even with its problems and bad reputation, Silent Hill downpour is the only new classic feeling survival horror game I've played within at least 5 or more years.

With outright amazing storytelling and a dauntingly detailed world, Downpour is going to live on as an underrated cult classic.… Expand

Silent Hill DownPour is a good game of horror and also a classic,it has great jumpscares and great graphics even for a horror game like this,so who ever wants to play a good Horror game Silent Hill DownPour is the perfect one !!!

I'm not going to lie and say this game is perfect, but I definitely think it deserves more credit than it's given. Downpour takes an interesting direction with the franchise by opening the world up greatly. The semi-open world is filled to the brim with depression and melancholy. Some people may find the game simply boring since exploration is very slow-paced. You can't exactly run around like you would in a sandbox game like GTA or an RPG like Skyrim. There's a pseudo fast-travel system via subway stations that takes you to the few major hubs (major as far as Silent Hill Downpour goes). One thing they haven't failed to do is create a sense of complete loneliness as you play. Yes you encounter other people in the game, but the moments are so fleeting; and once they're gone, the dreadful loneliness sets back in immediately. To me this is one of the major calling cards for Silent Hill and I'm glad they haven't abandoned it. Overall, the developers took a rather simplistic approach with the new features, and I think they did a good job. There are things I do dislike about this game. Visually it's not top-notch, which isn't an issue for me, but their liberal use of sun shafts (which are extremely low quality) definitely have an adverse effect on the visuals. Looking up where the sun "appears" to be creates these awfully low resolution, low-precision rays of light. I feel like ever since the original Crysis came out, other developers just slap sun shafts in their games and call it realistic. It only looks realistic when it looks believable. Yes the thick fog in Silent Hill would definitely allow for sun shafts to exist in the real world, but the sun shafts need to LOOK real to begin with. They just look awful in this game. Apart from the visuals, the combat is wonky. Shooting isn't really bad to be honest. I don't expect it to be 1:1 since Murphy probably isn't proficient with firearms to begin with. That's why they have the moving crosshair to emulate that he doesn't have a steady hand when aiming. Still, it's fairly easy to hit your target. Melee combat is where it gets wonky, but it still works. I think it works far better than it did in Homecoming. It just gets old after a while. I highly recommend you put both puzzle and game difficulty to Hard. You should also do yourself a favor and try and go for the "Good Behavior" achievement where you don't kill any monsters. It'll provide a huge challenge and you won't have to deal with the wonky melee combat as much. Anyway, another issue I have has to do with exploring. I love exploring Silent Hill because of the melancholic atmosphere it boasts. The problem is...Murphy is extremely slow. You can "run" but it's hardly any faster than walking. The fast travel is there but it's very minimal, not to mention it takes a while to actually gain access to it. It's not like Skyrim where you open a map and pick a location and you teleport. You literally have to walk to a subway station and ride a train. I like how it's integrated in to the game, but you only really use it to get to a different hub area. Actually exploring a hub area can be tedious because of how slow Murphy moves. If they made him move as fast as he does while engaging a monster, it would make exploring ten times better. Regardless, once you discover a new secret or a new house to enter, you feel rewarded. I also love the little mysteries they put in to the game that you can solve. They give the series a bit more depth. Rather than being solely horror, it adds an element of mystery to the series that I think goes hand in hand. The last major issue I have with this game is how they implemented the whole alternate world aspect that the series has always had. They're mostly boring chase scenes and you don't really get to actually explore. Not to mention the visuals are rather boring to be honest. Some of the level design appears to be very situational and thoughtless at times. I loved how in Homecoming (and all the other games for that matter) the alternate world actually resembled the real world architecturally. In Downpour the alternate world is way more farfetched and odd, not to mention totally NOT scary in the least. This is probably where I was most disappointed with the game. Needless to say, it didn't keep me from enjoying the game as a whole. I do recommend this game, especially now since it's cheap. I got it for $18 used at Best Buy. Totally worth it.… Expand

If you're here looking for a review of this game by a member of the Silent Hill fan-base that you can count on, please bear with the length of this review and I'll make it worth your time. Ignore the fake tens, ignore the forever vengeful - I know what you're here for, to find out the answer to the question, "Is it safe to go back to Silent Hill?" and I'm here to tell you, that while I will pull NO punches in my critique, the answer is a fairly solid "Yes!" Seeing as how the franchise has been sliding downhill for years longer than it stood proud, I'm not even sure how to handle praising it anymore - every flaw in Downpour makes me want to tear it down but one must keep in mind, the originals had their flaws as well. But let's start with the good, shall we? GRAPHICAL QUALITY won't win any awards, but it's up with the times. The worst aspect is the shadow effects of light on water or through trees, but if you can forgive that, the visuals will do just fine for your stay. THE SOUNDTRACK is phenomenal. Licht deviates from Yamaoka only in two ways - first, he takes Yamaoka's style and bends it to the will of music composition. The industrial sounds are here, the mandolin is here, the guitar is here - but you could lay it out as sheet music if you needed to, and it's masterfully done to the degree that this formulaic approach does not detract from even the chase scenes. Also, a bit of realism is mixed in as, throughout the entire game, radios within Silent Hill will play you real world music spanning from modern indie performers all the way back to Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra. Cast your doubts aside, Licht deserves praise for this job. PERFORMANCE is iffy (-1 point). The game tries to load in real time, but can't keep up - this will often cause the game to stutter and jump. There's no way around it - this is a problem you will either come to terms with or not. GAMEPLAY stays about 90% true to the Silent Hill formula. The interaction options have been expanded to make use of the Dualshock 3, so that's nice, but the two main differences are as follows: (1) The long-winded puzzles and sidequests that make the old Silent Hill games are now completely optional. I think this is GREAT. The game may feel more shallow when speed running it, but I'm thankful for the option. (2) The Otherworld doesn't make you repeat the same area with different skin; and it's not slow terror. The Otherworld makes you run - makes you keep up. It's linear suspense in a dissolving landscape. I can't say whether this is good or bad, it's just a total departure from the series roots. Hey, if that's how Murphy sees it, that's how he sees it. I just hope this isn't all it has to offer from here on - I'd like to see some variety in the future. COMBAT is clumsy but responsive and fast paced. It's not going to win any programming awards, but it keeps that "average Joe" feel to it that feels right at home in Silent Hill. Finally, what you're probably here for. MONSTER DESIGN is my main area of complaint; I'm docking a whole point for it. It completely does away with SH's "vaguely human / disturbing" forms and goes straight for "mutilated human / badass" forms, starting with basic enemies right out of The Suffering and all comes down to THE BIG BAD basically being the Tyrant-103 (Mr. X) from Resident Evil in a gas mask. This game could gain 10% of my love back with a mob-mod. (Sorry, creature guy. You just missed the point. They're good, they're just not Silent Hill.) THE STORYLINE is a welcome addition to the canon (Is it snowing on the hills of hell? I never thought I'd say that about Silent Hill again.) Cast aside your expectations to find out WHAT the protagonist has done - this time we're here to explore HOW AND WHY they did what we already know has been done - and the journey is satisfying; it's not "I'm going to cry, that was wonderful" levels of amazing, but it's worth your time n' dime. Also, and this is a HUGE bonus, there's a book hidden in the library that satisfyingly explains why THE ORDER of SH1 ~ 3 was only one chapter of Silent Hill, only one incarnation of it's power, only one group of people involved in a rotating door of the terrors of the realm. REPLAY VALUE is average, it'll take 3 playthroughs to see all endings, but with speed run being an option, just picking it up to blow through the story would be satisfying any time! ALL IN ALL, Downpour is a damn solid release - don't let anyone tell you it's perfect, but don't let anyone tell you it's terrible, either. All that remains is to see if KONAMI has finally pulled their head out of their ass and given Silent Hill a new beginning (and Downpour is a GREAT Chapter 1 of a new Saga), or of VATRA just got lucky. For now, Downpour is a solid 8/10 - here's hoping for a bright future.… Expand

