This is by far the best game in the Silent Hill series, at least for me it is although I haven’t played SH and SH4. You might ask why I think this is the best SH game, and I can answer you like this; The atmosphere in this game are so creepy that it will keep you in high adrenaline mode throughout the whole game, and not to mention the human like monsters who suddenly can burst out of nothing.

Story

The story is about Murphy Pendleton whom got himself locked up in jail, during the story will you get to know why and how he did it. Anyway, Murphy is being transported between a couple of prisons and during that trip is there a freaky accident that sets of a whole bunch of freaky events, and you’re supposed to get as far away from the prison transport as possible. Again do you start from scratch with everything, maybe not as strange as you are a prisoner after all. But this time do you also have to find clothes so you can get out of the prison suit, as well as doing the SH trademark riddles.

During the story will you encounter a few people, not as many as you’ve met in the earlier SH but enough to make it freaky. Especially the first person I met kind of gave me goose bumps, and from there does the atmosphere just freak me out throughout the rest of the game. As the gameplay now is in 3rd person, Konami had more options to how you will experience the game. This reflects itself for instance in the way you can open the doors, it’s not just push the A button and go through anymore. Now do you have to press that button just to interact with the doors and then use the right stick to open them, the freaky part here is that you can open it just a little so you can just take a sneak peak and close the door again if you like. This is just an example of how dynamic this game have become and what Konami can do, and it’s a big part of the creepy atmosphere.

Gameplay and Weapons

As I mentioned earlier, you don’t start with anything so hunting for a weapon and a map won’t be such a bad thing. Weapons are lying all over the place, and you can now even use a rock or a brick as a weapon. As there are tons of weapons lying around, should it give you the clue that the weapons can in fact brake. This also goes for the guns, but they only brake if you use them as blunt weapons as well. Ammo for the guns is even scarcer than in SH 3, not that I thought it would be possible but Konami proved me wrong.

Now can you also find forensic flashlights that can use UAV light to find hidden clues and objectives, it can also be a life savior when you get attacked by certain monsters. What’s interesting is that some of the monsters in this game are more or less updated version of the earlier ones, both in appearance and fighting. The way you suddenly can get jumped from behind gives me goose bumps even now when I look back and think about those scenes. That’s how much this game freaked me out.

Visuals

The graphics in this game is breathtaking, with richly HD detailed areas and texture even on the characters. The face for instance is somewhat real life looking, and this show how far Konami too have come in their graphic development. The game has a lot of really dark places, but that’s what gives this game the freaky atmosphere and after all, you can find flashlights lying around.

Violent nature

There’s no reason to hide that the Silent Hill series are based on raw brutality and cruel actions, Downpour is not an exception from this recipe. Just the prologue itself is the proof of that, and there can you also get a good look of how great and detailed this game are. The brutal nature of this game is so horrifying that it can awaken the player’s brutal nature, even for those who’s usually calm.

Konami have really used the potential of the Unreal 3 engine for this game, not only just for the graphics but also for the gameplay part as well.

There is one thing I have to mention as it usually don’t go unnoticed in the media,(SPOILER ALERT) and that’s the fact that no one have commented on the kid being killed by the boogeyman(SPOILER ALERT).

Conclusion: It’s the best horror game I’ve ever played, and I can definitely recommend this to those who not just love the genre, but also for the normal core gamer.

Rating: 10/10

Silent Hill 2

Silent Hill 2 might be one of the freakiest games I’ve played in a while. I know it’s not new and you might think “well what’s so special about this game?”. Well, I must say that I was kind of thinking exactly the same thing, especially after the little weird start in the parking lot. But I’m glad I gave it a chance after all, because there have been too long since I’ve played a game that can make a mess out of your head like this. Of course it’s not for everyone, but if you like a great horror game that can give you the creeps, this will be the game for you.

Story

This time the story is about James Sunderland and his damaged ego and mentality, which is on the hunt for his supposedly dead wife. The whole thing starts with James have received a letter from his dead wife Mary, this is where the questions start to pop in my head and start to question James’s mental health.

There is one thing I partially like with this game, and that’s the fact that nothing is given, not even the maps or weapons. You have to find everything yourself, everything from maps to flashlight, weapons and health items, this is the thing that give the game the extra edge and the fact that there’s not much ammo to the weapons around. During the gameplay do you encounter different characters with interesting personalities and with a tiny bit of craziness.

When you’re walking around in Silent Hill, do you have to be awake and aware of your surroundings and keep an eye on James’s head, because if he notices something useful will his head turn towards that item or save location. There are some save locations all over Silent Hill, and they’re placed in the right locations so you don’t have to go too far to save.

Visuals

You will also encounter zombies and other monsters during the story, but I have to say that the creativity of the designers is makes this game different from other horror/zombie games. The looks of the zombies are just not the same as for instance Resident Evil or Dead Island, instead have they bandaged/faceless heads, if they have a head at all and they’re somewhat crippled, you also have the funny looking legs zombies, which is made with mannequin legs attached to the torso, both as arms and legs. The radio you’re wearing will make a static noise whenever there are zombies near, but this don’t make it less freaky due to the low visibility you have. During daytime is the city covered with a thick fog and you can only see a few meters in front of you, and during the night will you only be able to see at the range of the flashlight.

Old vs. New voices

Since the Silent Hill 2 has been remade, I have to say a few words about this as well starting off with the voices. Every time you start the game do you get the option of whether you want to use the old original voices or the new ones. I’ve used them both and I have to say that the old voices sound dead like and metallic in comparison to the new ones. The graphics are also been remade and in some parts does it look pretty good, and in other parts can you really see how much they’ve actually done as those parts looks like they’ve either forgot to remake or just wouldn’t just for the originality.

