Silent Hill HD Collection

UPC: 083717202233

Platform: PlayStation 3

Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (KDEI)

Developer: Hijinx Studios, LLC

Category: Compilation

Style(s): Adventure

Synopsis: The second and third entries in Konami's survival horror series make their high-definition debut with the Silent Hill HD Collection. In addition to both titles being re-mastered at 720p for the first time, the games include support for in-game trophies as well as feature revamped voice-overs and soundtrack scores. Explore a mysterious town's dark and atmospheric environments while confronting horrific creatures as two distinct protagonists. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Package Contents: 20-page Instruction Manual

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

Starting with 2009's God of War Collection, the high-definition collections on PlayStation 3 have been a resounding success. For publishers, it strengthens awareness of a particular franchise that may have been overlooked by gamers when the titles were originally released. For fans, they can re-experience their favorite titles with enhanced visuals, bonus features, and trophy support. Yet Konami's Silent Hill HD Collection doesn't measure up to the standards of previous collections, with the remastered versions failing to either improve on the original games or add value for consumers. Included in the Silent Hill HD Collection are two games -- Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 -- in a series that saw four entries on PlayStation 2. Why were Silent Hill 4 and/or Silent Hill Origins not included? Though these titles may not have received the critical acclaim their predecessors did, this is, after all, a themed collection. Also of note is the lack of bonus features. There are no making-of videos, "looking back" interviews with the people who created the games, story scripts, or artwork that would have made this collection particularly appealing to Silent Hill fans. Yet the most troubling aspect of the collection is that the included titles have received drastic changes to the original presentations. In an effort to "clean up" the games from a visual standpoint, the developers inadvertently made the games worse. The reduced fog, for example, means that players don't have the same sense of claustrophobia or fear of the unknown. Textures that once showed decay and ruin have been cleaned up, and the dramatic use of lighting and color in the original games has changed so significantly, the result is a desaturated mess. The developers have essentially stripped the mood and atmosphere from the games in an attempt to correct any visual imperfections. The changes also include new voiceovers for the principle characters, which are improvements in some cases and steps back in others. Silent Hill 2 offers a choice between the original voices and updated ones, but there's no such option in Silent Hill 3, forcing players to abide by the changes whether they like them or not. The one area that could have benefited from a change, the control options, has been untouched, which could have been a selling point for those who felt the original schemes were awkward. Regardless of how you feel about the games themselves, this survival horror collection is a slapdash effort, causing increased heart palpitations and tension for all the wrong reasons. ~ All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.