Monsters? They looked like monsters to you?
Silent Hill 3 is without a doubt a really strong successor to all the Silent Hill games that came before it and is without a doubt, one of the strongest games that came out on the 6th Generation.
Having played this only twice, once on PS2 and once on the "HD collection" about a decade or so ago. I am able to go in with a fresh perspective once again and see how this game has aged but also how much I can appreciate it.
Gameplay, I feel like is the most refined compared to Silent Hill 2. It feels more fluid and responsive and also making you feel claustrophobic and overwhelming at times. Although I tried to keep my kills to a minimum to save ammo or not wanting to deal with the "Monsters" I then realized that I was trying to play how I was in Silent Hill 2 and it made things slightly harder because of how drastically different the areas are in SH2 or SH3. I see this as a good thing as it tries to keep things fresh.
Story is a continuation to Silent Hill 1 to some extent while also having our protagonist Heather go through a realization of identity. It feels like a coming of age story at times when the plot demands it but I feel like Heather as a protagonist is leagues above Harry mason but slightly over James Sunderland cause of how much Charisma she has when she talks to folks in the game or defeating bosses. I felt like the story with the cult has left me with more to be desired considering they are the main plot going forward in future games. I feel at times it kind requires you to understand what happened in the previous games to some extent. Whether that is a good or bad thing is up to the player.
Level Design I feel like is really tight. As I mentioned this game makes you feel claustrophobic and overwhelming. This is due to the level design of tight corridors and dodging enemies if needed which in turn makes you decide quickly if you would like to exhaust your current resources to not take a health state or take a risk and potentially take one. Often the game will tease you and put you in trapped scenarios but you can easily hear them a mile away or once you enter a room and read the situation. Enemies I feel like are more Punchier this time around and certainly take a good chuck of health if you are stuck.
As for the resources in this game, I felt like they were fair. I hear that sometimes the game can be generous and often provide you with extra resources if you are low on supply. I felt like towards the end I was near the end of my First Aid Kits and Ampoules as I ran out of my Health Drinks but I had alot of Ammo since I was mostly using Melee or picking amd choosing my battles.
Now, I must include Akira Yamaoka who absolutely again knocks it out of the park! End of Small Sanctuary easily top 3 best Silent hill songs. Never misses a beat here and actually creates a very scary atmosphere while using his dark ambient, industrial, trip-hop, and rock. There is not much more I can say than he really elevates the game.
As I mentioned in my Silent Hill 2 review, Although that game is not perfect by any means I feel like there are some elements that can be charming or can be detrimental to a player when they first start the game. "level designs may also disorient a player and feel like they are not making much progression in the game and then feel a sense of being stuck. I feel like that is a valid reason because sometimes the game does not hold you hand at times if you accidently press X/A too fast or something and not knowing there is a MEMO button in the Inventory screen. I feel like these come to mind whenever someone tells me they are attempting to play the game." to add to this, I feel like this game is much harsher to the player if they do not know where to go next as there will be enemies that spawn at "random" and do not "Reset" positions often forcing a player to use of the resources that can be potentially "Scarce". Again this is all preference to the player but I feel like they can be valid reasons for charm or detriment.
I finished this playthrough with the "Normal" 1st playthrough ending. Overall time spent in this game will be about 5-7 hrs if you are not sure what to do but if you are a advanced player, about 4hrs or less will do the job I beat it in around 3:28:35 of game time based on the results screen considering its been a decade of having not played. The replayability is here for the game but I wouldn't say its the best the series has to offer. 3 endings this time around with 1 being the "Meme/Joke" ending.
Overall, should you play Silent Hill 3? I firmly believe so. Honestly any Silent hill game made by Team Silent should be played at least once in your life. I understand Silent Hill 3 is priced astronomically in the used game market place but websites like PC Gaming Wiki or even the Silent Hill Reddit Forums have ways to play this game for modern times on PC. Bless the community for continuing to preserve its original state and making it play better on PC. Do not do yourself a disservice and play the HD collection as I believe that is the inferior version of SH3 but If that is your only way to legally play, by all means go for it!