Silent Hill 3

Silent Hill 3 is just as freaky as the prequel, I’ve rarely played horror games of this caliber (and I’ve played my fair share). Just the freaky chills I get during the game are priceless and it shows that even that the game are from 2003, it still can give you the goose bumps.

Story

It’s kind of neat how they’ve put together an “intro” video were you can get a glimpse of what to come, without any spoilers.

The story is about a 17 year old teenager named Heather. Heather meets an old detective named Douglas who claims to know about her birth and says he has someone that wants to meet her, and from there does everything just go from a little nuts situation to total craziness. The plot have a straight forward connection to the first Silent Hill game, and it’s refer to both SH and SH2 during the story.  This makes it even sadder that Konami decided not to include the first SH in the HD collection, it would have given the new players the somewhat much needed experience due to the connection between SH and SH3.  

Weapons, Monsters and Craziness

Just like the previous game, nothing is given here either. Maps and weapons have to be found, but the ammo is scarcer in SH3 so you can’t just go crazy with your firearms like in SH2. This actually gives the game a new edge since the monsters here can take more damage than earlier, so playing with a strategy maybe isn’t a bad thing. You will meet new (both scary and a little funny looking) monsters which can be everything from crawling monsters to 10ft tall ones, slow ones and fast ones. This isn’t the only living creatures you will encounter, there are those who have crazy believe and the mentality of every character is rather questionable.

Visuals

You can clearly see that the graphics have been remade, but I would have loved it even without the HD remake due to the story and action. It’s just one minor thing though, during the cut scenes is the synchronization between sound and picture somewhat off. Not that it’s a very noticeable thing, but it’s still there.

Conclusion: This is the absolute must have HD collection if you’re going to get one from 2012. I can promise you that it will freak you out.

Rating: 10/10

This is one of the first games like this where I think that the stop between each mission is justified. The reason for this is that you won’t just be served a whole bunch of useless information about the stats for the last mission you just finished, but you will also be given orbs based on you performance. These orbs can be used to upgrade your weapons or Dante himself, which you can use before you start the next mission.

Devil May Cry

Devil May Cry has a distinguished look and feeling of the early 2000, even with the graphic restorations and HD clarity. There is just one thing I really think they should have done different regarding the visuals, and that’s the lighting conditions. Most parts of this game are has so dark places that I almost can’t see anything but a small white spot which is Dante’s hair. If you go to “Options” and “Brightness” will you only be shown a screen with colors and a text that tell you to change your TV settings, instead of creating a setting where you can change this in game when they first remade it.

Anyway, this only make it a little more difficult to see where you’re supposed to go and so on if you can’t change the brightness on your TV. It doesn’t ruin the gameplay in any way, although it can be very dark from time to time.

Gameplay

The gameplay is phenomenal, with its hack and slash and crazy run and gun style in 3^rd person. The story in the other hand is kind of not present for some reason, it’s like they’ve been focusing on the gameplay fighting styles rather than the story. Which in this case are ok considering that this is the first game in the DMC series, although it also could have been the final blow to the game if the gameplay hadn’t been so entertaining.

But with the great combinations of puzzles and show off fighting does this game raise the standard for the DMC series. It’s not that it’s that hard puzzles, but they have really nailed it with the way you have to use raw strength/brutality and speed both with puzzles and the fighting.

Enemies/Creatures

So this said, the monsters you meet in this game are kind of interesting creatures. For instance the first enemy type I came across where some marionette puppets which gave me a smile due to their funny looking. I also came across some not so funny enemies as well, not only just the bosses but some other creatures as well which gave me a good fight.

Devil May Cry 2

Capcom seem to continue the successful recipe with DMC 2, But they’ve also been adding some new features just to make it a little different from the first DMC. Take for instance the “yellow orb” which took you back to the last checkpoint, now just revive you on sight which give you an edge in the fight. Another new feature is the “amulet” you can gather pendants to so it will give you extra abilities, depending on which pendants you’ve chosen to use.

Story

The story for DMC 2 is lost in the game play just as it did in DMC, but then again the general gameplay saves this version as well. With new weapons and new fighting styles and abilities have Capcom given the game new life which saves the game from a total kill blow due to the lacking story. For the first time in the DMC series can you play not only as Dante, but you can also play as Lucia. This will give you some different gameplay, not only with styles but also in general where you get other objectives and so on as well. Almost like another version of DMC 2.

Devil May Cry 2 are easier on the eye than the prequel with some lighter visual areas, but it still have its pretty dark areas as well but less than the prequel. The visual settings do you still have to use on your TV only, which can be a problem if your TV can’t get a brighter picture.

Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition

This is definitely the best game of these three games. For the first time in the DMC series have Capcom been able to create a throughout good story which you feel like you’re a part of, not just a “start story” and a “finish Story”. This makes DMC 3 the ultimate DMC game for now, at least of those three.

Fighting

The story part isn’t the only thing that makes it this good. It’s like Capcom have been working on the battle system to perfect it, they’re not entirely there yet but it’s not far either. The new system gives you more fighting abilities and styles you can work with. Now you also can work around time if you want to. This is a style that you will gain after defeating a boss later in the game, this is one of the ways you can get new “things” to play with.

The character Dante also have been worked on, or specifically his attitude. Now is he more like a badass demon/devil hunter with some smartass comments and fierce full mood. Also your options with the menu have been worked on and you now have more options than before.

Visuals

The visual experience of these three games is somewhat different between each game, but there’s no doubt that Capcom have done their job with the graphical restoration. For instance the first DMC looks like it could have been developed after 2010 and till now. All the games have a pretty dark atmosphere over it, which is reflected with some too dark areas.

Conclusion: It’s a great collection of Devil May Cry, and that they’ve chose to take it from the first game was probably one of the best decisions they took.

Rating: 7/10