This game is... Really fun, critics have been really harsh most of the time but do not make the mistake of trusting the negative nellies! The whole "focus on combat" is not true at all, sure there are fighting, but as far as I know combat can be avoided completely. That being said, first time doing a puzzle might not be easier if a monster is eating your ass... Overall, the combat is clunky, but I'd still say it works fine but it'll be tricky in tight spaces. I played the game on normal and there were no shortage of those medkits so as long as you'll keep using them in a smart manner you wont exactly die soon. I also stacked up alot of bullets, looking back I really could have used my items alot more. Gameplay in this game is generally balanced, it works for this game quite well, as for graphics and sound those two things also worked well, you will see pop-in textures but honestly it was nothing that will ruin the expeirence. The music is also really awesome, Daniel Licht has really done a great job. Ok, to my complaints, the story, while pretty good took a bit too long to get started, and once it did it felt like it just let go... I can't describe it really, however it was still fine, nothing really bad about it. I played the game on the Ps3 and it does have a few technical problems, I encountered framerate stuttering and several glitches, one where monsters would simply not attack me. I hope they fix the game because the atmosphere was great and I do plan on replaying the game again one day, this game is recommended! Although it's worth noting that for a horror game, it's not really THAT scary, it's more disturbing, sure you will problably jump a few times but those hoping to **** your pants will be disappointed. Still, overall a good game, 8/10.… Expand

Game is good, it has a lot of easter eggs to find from games of the past which adds to the idea of being in the same town of Silent Hill which is great. Combat isn't horrible, melee works fairly well and ammo is scarce which allows it to play out more like a "survival horror" game than Resident Evil or Dead Space (Not to say they are bad games - they are great but have definitely become more action oriented vs survival horror nowadays which is something Downpour is definitely not and feel it deserves credit in that respect because games like this are scarce nowadays). Personally...Korn??...really..smh... I know they have a fan base but WRONG DIRECTION for this game for the intro song, I absolutely hate that they are associated with this title but thats more personal preference and won't let it affect the score because it doesn't affect gameplay however it still doesn't set a good mood. Most enemies are downright horrible looking and don't even seem to look right in the world, almost as if they pop out because of how stupid they look. But there is a few here and there that are okay at best and the game is more focused on exploration so run away if you don't feel like dealing with them. Aspects of it feel like Alan Wake with the radio sequences even the beginning part feels like Bright Falls which isn't necessarily bad but feels like its trying to borrow too much from other titles than making its own mark in the world. Because it borrows a lot from good games of the past, it does to some things right, but its not entirely original and at times feels more like fun house scares vs true horror. I would love to see more Silent Hill games so I hope the developers read consumer criticism and work with it. Its a good attempt and don't regret it but leaves some to be desired. It would be nice if you can change the control scheme but not a deal breaker. These devs have a lot of potential and should be given input so they can bring this franchise back, bashing them doesn't help anyone. Overall I am ENJOYING this game quite a bit. It nice to get away from current trends and like how it doesn't hold your hand which veteran Silent Hill fans will appreciate it more than newcomers. It sits between a 7/8 for me but went with an 8 to help with the 0's some people gave.… Expand

Havent played a Silent Hill since The Room. I never cared for the Room but this was highly enjoyable.

Tons of secrets and sidequests, interesting version of hell and new combat system make this highly enjoyable. Some crap: Graphics are deffinately getting dated for this gen, little to no direction for sidequests, enemies are kinda boring, seemed sort of easy

Positive: New combat system/inventory system, intuitive controls, water/elemental motif is a welcome change, new sidequests all through out town, cool secrets making references to past games… Expand

