Silent Hill HD Collection Review

This collection includes Silent Hill 2 with the Restless Dreams episode and Silent Hill 3.

I don’t know about anyone else, but when I look through my window and I see that it is very foggy outside, the very first thing that comes to my mind is “Man, it’s looks like Silent Hill out there.”

That is the kind of impact this prolific series of games, by Konami, has had on my youth and carried over with me into maturity. Not only are they dark, but they are disturbing in a way that puts these games in a category all their own. With themes like suicide, murder, insanity and religion to fuel the story, Silent Hill broke some ground as a survival horror series.

Instead of being a buff, fearless hero with military training and weapons, a la Resident Evil, you’re just a normal person in a very strange and sometimes deranged environment. Creatures from the very depths of this fresh hell stalk you as you make your way through each area. Creepy atmosphere and sound also make this more than just a pop out and scare you type of game. Think Jacob’s Ladder meets The Mist.

With that said, this collection is very buggy and suffers from major frame rate issues. When there is more than one monster on the screen, the whole game seems to slow down. At first I wasn’t sure if this was meant to be this way, like when in a dream you move like you’re under water. But no. I realized I was looking too deeply for explanation and the frame rate just sucked. This issue is not a prevalent in SH2 because of the more confined spaces but is still wholly unacceptable for an HD game running at 720p.

Another new feature is they have re-recorded all of the dialog for the game with new voice actors. You have the option in SH2 to use the original recordings but not for SH3 for some reason. The games themselves are solid in story and execution and are intriguing and silly at the same time.

Over all I feel like this is a collection that could have been much better executed but is still an interesting introduction to this series, but those tech issues really make it hard to recommend this game to anyone other than a hardcore fan. You’re better off getting the PS2 versions if you can find them.

This game gets 2.5 out 0f 5 meat nurses from me.