Silent Hill 3 is without a doubt a really strong successor to all the Silent Hill games that came before it and is without a doubt, one of the strongest games that came out on the 6th Generation.
Having played this only twice, once on PS2 and once on the "HD collection" about a decade or so ago. I am able to go in with a fresh perspective once again and see how this game has aged but also how much I can appreciate it.
Gameplay, I feel like is the most refined compared to Silent Hill 2. It feels more fluid and responsive and also making you feel claustrophobic and overwhelming at times. Although I tried to keep my kills to a minimum to save ammo or not wanting to deal with the "Monsters" I then realized that I was trying to play how I was in Silent Hill 2 and it made things slightly harder because of how drastically different the areas are in SH2 or SH3. I see this as a good thing as it tries to keep things fresh.
Story is a continuation to Silent Hill 1 to some extent while also having our protagonist Heather go through a realization of identity. It feels like a coming of age story at times when the plot demands it but I feel like Heather as a protagonist is leagues above Harry mason but slightly over James Sunderland cause of how much Charisma she has when she talks to folks in the game or defeating bosses. I felt like the story with the cult has left me with more to be desired considering they are the main plot going forward in future games. I feel at times it kind requires you to understand what happened in the previous games to some extent. Whether that is a good or bad thing is up to the player.
Level Design I feel like is really tight. As I mentioned this game makes you feel claustrophobic and overwhelming. This is due to the level design of tight corridors and dodging enemies if needed which in turn makes you decide quickly if you would like to exhaust your current resources to not take a health state or take a risk and potentially take one. Often the game will tease you and put you in trapped scenarios but you can easily hear them a mile away or once you enter a room and read the situation. Enemies I feel like are more Punchier this time around and certainly take a good chuck of health if you are stuck.
As for the resources in this game, I felt like they were fair. I hear that sometimes the game can be generous and often provide you with extra resources if you are low on supply. I felt like towards the end I was near the end of my First Aid Kits and Ampoules as I ran out of my Health Drinks but I had alot of Ammo since I was mostly using Melee or picking amd choosing my battles.
Now, I must include Akira Yamaoka who absolutely again knocks it out of the park! End of Small Sanctuary easily top 3 best Silent hill songs. Never misses a beat here and actually creates a very scary atmosphere while using his dark ambient, industrial, trip-hop, and rock. There is not much more I can say than he really elevates the game.
As I mentioned in my Silent Hill 2 review, Although that game is not perfect by any means I feel like there are some elements that can be charming or can be detrimental to a player when they first start the game. "level designs may also disorient a player and feel like they are not making much progression in the game and then feel a sense of being stuck. I feel like that is a valid reason because sometimes the game does not hold you hand at times if you accidently press X/A too fast or something and not knowing there is a MEMO button in the Inventory screen. I feel like these come to mind whenever someone tells me they are attempting to play the game." to add to this, I feel like this game is much harsher to the player if they do not know where to go next as there will be enemies that spawn at "random" and do not "Reset" positions often forcing a player to use of the resources that can be potentially "Scarce". Again this is all preference to the player but I feel like they can be valid reasons for charm or detriment.
I finished this playthrough with the "Normal" 1st playthrough ending. Overall time spent in this game will be about 5-7 hrs if you are not sure what to do but if you are a advanced player, about 4hrs or less will do the job I beat it in around 3:28:35 of game time based on the results screen considering its been a decade of having not played. The replayability is here for the game but I wouldn't say its the best the series has to offer. 3 endings this time around with 1 being the "Meme/Joke" ending.
Overall, should you play Silent Hill 3? I firmly believe so. Honestly any Silent hill game made by Team Silent should be played at least once in your life. I understand Silent Hill 3 is priced astronomically in the used game market place but websites like PC Gaming Wiki or even the Silent Hill Reddit Forums have ways to play this game for modern times on PC. Bless the community for continuing to preserve its original state and making it play better on PC. Do not do yourself a disservice and play the HD collection as I believe that is the inferior version of SH3 but If that is your only way to legally play, by all means go for it!