If the town of Silent Hill has done one thing since its glory days, its pay the water bill. This is the continuation of the Downpour review you have been looking for and is spoiler free. I cannot fit all I want to say, so this is just the main focus. I wrote an early review in the first stages of the game to clear some questions floating around so feel free to find it and take a look, and compare. In that review I discuss my love for Silent Hill and explain why my opinion can be highly respected for the series as well as my honesty towards it. So, onto Downpour. First off, having now beaten the game, I can safely say this is the best Silent Hill since The Room. Many have purchased this game now I am sure, as I played the game extremely slow and could probably platinum it with one more playthrough, but nonetheless, I said I would review it good or bad, so here goes. Vatra worked hard on this game and it shows. This is the closest Silent Hill has come to returning to its golden age. The game is atmospheric, it is scary, it is creative, and it is intriguing. The game is careful to remain true to its roots but not at all afraid to venture into new territory, and this is perhaps what the game is best at. It is impressive how it can feel like part 2 at times, please fans of the first four, borrow from the entire series, including the comics, ignore the movie and most of Homecoming, and also feel like something completely new to the series. I spent much of my time during Downpour smiling away, remembering the good old days, and getting a warm fuzzy feeling even in the games dampest of scenes. Though the game is not at all perfect I truly enjoyed it, especially the first two acts. The third act, aside form technical things I will mention below, is the games only complete flaw. Story wise the third act is not horrible but not at all great, but what truly bugged me about it was the lack of creative steam, and the emphases on typical combat and linear style action. This game is not an action game, it has less combat than Homecoming but more than any other Silent Hill, give or take Origins, but the final stage of the game is a bit of rage quitter and really dampens the games reputation. Very easily forgotten are the great moments that just proceeded, but honestly for a true fan of the series, all can be forgiven, as long as you dont hate the final outcome. There are multiple endings and I found mine to be...above average. Downpour is also flawed technically a bit. My last review stated the graphic issues, the lag, and hiccups. Its not awful though, just a slight annoyance, most of the time I saw right past it. The combat is odd and stiff but as mentioned as well in my previous review, it was intentional and worked. The combat, when not being smothered, feels legit in that Murphy is human and not a space marine or swordsmaster. Some will find it irritating but many will find it familiar as it is inspired by the Ps1 and Ps2 era of Survival Horror, and that is exactly what this game is, a true Survival Horror. Flight will always win over fight throughout your entire stay in Silent Hill this time around. And when it begins to rain rather hard you may just want to step in doors and dry off for a few minutes. The creatures in this game are not the best in the series, there are only a handful of enemies and they are far less imaginative or symbolic as previous games give or take Homecoming. Though they can frighten you if they attack in the right setting at the right time. I didnt not like the enemies but I wish there could have been more, or that they could have been tweaked a little more on the psychological side. My only other issue would be the alternate worlds, they arent quite as imaginative or scary as past installments but they work in the world of Downpour. I believe this takes care of any negatives, as for positives they far out weigh the bad. This is Silent Hill as we love it, you will be thinking, screaming, and then thinking again. The town feels as if it can hear you and see you, dark hallways still suck to walk through, and even away from combat you dont feel safe. I screamed out loud a few times which is impressive. I was constantly nervous and seldom was allowed to rest easy. I was intrigued throughout the story, and kept trying to guess the outcome and can gladly say I was mostly incorrect, mostly. The addition of side quests is great and honestly at times can be the scariest parts in the game, and some are extremely creative. Silent Hill has not felt this good in a very long time. I still have to place the first four in front of it, but I could see some ranking it above The Room, though I think you would be crazy to place it any higher. From awesome easter eggs to the old school vibe this is a game that true Survival Horror fans and Silent Hill die hards alike can enjoy, so prepare for a wet weekend and experience a long awaited successful trip to the town that takes all. Silent Hill. 7.5 - 8.0 out of 10.… Expand

SH Downpour is a fun,creepy and sometimes scary game. The story, voice acting and soundtrack are great.
I noticed that most reviewers were complaining about the combat controls, I personally found nothing wrong with them they are primitive but they work. The game adopts a open world kind of feel with side quests and secrets and it feels fresh. I also like the rain mechanic like if it rains their are more monsters on the streets so it's a good idea to find shelter in a nearby building. It's not a perfect game it suffers from technical difficulties and some poor textures however if you like Silent Hill or survival horror games you have to check it out.… Expand

Okay! I just finished the game yesterday. First of all, the critics have their heads so far up their behinds that they can't see in front of them much less seeing a good game to know it. This is the best Silent Hill, in my humble opinion, since Silent Hill 3. However, the PS3 version has some serious performance issues, lag being the worst of all. Another issue were glitchy save checkpoints. For example, I ran into one area, and the game had to load, then when I took a few steps, it had to load AGAIN just to put me at the same place it had just started me. On a good note, this game has plenty of references to previous games and plays in the same spirit as the previous games. Die-hard fans will be upset that the music for this game was composed by a different person. But in all fairness, I like this guys musical score just as much or maybe even a little bit better than the previous guy. The game offers plenty of puzzles, chases through maze-like maps, freaky moments, and just about everything all the other best Silent Hill games have offered. My advice to the critics: If you like the first game that much, just keep playing the first game if you cannot give a more accurate review to the later games.… Expand

My introduction to the Silent Hill mythos was Homecoming which I had completely enjoyed I feel Downpour is a great addition to the survival horror genre. I won't mention the main technical flaws that have been covered immensely, but those flaws did not sway my reasoning for liking this game. The main reason why I am liking this game (I'm not all the way through) are the little things that are used to convey fright and fear. The sound of children's ghostly laughter, crying, and talking added an element which gave the game the atmosphere which I crave in these types of games. I've read about how some players aren't enjoying the lack of weapon carrying and breakage of weapon. The game designer has said in interviews that he wanted to bring back a more realistic feel when it comes to weapon inventory. I agree in this case and that is what is needed in the horror survival game. The element of rain was amazing in Downpour that gave the game a horror film feel allowing the player the choice of seeking shelter to avoid enemies or pushing forward and taking their chances with said enemies. Downpour is a rare game in that it's freaking me out more than with other games. It has a Jacob's Ladder feel to me. The combat is a bit loose, but I accepted that because our main character, Murphy, is not a combat leaning character. SH: Homecoming's combat was more tighter because its main character, Alex, is trained in combat. Downpour is a nice addition to the horror survival genre and I'm hoping more people give this game a chance before condemning it.… Expand

As a huge fan of early Silent Hill games, I was definitely hesitant to buy Downpour as it looked like a serious departure from the classics. Bad reviews from trusted sites made me even more hesitant but I went with my heart and dropped the $60 and I am glad I did. Although at times Downpour doesn't feel like a Silent Hill game, at its core Konami threw in enough references to delight Silent Hill fans of the past. That said, this is not a perfect game by any means. There is noticeable frame rate drops at times and the combat is clunky at best. At times, the game looks gorgeous and we see parts of Silent Hill we never knew existed, then at other times we wish certain areas stayed hidden. At times during the story, you are given a choice that really comes down to, 'Are you good, or are you bad' but these decisions really hold no weight at all which is a real disappointment. With those downfalls, I still could not pry myself away from Downpour and had a great time searching every nook and cranny. Please do yourself a favor and at least try the game. For every bad thing you've heard about the game, there are two good things about it. This is a game that will keep you on the edge of your seat and I know I will come back to it again and again.… Expand

I'll been a fan of Silent Hill since the first game came out and I found this rather enjoyable. The game take the series back to the classic roots, creepy atmosphere, fixed camera angles and a trilling storyline. Although I did felt the there were some issues with bugs, dull animation and combat. I felt that Vatra Games should have improve these things in the final release of the game. I did like how Murphy will give hints by talking to himself, I felt that it was a good way to help people. I also liked the music by Daniel Licht, I think he does a great job after taking over from Akira Yamaoka. I wouldn't say this is the best Silent Hill ever yet a good one, I hope that the next Silent Hill will be an improvement from Downpour.… Expand

Don't listen to game reviews who are stuck in the past. They hold this game to a ridicoulously higgh standard that almost no game now can achieve (Silent Hill 2). this game is good in its own right with a great story and interesting enviroments to explore. Quit crying and saying the series sucks now cause it dosn't by far. It just changed slightly

I

Its the best looking Silent Hill thus far, but its not without some issues. This game is by no means perfect. At times, its far from it. However with a strang and engaging story to follow, with the good ole Silent Hill twists, this game manages to deliver.

