The Silent Hill franchise
manages to maintain its aura of suspense – without resorting to the
purposely poorly translated cheesiness of other survival horror games
– by constantly introducing new characters and plotlines to keep the
story fresh. It’s psychological, Twilight Zone horror, rather than
a zombie bloodfest, and adventure gamers who like just a smidgen of
gore in their gaming have gravitated towards this series like a Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtle to a pizza.

The newest entry features
an all-new groundbreaking graphics engine, a brand new playable character,
stunning new environments and a haunting soundtrack. Further enhancing
the Silent Hill experience, the game will ship – in North America
only – with the Official Silent Hill 3 Soundtrack.

The most important attraction
for most gamers has always been that the player has the option to
choose between using their wits or weapons and, well rather than take
my word for it, let’s look at the press release:

An otherwise normal
girl, Heather quickly finds herself trapped in the eerie alternate
reality of Silent Hill where she must battle frighteningly gruesome
monsters at every turn. Using only her wits and a handful of weapons,
Heather is trying to stay alive long enough to escape and unravel
the mystery that has tied her to this disturbing town. Gamers will
meet eccentric individuals including an intriguing detective Douglas,
who shadows Heather’s every move, and Claudia, a mysterious woman
who speaks in riddles about her past and possible future destiny.

Using an extraordinary
graphics engine that has been specially created by Konami Computer
Entertainment Tokyo, Inc., the inhabitants of Silent Hill – human
and otherwise – come to life with a stunning level of detail. Players
will also be shocked to find that inanimate objects such as ceilings,
walls and floors appear to be breathing, pulsating and sometimes bleeding.
Through the use of proprietary environmental audio technology, the
bone-chilling sound effects further heighten the unparalleled horror
experience.

I couldn’t have said it
better myself. Another feature that will be available only in the
pc version of Silent Hill 3 will be the ability to save your
progress at any point in the game. That’s right, Konami has heard
and listened to the requests of pc gamers and freed us of the restrictive
save-point function. We heap multitudes of decapitated heads at your
feet.

Keep this game on your
radar as it is one of the few must-have titles of the year. And be
very, very careful, for the next time you’re out driving at night
and find yourself lost on a foggy back-road; that gas station you
stop at to ask for directions may just be in the shadowy town of Silent
Hill (It is for this reason that I keep a flame-thrower in my
glove compartment).