Silent Hill Homecoming
Nex Gen Silent Hill looks better than ever.
Story
One of the most important elements of Silent Hill. Lucky they didn't take the same path as Origins (PSP/PS2) You play the role of Alex that has been in the hospital from the war. Alex has had nightmares about his younger brother, Josh, being in trouble. So Alex decides to go home to Shepard's Glen. At his arrival he discovers that the town is empty, and his younger brother is nowhere to be found. Later he goes home to ask his parents but finds his mother in a depressing mood unable to give straight answers. Then he learns that both his brother and father are missing. Alex decides to go look for them, suddenly discovering that the town is invested in deadly creatures. Alex does everything he can to find his brother and discover the truth behind Shepard's Glen. The game is based on a philological horror, and plays a good role in doing so. Silent Hill Homecoming is simply one of the most easiest Silent Hill titles to completely understand. Even though the majority of the multiple endings are unsatisfying. They did a great job creeping the player out, and have them questioning till the end.
Controls
As different Homecoming is to the past Silent Hill games, the controls have been highly improved. Game play is smooth and solid. You can easily select weapons and items from your menu by either holding the right or left one trigger buttons. Also you can simply switch weapons by using the directional pad. For attacking enemies you have three optional buttons, the strong attack, simple attack, and block. Also you can use the square button to finish off enemies, which can show off some cool moves. But most enemies can be taken down with the same button combo, over and over again. Alex can dodge by ducking either left or right, or rolling back. This time around there's no fixed camera which may disappoint long time fans. You're able to control the camera with the right stick while the left stick controls Alex's movements. Also the X button helps interact with objects. The controls are easy to get use to unlike other past Silent Hill titles.
Visuals
The visuals can easily be described as a mixed bag where at times you will be shocked of how amazing the visuals can stand out while other times you can be somewhat disgusted. The graphics aren't as impressive in Shepard's Glen or Silent Hill, looks more like an average game but when you step into the other world, hellish type of world you will be surprisingly be shocked, with your jaw down. The Hellish world is very deeply detailed, with nice clean and polished textures. Your eyes will be glued to the screen, while scanning across the depths of the demonize world.
Monster/Character Designs
Even though some enemies might have been taken from previous Silent Hill titles, and even the movie. You will still be impressed by their designs. The monsters look nicely done, very creepy. On the other hand character designs can be a little weak. Their clothing can look very unpolished, and bland. While their faces are nicely created, they do lack in animation. Most of the character's lines, their mouths barely move or don't move at all. Sometimes this can be displeasent or annoying to some.
Boss Battles
These bosses are mean, tough, and ugly but in a good way. They will do anything to keep you down. You can be swung around, knocked down, or even get thrown. Silent Hill Homecoming defiantly has the best boss battles in the series but that's mainly because Homecoming has the upper hand with more advanced, and deep controls. The designs are clearly here to creep and disturb the hell out of you. It isn't to hard to figure out how to defeat them but hopefully you saved yourself some extra bullets to make the battle to go along more smoothly.
Level Design
The game can be pretty straight forward of what you have to do but sometimes the game will not give you enough clues to move on. The levels are simply designed to creepy you out, and bring out the horror. The designs really do prove, and give you a great visual experience. But Homecoming lacks the site of scare, by bringing out simple "pop-out" which can most of the time be very predictable. The game can easily be completed within five hours. Also there are multiple endings to collect. Apparently depending on how you play the game, you get a different ending each time. But really it depends on what you choose on three curtain events that appear at the last hour and half of the game. There's a good amount of bullets and health to be found. You have to use your bullets wisely, which makes the game truly a horror. Also there are plenty of weapons to collect, and you eventually upgrade weapons as well. You can even unlock a laser gun when obtaining the UFO ending, which can make the game a lot more easier and faster to beat.
Design
Sadly the game suffers frame rate issues in large environments. Also you will bump into a few glitches such as turning invisible, random freezing, sound/voice work not playing or just delays. Within the span of fifteenth hours of game play the game has already frozen three times, all in different areas. Loading times can also be an issue. Most loading screens take a few minutes, and there are plenty of them. You will specially be annoyed when you forgot to grab something that was a few loading screens back. Surprisingly they did not support Trophies, even though Sony made it strict that all titles after the summer must support Trophies, which will be minatory. The majority of the game is easy even on hard mode where enemies are stronger, and there's less bullets available. Sometimes you will bump into some puzzles that becoming frustrating. Also there are only five saving slots, which might not be a big deal but in our generation of gaming we should be able to have as many as we want. Anyways we're promised to have real time/in game transformation worlds but sadly that only happens twice, and the rest are in cut scenes. On other news Silent Hill Homecoming is the most violent game in the series. You can decapitate monsters. In some cut scenes you will see people get cut in half, or even a drill in the eye! This game is defiantly a mature game and should not be played by children.
Music/Sound
Homecoming holds a great soundtrack just like all the other previous titles. Composed by long time musician, Akira Yamaoka, has made another hit for the series, and even included vocal tracks. The music can really bring out the mood for cut scenes, and even in game. Homecoming does have good sound effects, well that's if you ever hear them. Sadly a lot of the sound effects will cut out or not play at all. Even voice work can become delayed or not even play. Even so there's an option to turn on subtitles if this bugs the player to much.
Replay Value
Most Silent Hill fans shouldn't be shocked by its replay value. Homecoming features a few unlockable costumes with each ending. There are also two weapons to unlock which require beating the game once and the other requires a current ending. Other than that there's not much to do, especially with no Trophie support.
Conclusion
Double Helix Studies did a great job bringing the series back on its feet to nex gen consoles. They have made some improvements but also lack some ability. Homecoming makes a worthy addition to the series and should be welcomed with open arms. Good story, great controls, amazing visuals and effects, and outstanding music and sound effects. Homecoming may be far from perfect but it is defiantly worth checking out. Dispite its flaws Silent Hill Homecoming is a great addition to the Silent Hill franchise, and should be recognized. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Story - 7.8/10
Controls - 8.8/10
Visuals - 8.6/10
Monster/Character Design - 8.7/10
Boss battles - 8.7/10
Level Design - 8.5/10
Design - 7/10
Music/Sound - 8.8/10
Replay Value - 6/10
Overall Score - 8/10 - Solid Title.
Subject: Full Review on Silent Hill Homecoming (PS3 version) 
Sun Oct 05, 2008 11:43 pm