Pros:
Great Visuals. The best this series has had.
Also showcase of the world changing to the other form, similar to the movies. A solid combat system with a large variety of weapons.
A new flashlight system that is vary adaptable.
Great use of sound to add to the fear.
Nods to past games. Always a plus in my book.
A great use of main narrative and side characters to help the story along.

Cons:
Glitches, Bugs, Lags. The game can get a little jumpy at times and feel like a lag for a single player game.
Enemy designs arnt the best for some.
Item management. Why do you need 2 pistols? why not just be able to take the ammo from one so you can keep a weapon slot ready.

Over all, I am liking this game alot, even with its issues. It may not be perfect, but for any Silent Hill fan, its worth a play. Buy it or dont buy it. I know where I stand.… Expand

Exploring Murphy's head and uncovering is story was great, some unexpected story twists helped the plot too. This is one of my favorite Silent Hill game and i don't matter the critic score, or people saying this series is dead. I believe that with this awesome game it will recover and i still wish for a Silent Hill game with the quality of the second or the third. This one really beats Silent Hill Homecoming. Only bad thing in this game was some technical problems like glitches and incredibly messed auto saving loading. But it is a 8 in my opinion would be 9 but i take 1 point due to the technical problems (0.5 points) and for the bad design of some monsters and the lack of epic boss fights that we had in previous games (0.5 points).… Expand

The characters of Silent Hill: Downpour are Murphy Pendleton (David Boyd Konrad), a prison inmate who has been incarcerated for several years in a correctional facility for stealing a police cruiser and crossing state borders. Officer Anne Cunningham (Kristin Price), who holds a grudge against Murphy; corrections officer George Sewell (Joel Bernard), a corrupt man who uses his position to get away with murder; Corrections officer Frank Coleridge (Leer Leery), an honest man who sees good in Murphy; and Pat Napier (John Grace), Murphy's former neighbor, a pedophile and child killer.
Murphy Pendleton makes a deal with corrupt officer George Sewell to gain access to sequestered pedophile, Pat Napier, and murder him. Later, Murphy is sent to another penitentiary under the supervision of officer Anne Cunningham. The transport vehicle is forced to swerve off road to avoid a chasm in the road. Which happens to crash in to the town of Silent Hill, a town where fear and torment are inescapable.
In my opinion it actually feels more like a movie, but fits the dark and gritty Silent Hill series.

The controls in Downpour feels like it's dated, the combat is usually very hard and clunky, but the clunky part feels right for Murphy, I mean he is not a trained mercenary. Most of the enemies feel like creatures I have seen in other games. There is lots of sidequests to take to keep you going for a couple of hours, and puzzles which usually takes time to figure out.



It certainly looks good for an 2012 game, but it does not play very well. Every save point the screen tears, it has few notable lags that will annoy you, and even textures takes their time popping in. This isn't as much of a problem on the Xbox 360 though. Silent Hill looks as it should, broken down and abandoned, and of course the gorgeus lightning effects helps to build the fantastic atmosphere. The sound in Downpour is the greatest part of the game. It sets an atmosphere that you cannot compare to any other game in the series. Voice acting is also great, for the most part, some characters just feel like dead stereotypes. Soundtrack in the game are masterfully executed by Daniel Licht.

Silent hill begs to be explored in Downpour. When you have finished your first playthrough and begin your second one, you can find stuff from your first, cool (and unlocks the trophy/achievment diggin' up the past). You can turn up puzzle dificulty to make it more intriguing. Downpour should be played at least twice, as there is several endings.

Vatra games could have waited and polished Downpour a little more before releasing it, but it has done what I was hoping for, it has restored the cold sweaty fear to the series, that feeling you get that someone is always following you around. Downpour isn't beautiful and it has some technical difficulties (Mostly with the PS3), but it does tell an amazing story and will put you on the edge of your seat. Even with all it's flaws, it's still a path worth treading.… Expand

This is my first Silent Hill game, I typically avoid survival-horror games like this because I am a huge chicken, but I've decided that I'm going to toughen up and play some scary games darn it! Downpour proved to be a great place to start because it was just scary enough for me to get into without having to sleep with a light on and preparing me for what the scarier games can do. I was sucked in by the awesome story and incredible setting, learning about why Murphy (the main character) was sent to prison and why he is now in Silent Hill kept me hooked until the end dying to know what is going on, and the town of Silent Hill is so interesting and creepy has me wanting to through all the other games just to find out more about it's dark secrets. I have to praise Vatra for making this a treat to the ears, every little sound spooked me, and some would stop me dead in my tracks. While I enjoyed my time is Silent Hill I have to admit it wasn't perfect do to the clunky gameplay. The games puzzles are fine, but it stumbles with it's combat, exploration, and side-quests. Combat works it's just not interesting and I literally only came across 5 different kinds of enemies, 6 if you count the wall spitters (which I don't).The exploration is interesting but there's not many places to go and barriers seem to be everywhere making it feel restrictive. The side-quests are where I believe the game falters most, several of them are scattered across the town but for most of them your never given the whole picture, you wander around town stumble up on something only to find out you can't progress the quest because you haven't found all the clues which can be in a whole other section of the town, it's like buying a puzzle only to find out most of the pieces to it are hidden in other stores, and do to this I was only able to complete a few of them. So Downpour isn't perfect, but I still did enjoy it. It's a frightening game backed by some truly enjoyable content. If your thinking about playing through this i recommend it even with it's flaws, and I can't wait to make a return to Silent Hill in the future.… Expand

