Silent Hill: Origins (PSP) Review

Do you feel comfortable in the dark? Well if you get this game you better become pretty damn comfy with it.

Origins brings us to the source of the nightmarish world we have come to know as Silent Hill. By following the main character “Travis Brady” we (supposedly) find how this world was created and why it has been held back until this point. This game also allowed the developers to tie in many elements from the movie “Silent Hill.”

The cut-scenes in the beginning and end of this game are absolutely beautiful. I’m still amazed by the power of the PSP to create such great graphics in a hand-held. The graphics while playing the game however are noticeably worse. Although not horrible, they do remind me of the early PS2 days.

Game play hasn’t changed from the other Silent Hills. Find a weapon, smash, punch or shoot a demon, then run…fast. The dark is where you will be spending most of your time and your trusty flashlight is the only light to guide you through dark hallways, tunnels, and sewers. You will find your self constantly toggling between the “nightmare” world and the “regular” world to finish tasks and solve puzzles. If you’re like me, you’ll be doing a lot of exploring as well. Finding things such as health drinks, weapons, and clues to the storyline.

The storyline feels like a recycled version of the other Silent Hill Games. I was expecting a big “whoa” moment, but never got it. In fact I left the game a bit more confused then when I started. Origins really didn’t answer the questions I had. The only question it did answer was how the “little demon girl” was introduced to Alessa.

The camera angles were an absolute joke. The developers did give the option to center the camera, but it barely ever worked and it certainly didn’t work when a demon was hunting you down. The awkward camera made it so when you entered a new scene and held the joystick while changing scenes, the character would run back to the scene he was just in…what a fucking pain in the ass and waste of time. I did this dance a few times before I realized it was best to not hold the stick while changing scenes.

I only ran into one glitch while playing. At the end of the game, after getting the room 500 key, DON’T go back through the managers office. I took that route 3 times and each time it froze the screen. I could still hear myself turn the flashlight on and off, but the screen was black and the loading symbol stayed on the screen. I’m guessing the reason for this was the triggering of a cut-scene when Travis gets to room 500. So, if you’re not in the right place when you get to room 500, your game will crash.

Replay value was much larger than I had expected. There are more than ten different unlockables, which will supply you with costumes, weapons and accessories for your next trip through the game. Get the moon gauntlets and play around with them a bit, one punch will take out a large demon. You can also get night vision goggles, which are quite helpful in the never-ending dark. The game also offers 3 different endings. But these are just a few of things you can get.

Even though I am a fan of the series I will have to give this game a 6.5 out of 10. I really did enjoy this game, but I think it was my fanboyism that was causing the excitement and not the game. So, if you’re a fan of the series or you are new to it, then this game is worth a solid rent.