Silent Hill 4: The Room

It has a good story, nice levels and disturbing, scary moments that you'd expect to see in a survival horror game - but it doesn't have "Resident Evil's" charm.

Dedicated followers of the Silent Hill mythology will find plenty to sink their teeth into with a solid eight-hour adventure and multiple endings, and the new “Room” mechanics and intriguing plot might even snare a few newcomers.

When you begin to fear the tedium of yet another awkward, uncoordinated fight sequence more than the unspeakable evils themselves you know something’s not quite right.

Konami succeeds in creeping us out, but due to substantial alterations to the gameplay, you might be more frustrated than freaked by the time you reach one of SH4's four endings.

Unlike Hollywood horror movies that often get worse with each new sequel ("Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan," for example), Konami's scary Silent Hill series gets better -- and creepier -- with age.

But what it is good at doing is staying interesting and scary throughout the game.

Look at it one way, and it's a choking journey with unprecedented attention to unease and psychological horror, a game framed with unparalleled sophistication. From another angle, it's just a clunky PSone throwback, with all the design wit of a dodo. [Aug 2004, p.92]

It has its quirks, but in the end, it delivers the goods. And the scares.

It also introduces a cerebral angle to a genre that's left little to the imagination and makes it all the more unnerving as the hell on the other side of the hole in your wall closes in. [Oct 2004, p.96]

A great concept and great technical achievement marred by a poor execution. It’s just not as creepy, scary, or thought provoking as previous entries in the series and the game-play itself is boring even when measured against the fact that the horror genre itself is really based on creepy atmosphere and scares and tight game-play execution tends to be an afterthought.

The inescapable truth for Konami is that it has not just failed to better itself, but has gone backwards to the extent that it's no longer our favourite horror series ("Project Zero 2" ["Fatal Frame 2"] claims that throne for now). [JPN Import]

You may love it, or you may be turned away by iffy gameplay, but you’re nearly guaranteed to be creeped out.

Just be warned when I say it’s violent. It’s insanely violent. There’s blood everywhere. Literally. There’s blood that will make you wonder how it got there. Oh, and corpses, in varying degrees of decay.

The game's disarming voyeurism, bizarre camera angles, and exceptionally well-placed tension is what the series has been trying to do all along, but The Room is the first entry to do it right. [Sept 2004, p.104]

A damned scary game, and it's one of the better survival horror titles out there because of that. It's good to see its designers taking risks and experimenting with the formula. This time, however, it's kind of a misfire. It's by no means a failure, but it's not a success, either.

The contrast between your deranged nightmare apartment and the seemingly normal world outside gives it an especially tense feeling of psychological terror and uncertainty.

The worst in the series, but is by no means a bad game...The most disappointing thing about the game, though is that it only borders on being scary, and this has always been one of the biggest elements in the Silent Hill series.

It's starting to look really long in the fang and could use an extended rest at some abandoned sanitarium. Otherwise, the only thing that's going to be scary about these games is the frightening pace Konami churns them out and just how far they've fallen from the original.

While fleeing from ghosts may seem like a small issue, it really does drag down an otherwise brilliant game. [Oct 2004, p.74]

It's the details that we love in this game...Graphics are wonderful, too...Just dont play it in the dark.

If you're new to this series, The Room is a great place to start, and if you're a fan, at least find comfort knowing that Konami has employed the same successful formula without taking any damaging steps that could've ruined it.

The most deliciously dark Silent Hill yet but the compulsive storytelling can't compensate for the fiddly controls, fractured structure and frustrating combat. [PSM2]

Silent Hill 4 is by far the most atmospheric of the titles to date, and if played under the right conditions will creep out even the most hardened survival horror fan. But being made to traipse over the same levels a second time seems a little lazy and really saps a lot of enjoyment out of the experience. [Sept 2004, p.113]

While it all works well and survival/horror fans won’t be at all disappointed if they go out and get this game, Silent Hill feels an awful lot like previous Silent Hill games.

Pairs third-person and new first-person gameplay with an emphasis on combat and item management. The resultant hybrid has some flaws, but The Room retains the dark, disturbing soul that is the unsettling center of the Silent Hill experience.

Overall I enjoyed Silent Hill 4 just as much as the previous games. Although the initially slower pace and more non-conventional puzzles might annoy some gamers, those who hang in there are in for a hellish treat well worthy of the creepy Silent Hill brand.

While not stunningly different, the new combat system, improved controls, and unique pacing in the game make this one fresh and involving.

Veterans can complete this in one sitting of 4-8 hours if so inclined. Even with all the monotonous backtracking and escort missions, the game is far too short. The downside is comparable to seeing a great horror flick that is only 80 minutes long.

It knows where you work, so you can't run. It knows where you live, so you can't hide. So open up your room already and say, "Ahhhh!" Or would you rather they do it for you, sissy?

Clumsy combat and woeful repetition will try your patience. [Oct 2004, p.118]

You really do need to care what is going on, and take an active interest in the story, rather than just seeing this as a room clearing zombie fest.

It's not as scary as other games in the series. In all, as a survival-horror game, it's a solid fight-fest that newbies and diehard fans will enjoy. Or at least some will.

It suffers and revels in both gaming and horror-story clichés, but still succeeds in creating a sense of wonder and unease.

The bizarre levels and challenging puzzles remain engrossing even when you start asking the never-answered question, “What’s the point?”

The chills and suspense that is a trademark of Silent Hill is still there, but the new aspects can provide an interesting twist to people bored with the old Silent Hill format.

In my honest humble opinion Silent Hill 4: The Room is by far the best of the Silent Hill series.

Ultimately, The Room comes across as a game afraid of its own potential; not only afraid, in fact, but petrified. For what it achieves the game pays a heavy cost in bad calls, misjudgements and, above all, an uncharacteristically blunt edge.

Another deliriously creepy adventure. [Oct 2004, p.90]

Not since the original "Silent Hill" have I been this chilled by a game. [Sept 2004, p.69]

This focus on combat isn't always helped by the game's dodgy targeting and suspect collision detection... An uneven, but satisfying, psycho romp for series fans. [Oct 2004, p.30]

Takes the best of the first two games, skips that crapper of a third game, adds to the series ten-fold and once again threatens to turn your head into a nightmare hotel.

The gameplay however is a little slow and involves far too much back tracking for its own good and things often get tedious.

For those who can live with the formula, the only real flaw is the latter half of the game where too much trudging through previously visited areas creates something of an anti-climax after such a gripping start.

Even with the fluid game control and the improved graphics Silent Hill 4: The Room is still just another Silent Hill game. Sure the controls make the game more accessible to non-survival horror gamers since it is more intuitive.

The large number of cut scenes seems a little distracting at first, but once you get used to them, they add a lot of depth to the game.

Silent Hill 4's biggest failing is its shortage of true terror.

One of the most disturbing games of the year. In a good way.

But I think it's safe to say that when a game is both a retread and short, there's definitely something wrong with it. Silent Hill 4 is such a game.

Fans of the series will have plenty to be happy about, but you can’t help feeling you’ve been here and done that in the previous games. That’s the real horror here.

The eeriness of the environments, even your room feels dingy, is captured brilliantly, and the tunnel effect is awesome.

It's a shame some of the effort wasn't pushed in the direction of the second half of the game.

9 / 8 / 8 / 8 - 33 gold [Vol 810; 25 June 2004]