I've already reviewed this game, but I forgot to mention how as you progress futher into the game, the game starts getting buggy as hell. Also when fighting enemies sometime the game lags and then when the game stops laggin Murphy is looking up at the sky all turned around while the enemies attack. Fighting enemies in this game is awful. Everytime you see an enemy you are scared, but not for the right reason. Another annoying thing about this game is the void. I don't know why they put that in this game, no one that I know likes it. The enemies are also unpredictable, which CAN be a good thing, but the fighting in this game is awful enough as it is, the enemies can do combos and sometimes they will punch 1,2 or 3 times in a row, so by the time you let your guard down to attack, the enemy can hit you, you have to guess when to attack, and even if you dont block, and instead move around to hit them that way instead, the enemies move/walk/run faster than Murphy, so if you try and invade by moving around the enemy will run up at you and attack.It's not fun. Hit detection is really bad too. I don' know if you have noticed but sometimes when you hit an enemy directly it wont register.. Shooting in this game is also horrible, the controls don't feel right, and as scarce as ammo is in this game, you'd think that it would do more damage than it does. Side quests are cool, some of the side quests really captured the silent hill feeling. HOWEVER, most of the side quests you do are pointless other than for trophy hunting. You spend 2+ hours on a side quest findind all the things you need, then back track all over the place, and then finish the puzzle at the end, you usually get garbage items fo all that hard work you do. One side quest i did took along time to finish, and the treasure is an axe......You find axes all over the place. If it's not that, then it could be items like a health. I finished all the side quests and on everyside quest I did they gave me something useless in the end. The only side quest worth it was the Homeless one. If you are a trophy hunter than it till isn't worth the time and effort. The side quests are longer than the main story. The shadow trinket sidequest was cool but B.S at the same time. I spent hours looking all over for these trinkets, and 1 or 2 of these trinkets were in weird places. The game also Froze on me 1 time, where I had to restart the console. The autosaves are crap too. Only 2 boss fights, and they weren't special. The loading screen says that the lighter isn't the best source of light, but I find the lighter to be better than the flashlight. Another thing that annoys me about this game, is that when you pick up items , you never know what you are picking up half the time, so you don't know if you are picking up a weapon or an item. This gets annoying when there are enemies attacking you, you see the word "pick up" and you broke your melee weapon so you run and pick up a brick or a stone, and by the time you pick it up you say **** and then the enemy hits you so you run around looking for something better.It's retarded.
Picking up chairs is stupid too, i's more of a last resort. The only melee weapon that I thought was effective was the red axes. I don't hate this game, I find it t be in the right direction for the silent hill series, however these annoyincess do not do this title any justice. I give this a 7 because this time around I actually felt like it was kind of silent hilly.lol. Although still lacking the creepy Japanese horror, ths title still has some spooky times. The side quest where you have to put the crank and record on the player then turn time backwards while watching the events happen that really felt like Silent Hill. Silent Hill 1,2 and 3 are still my favorites, a lot of people didn't like Silent Hill 4, but I actually liked it.
For the next Silent Hill ( if there is one) get rid of the void, more enemies,more bosses, better gameplay, put the inventory screen back the way it was. Make it more darker/eerie. The otherworld really needs to be changed, as it is one of the main components of SIlent Hill, All we do in this game in the otherworld is run away from the void, besides that there my as well not be an otherworld because you are hardly in it anyway. There are a lot of bad things about this game, but I still can't give it lower than a 7, you can tell that they actually DID try to bring back Silent Hill with this game, If I was to judge this game on gameplay, then the game would get a 4. The foundation is there, but a house don't sit too well on a broken one. Fix the flaws so the house wont cave into the ground..… Expand

I must say I'm not a connoisseur of the series. I've played a couple of games and know, at least, what this franchise is supposed to be regarding gameplay, story, sound effects and overall atmosphere. With this in mind, I'm pretty sure SH Downpour delivers it. It's a solid game, with occasional mistakes, and totally worth playing.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS LONG. Silent Hill games are some of the best games in the industry, but they have struggled to make a name for themselves in this generation, like they did back in the PS2 era. People hated Origins, Homecoming, and Shattered Memories, and, as far as the mainstream gaming public is concerned, the franchise's hay-day is over. I'm going to be honest with you, this game makes me angry, not because of its quality, but because of the apathy that most sites seemed to have for this game. From IGN's 4.5/10 review, to the overall lack of coverage of the game before release, I am convinced that the industry has lost sight of what has made it so great in the first place: creativity. The game opens with the player learning the basic combat mechanics in the game by brutally killing a man. If that isn't a departure from norms than I don't know what is. The game's graphics and technicals are, as many reviewers have pointed out, very bad. The frame rate stutters like crazy, load times are long, and the character models leave a lot to be desired. Graphics to me are like icing on a cake, you don't need it, and the cake can taste good without it, but you still wish you weren't just eating glorified bread. That's what this game is, cake without frosting. As for the story, I will say that it is good, but could have been better. There are two characters that serve no purpose (Ricks and the Mailman) and are there to pad for time. The pacing is also off, considering that so much of the game is spent actually getting to Silent Hill. Other than that the story is this game's saving grace, right next to the side missions. Speaking of side missions, the random objectives that will start cluttering your journal are all sorts of fun, if a bit random. I only wish that they had found a way to integrate them with the story a bit more, as they don't hint at the main twist or connect with any of the main themes (as far as I could tell). And now we get to this games biggest issue, the gameplay. The combat is serviceable, I certainly had no issues with it until the last part of the game (which I will **** about later). The chase sequences are over used and boring. The red orb wasn't scary and having to time traps doesn't scare me, it makes me confused (Silent Hill + traps = fail). Also, the monsters are boring and simplistic. Now for the most frustrating aspect of this game, auto-saves. All other Silent Hill games have had save points were we can save our game and work perfectly well as checkpoints, so then why the **** did you think that replacing them with an auto-save function would be better. For the sake of clarification, I don't hate auto-saves (I think they work fine for fast paced games like Uncharted), but if you're going to do so then at least give us the option to save whenever we want. I said the combat was serviceable because, so long as you engage enemies one on one, you will be fine. But this game loves to throw two or three enemies at you at once leading to some frustrating moments with the finicky lock-on system (which locks-on to the enemy you're facing, not the closest). Again this isn't to bad since the auto-save saves before all of these fights, and they never get too incredibly hard. That is until the final level, with the prisoner juggernauts. I entered a room and had to fight (I couldn't run away, there was a puzzle in that room) a prisoner juggernaut and two minions. I had one first aid kit, ten rounds for my pistol and a pipe. Every time I locked-on to an enemy, another would steam roll me from off screen. I was, on multiple occasions, backed into a corner and forced to block the enemies as the take turns using there over long combos (why can they do combos?) until my pipe broke and I ran out of first aid kits. Then I beat them, and realized that the auto-save function fell asleep. And I got stuck on the aforementioned puzzle, while enemies would pop up from out of nowhere. I eventually died, and had to restart from the prisoner juggernaut and the two minions and started the whole process over again. Then there's the final boss, which was a mess to say the least. I don't take issue with the boss or the fight, but rather the developers for using a play mechanic that we only used once and didn't make a point to tell me that that was even a ****ing option. Maybe I just suck, but to run around the boss for fifteen minutes, not knowing how to kill it really pissed me off. Despite all of the graphical issues and the uninspired gameplay, I honestly could have given this game a 9/10. But that last level left a bad taste in my mouth and made me hate what I could have tolerated. This isn't the worst Silent Hill game ever. It isn't even a bad game, but it does make me sad. Silent Hill was once a proud franchise, unafraid of being creative and taking risks. This game is a step in the right direction, but there is still a lot to be done.… Expand

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Silent Hill has always been the Pinnacle of the survival horror genre for gaming. With horrifying monsters, a weird cast of characters, and a disturbing yet unique story, there is a reason that the foggy town of Silent Hill scares people away from playing. With the newest installment, Silent Hill Downpour, you still will have that uneasy feeling while roaming the empty streets. As usual, the campaign was interesting, keeping you guessing about what really was going on for the 7-8 hours of gameplay. Monsters have a tendency to be unpredictable which really helps to keep you on your toes. The graphics were good but was plagued with some framerate drop issues. This can really kill the erie mood of the game when you die and have repeat the process a couple of times. Another issue with the game I found was the combat system. I understand that the Silent Hill franchise was not known for its wonderful combat system but fighting in this game felt like a chore rather. Your weapon would not always register when striking an enemy and when facing multiple enemies, it can be frusturating. There has been a lack of survival horror games of recent. Knowing that Silent Hill is sticking with its old roots is a breath of fresh air. Keep in mind that this is not a game designed for the average gamer because this game is not flawless in any way. But all in all I think Downpour carried the Silent Hill name well and is a survival horror game that fans of the series should not overlook.… Expand

I am a fan of Silent Hill and enjoyed this game. I thought the protagonist was relatable and so far is my favorite protagonist in the series. The story was pretty decent, though in my opinion did not have enough of a meaningful twist as the story in say Silent Hill 2. I don't think I was presented with anything in Downpour that really caused me to stop and think or reflect on what was happening. I thought the graphics and music were great - I especially liked some of the songs on the radios and during the theatre puzzle. The combat was fine for a Silent Hill game. The town was fun to explore and I felt it was atmospheric. I think they could have improved upon the monster design, which I felt were a bit uninspired and had no psychological connection to the protagonist - though some theorists have gone out of their way to stretch possibilities. I also wish some of the frame rate issues were cleared up before release - I experienced slowdowns here and there that made playing less enjoyable. I don't think this is a game that I'll play over and over again, so I'd probably recommend renting this on a long weekend unless your a Silent Hill fanatic and like owning the games in the series.… Expand

Started this game with the sour taste of Homecoming in my mouth still. That said, I have to say of the recent iterations of this amazing series, it almost meets the bar of the first of the series, but certainly falls short with some poorly played out (although good) sequences. The acting is definitely a lame point, but then again its always been pretty surreal and sultry. The soundtrack is what killed me. Definitely a huge part of the series that just fell way too short to make the cut in my humble opinion. After playing through downpour ( and suffering through a very misplaced and crappy country song in the credits ), I tried the original Silent Hill for a hot minute and was instantly swept into it by the CREEPY soundtrack. Not once did I feel that in Downpour. The combat is about what its always been to the series, slow and painful at times. All that having been said, the graphics are certainly to date and nice most of the time if the game is not clipping or reloading the fog when you pan around. Kinda lame but when none of the technical issues are happening, its quite the atmosphere to take in (once again, minus the soundtrack). Although it is an open world, it does feel kinda linear in that your always on a road, in an alley, or in a apartment, besides the main areas in the game. Then again, I did not take the time to delve into the side quests too thoroughly and certainly do plan to.
All in all, if your a fan of the series and you were as disappointed by Homecoming as I was, this should offer a small respite while we wait for someone to take the helm who understands that Silent Hill is about the oppressing, depressing, and all around unsettling atmosphere. Love to take a crack at it myself :p. Its worth a play through or 3 and I certainly feel i didn't waste my $60 on it. Also, the original Silent Hill is still the best of the series.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I must say at 40 years of age. Every time I hear a fresh 25 (or so) year old come up and tell me how Silent Hill has lost its luster. I seriously have to laugh my *** off. I say young son. What could you possibly know about gaming. You spent your whole youth playing paintball online while praising one of the wost built gaming machine in history like it was a God (Xbox products.)

Its because of this less then lackluster machine that the new Silent Hill does suffer some on the PS3. It seems it was developed vary restricted, and to 1920 Pentium one standards. But If you ask any real Silent Hill gamer. The whole 3 or 4 of us that are still alive. If you ask us which was the best. The answer will be a resounding!!!! PAR TWO!!! Now I know some of you young-ins may have slight memory's of 3 with the ugly girl in short hair. Heck some of you dimwitted 20some programmers and video game journalist may have even and praise that as a true Silent Hill lol, what a joke. But in reality out of the first trilogy of SH games,,, three kinda stunk. Whats more it was the worst of the first 3! Actually the room was OK. And the first one was good and the start of it all. But TWO! Two was the one that made most real Silent Hill fans, fans now. It was the staple of the series,and sat on its own as a masterpiece. If 2 never explodes like it did. Theirs no Silenthill now. You dont have 20some dumb movie makers making a SH movie. A movie in which they think the move had to be made around 1 and 3? Because the were told by other 20 some dumb gamers that 1 and 3 were it. Stupid kids. And the odd part about Downpour is. If you had to say which passed SH does Downpour resemble most? It would be 2. Yes the amazing SH2. And this alone make it a decent game. more story more feeling, no robot play? Robot play you ask? Well (I hit a head I hit a foot, I hit a leg I hit a footI hit a head I hit a foot, I hit a leg I hit a foot!!!!!) Give me some story some hero some something! And stop playing paintball on a TV set. And this game does. But let remember this was made for a 1902 Pentium one processor. So it could be played on the 360. Remember Microsoft has the dumb down laws in place. (For real they actually have this stuff in writing.) So it runs not vary well at all. As with about 99.9999% of game this gen it runs with many probs. And for some reason is either over detailed or something. If it would of ran at half the detail and 4 times the smoothness this game would of been one of the SH top 3 maybe. But its still does a OK job. The story and stuff is good enough to get you buy the Microsoft gaming clause hiccups. Want to know about the clause just e mail me lol. serious. So Downpour although fun with a goo story and spooky (not really scary) but none of us get scared anymore we just love the feel of horror. And this has that. But even though ot models after 2 the most. Its not 2. And is the lamest of 20someprogramers team leaders, game magazine writers and really bad game machine fans. We may never ever see another 2. But their is always hope that someone will hang and shoot this 20some crowed, and the next gen after will get it. But it has nothing to do with old vs new. Becuae downpour is on the right track, with the wrong (far to often this gen) coding. Which makes it a ok game.… Expand

Silent hill games are touch and go, some are great, some are poor. Downpour, in my opinion has some very good, and some very bad points. I played the game on hard, which really tests your puzzle skills and searching in the dark for a small key that you need, but you don't want to go in to the dark is a great tense feeling, which did actually improve the experience for me. There is also no hand holding on hard mode. Pros: great classic SH style puzzles, several disturbing environments and scenery, great SH town structure and travelling between locations. Cons: technical glitches (screen would literally freeze and jump at some points), texture popping, story is not fluent (the game starts with a good story set up, then nothing until the end of the game...), monsters are not scary and are repetitive, stand out/freaky moments are quite limited. Overall: I loved the town of SH and the open world set up works really well, you can go to any location and start any side quest as you see fit, or don't do any, it is up to you how far you delve in to the town of SH and its residents. Enemies are boring, and fight patterns are repetitive, and the story is near enough none existent until the end, which is a shame. Graphical glitches hold it back a lot too, but i've heard that its better on the xbox. Does this game have the Silent Hill feel though? yes it does for me, and for that fact, i found it enjoyable to play! If your looking for the next Silent Hill, then pick this up, but be aware, its not as polished as you would hope and some key elements are missing, but still a great, enjoyable play!… Expand

Silent hill:downpour is a decent return to the harrowing evil franchise, unfortunately what is decent should have been a far greater achievement, especially coming from Konami. The story is good and interesting, yet equally underwhelming, providing a consistency of wanting to uncover the truth behind our characters past. It's a sizeable quest if you include the many side quests, and opportunity to unearth alternate endings also returns. But it's not all gracefully entertaining, although the graphics are somewhat decent, the stuttering, and lagging that can be annoying plaques many parts of the game, the atmosphere is good, but nowhere near as satisfiying as previous encounters, from time to time I was grudging forward with boredom waiting for something to jump out, not in the slightest did I get the feeling of creepiness, just a town with snippets of ok the box just dropped if a wall, or the ball just moved on its own, or the lack of design in the monsters made me yawn, not to mention the combat element is also shoddy, but not game breaking. So yes a decent game, nothing spectacular, silent hills fans will love, general videogamers may wish they,d have waited for a price drop, or rented first. After completing once, their is litte incentive to return unless your wanting to experience each ending.… Expand

The Good: Incredibly spooky and moving story, perfect atmospheres, and good challenging puzzles. The Bad: Frame rates and glitches, guidance issues, and gameplay. From a lot of mainstream reviews, I heard a lot of complaints about the fighting mechanics. Don't get me misunderstood, the gameplay is not great, but they seem to not understand that this game is not God of War, the game is not suppose to be action oriented, and they do seem to capture the feeling of Silent Hill with it. However, not the best, you are expected to run some and fight, but when fighting comes into play, when there are more than one enemy to fight, the gameplay shows its staleness. What also brings it down, is the fact when you do have to run, the frame rate is absolutely atrocious. The fighting mechanics is rather lack luster but not as bad as some reviewers say, but the frame rate issues are an absolute deal breaker. I've never seen a mainstream high publicized game have such frame rate issues. It gets so bad that you feel like your playing in a badly connected Halo online match. However though, the perfectly fleshed out protagonist, and the overall atmosphere and story will keep you playing despite the issues the game presents. In the End: This is just a decent game that provides quite a few scares. For Silent Hill fans... it does not bring the franchise back to its former glory but it is an excellent treat, but it just won't bring any newcomers along to the series.… Expand

Technically, this game is a failure. Very poor performance with framerate dropping, hickups, freezes and stuttering - the latter PERMANENTLY, not only when there's much going on on screen. There are also a few known bugs. Considering that the game also has only average graphics, one must wonder why it runs so badly.

Story: Actually a really good story, but I hated how almost everything is told in flashbacks when you reach certain parts of the game. That's extremely lazy storytelling. And I also hate how the ending of the game influences what has happened before the game starts. (To keep it spoilerfree, there are various possibilities to what was going on before and then the final flashback will reveal one of them to be true according to how you played the game.) The characters are a mixed bag â… Expand

Where is the survival horror game called Silent Hill? because this has the name but not the essence, the game has many many bugs, glitches and frame rate problems, I play them all, from the first, but between 3 and 4 of this begin to die, with the series, happened the same as with Resident Evil, they just want money and entertain people, or in this case scared when playing this game unfortunately died long ago, when SH4 become a puzzle game of idiots pruba they do not like to think and want everything easy, a no scares or suspense, thats all my opinion… Expand

Its official. The days of Silent Hill are numbered. What was once brilliant, and I truly stress the word brilliant, is now in the hands of a developer that just doesn't know what to do with the slice of genius it was handed. Too much focus on the combat and not enough emphasis on what the genre was built on; fear. Fear of everything, not just your enemies. If you give us control of someone more fearsome than those we should be cowering from then how do you expect us to fear them? Homecoming showed the potential for learning, an indication that with practice there would be greatness. Downpour tarnishes the moniker on its title, and is not fit to sit alongside its brethren. Fans of the series will be disappointed, and I hope the audience for which this intended for, the Americans, are pleased in knowing they played a part in the destruction of what was once one of the most prominent and brilliant videogame series ever created.… Expand

Dead Rising without the zombies and a few puzzles. If you want to run up a flight of stairs for 10 minutes or keep getting harassed by screaming ghostly **** this is the game to get.

The game is "good" ( not excelent ) but many troubles makes fall down the experience, in particular too much bugs, glitches and the awfull frame-rate are unnaceptable for a game release in 2012 for powerfull consoles ! In ps1 SH1 works better, in ps2 SH2 and SH3 are excelent, ¿what happens now????? there is no excuse. I hope the technical problems will be repair, for example with a DLC patch, if not, is impossible enjoy the game. SH HD collection seems be the real option for this year… Expand

An attempt at silent hill gone wrong... again! Im gonna keep it simple, and just point out the flaws without mumbojumbo. This title has massive framerate drops, lags, and total lockups. (it is NOT my system. This is the ONLY game that does it on there.). The games animations are very amateur. You try to hit an enemy, and the weapon wont usually touch them and the character walks off on his own while in combat. Next, the graphics. The graphics and models are pretty good, however visuals are sub par to a 2006 PS2 game. They were rushed. Monster design is horrible as well. The monsters are all similar looking to humans. Areas are very frustrating to navigate due to the choice of camera angle. The game is not at all scary, and its a very predictable game. I was very exited seeing Rely On Horrors downpour playthrough, and buying it i was happy. However only 5 mins into it after the starting scene, the game already started glitching out. I started having framerate drops and it even crashed on one of the roads for no reason. My friend on his system is having the very same issue. Im NOT saying this game is terrible, but it is not good either. Im mixed on the decision, so im giving it a 4/10. I will change my review IF they release a future patch to fix so many peoples issues. All the critics have rated it mixed or negative, and these fanboy silent hill downpour freaks keep rating the game all up. There insane. Read reviews from trusted critics like IGN, the games not terrible or good. A patch to fix the SEVERAL framerate drops, crashes, awkward pauses in voice overs, animation problems, etc... i will change my score. Until then, im taking it back to walmart, since walmart now refunds games in my state. Konami, do what others are saying and listen to us. Develop "in house" and stop getting these other amature developers to screw us over like usual. I have not seen a good silent hill at all since 3. 4 was ok, Origins was a massive low end graphics lagathon disaster, homecoming had a good premise but fell short of good, shattard memories was horrible,and this cuts the cake. Im worried now... im sure PSvitas SH BOM will not succeed as said before. Im still gonna try the demo on my vita... provided there is a demo. (if theres no demo, im not getting it). So guys, be warned when buying this game you will run into several issues. The story is very good though, and a true silent hill fan should totally check it out at least.… Expand

Awful story plus past decade graphics and bugs, lots of bugs. An insult to the hardware of ps3 from an unknown developer. Finally an insult for costumers who are throwing their money into the trash can.

Sandbox doesn't work for Silent Hill and reducing the Otherworld to a parkour track while brightly lighting everything up wasn't a good decision either. Combat feels good, stressful and not worth it, just like survival horror should. Murpy's Story is really good, but changes depending on the choices you make.
Daniel Licht delivers a superb soundtrack, that's underused in the game. Long passages will be silent! Why, Vatra, why? I had to turn my tv up to 900% percent to hear most of the background tracks.
Lazy Monster design, glitches and fps drops deal the final blow to what could have been a good, even great game.… Expand

As said by others, this game is not deserving of its hype. Its game has horrible bugs and glitches that are so easy to find. The game has same very bad lags and full system lockups. It has terrible visual effects. (graphics are ok), the story is ok. The combat system is broken. Animations for using weapons make Murphy fly everywhere (as said by IGN as well), and sometimes in crowded areas the game slows down to an un enjoyable framerate per second. I agree with ccrogers15, he said it out right. This game never should of happened if this is how konami plans to lead on this once good series. This series WAS good, up until 4. After 4, we get games that are very unenjoyable. Book of memories is next, and oh god, im sure it will fail utterly. Konami, listen to your fans and PLEASE, develop silent hill 10 for us yourselfs. No more of this nonsence, or bring back the dev team who made Silent hill 1-4. Silent Hill 1-4 got all good reviews( silent hill 4 was lower), but the rest all got mixed reviews or completely panned (like origins). Come on konami. I took my copy back, and they gave me a refund at gamestop which is good. Im using the money for Silent Hill HD Collection, i suggest you should too, to avoid being disappointed by the worst silent hill ever made.… Expand

Silent hill is coming to an end with downpour. Why cant konami just learn. We want true horror, not this crap. This is a horrible, boring game with several problems that make it literally unplayable. The game freezes randomly, lags constantly, the graphics glitch non stop, etc. Should i go on? SAVE YOUR MONEY, BUY RESIDENT EVIL OPERATION RACCOON CITY INSTEAD. This game is not true to the series, it is the same fail thats been going on since 4.This is it, i am done. No more silent hill for me. Was considering getting the new BOM for my vita, but after this crap, and noticing BOM was top down, im gonna pass instead. Too bad. Taking it for a refund today.… Expand

I've loved Silent Hill since the first one, and I started to see a decline in Origins but I still had faith in the series. I should have stopped, I found, when I bought Downpour. Pros: Voice acting seems to be better than the other Silent Hill games, I can actually tell Murphy is scared sh*tless. You can watch Murphy get more and more battered as he takes more damage. The UV light lights up hidden clues.
You can (usually) block monster's attacks.
While fighting a group of monsters, you don't lock onto a single one. You can switch between the group if one is about to hit you.

Cons: The game is SO glitchy. Constant twitchy movements, and what's worse is the combat begins to glitch out worse as the game goes on. I'll go to attack a monster and my weapon goes right through the monster.
The gameplay itself is just not fun in the least. I was constantly bored, and when I wasn't I was infuriated from the sheer frustration of not know what I'm supposed to do. Granted the other Silent Hills were similar in the fact that you had to really think to figure out a puzzle, but this gives you little-to-no clues whatsoever. The "mysteries" you pick up seem to have no relevance whatsoever to the game 90% of the time.
I personally did not like all the side-quests you could do, I like Silent Hill to be a generally linear. You can only carry one weapon at a time. I guess it's supposed to add to the suspense? One gun, and one melee (or two guns if you care to try scouring the world for ammo)
It's extremely gimicky, from balancing My BIGGEST problem with the game... You spend almost NO time in Otherworld. Out of the five hours of the game I played, I didn't even spend one hour in Otherworld.
I was highly disappointed in the game, and regret ever spending the money for it. I caution anyone thinking of buying it.… Expand

Wow bringing the new silent hill game on ps3 this game was not any good genetic atmosphere was less then great story line was mediocre but they did not have same magic they done in first second 3rd and homecoming which ironically is 5 those game where scary enough and got me sucked in this game not so much....


the story line is that you get chased by some sucking void monster which ironically does not kill you which was lame enough trying to outrun it and with endless corridor in beginning of the game was not good Game had alot of bugs in the game which is one with endless stair casing running up those stair cases for 5 mins real time mode then not going no where then suddenly turn around walk down 3 seconds later you at the same map..


horrible game waste money if silent hill make another i hope they make it like previous ones 1 2 3 5 those one are horror genre… Expand

At first glance, I was thinking that this game is not bad. But then enemies become packing in groups. 3 screemers are o'k, but 7? What is this -- Silent hill or Quake? And fast combat system is lame, hit or miss are pretty random, which is quite frustrating. And combat are quite regular, exploration become boring. To many respawn made this game not horror, but bad shooter.

No suprise. for this poor scores ..i called this Konami! What is WRONG with the developers? SH1 was the best horror ever.SH2.SH3 is also very very great,and when everything starts to become bad!! I honestly wasnt expecting much about Silent Hill since the team of japan left this series. SHM, Silent Hill hasn't been Silent Hill in a LONG time /