The Trash That is Silent Hill Homecoming

My letter to Double Helix. The american gaming developer of said game. The contents are as follows.

Hello there at Double Helix,

     I am and will always be an avid fan of the Silent Hill Series. As an aspiring novelist, director, and voice actor. I was very much in love with the way the Silent Hill Series took the essence of Jacob’s Ladder and made it its own. That was the unwavering truth until I played you game. Now my faith in the series is not just wavering; it’s collapsed. I have played through your rendition of Silent Hill and have literally not stopped wondering what could have possessed you to create the game as you did. I won’t go into the shoddy visuals and the unbalanced sound and voice acting because if I did I wouldn’t sleep from everything I would write. That said, I found myself horrified in all the wrong ways by the story and its overall concept.

     To say that this game was influenced by the Silent Hill Film is a complete understatement and that was your first issue. I can understand being visually inspired by a piece and then trying to make it your own, such as the transitions from the “normal” world to the “other” world of darkness. But you took something that was made for mainstream audiences and shoved it in a game where it did not belong. For all its visual flare, the peeling effect removes a major element of the silent hill universe: The psychology. As in Jacob’s Ladder, the different worlds and realities are a reflection of the main characters perception. Silent Hill 1 captured this perfectly. You as the player, never knew if the world around him was all in his mind or not. He would seemingly wake in a different place each time and, save for his main purpose, he was struggling with his own madness only to find out that the town’s transformation was a reflection of Alessa’s nightmare. When you peel away at the surface in the game it sure looks pretty, but the deeper connotations are all lost.

     Another major folly of this game’s story was the inclusion of Pyramid Head. He has no place in any game other than Silent Hill 2. He was James’ personal demon, unique to him and to him alone for he(Pyramid Head) was a creation of his(James) own self hatred. Pyramid Head also served another purpose in the series, to show that with the absence of Alessa and her constant nightmare, the town had developed a power of its own. Basically the town shapes the visitor’s personal fears and pains in to solid form. Making the visitor deal with them on a more personal setting. The town undoubtedly lives off fear. With that it needs a large meal and thus uses any means to get it. That shows the town weapon, to bring out your own fear and use it against you, thus creating more fear and keeping the town fed. The town even provides the player with all the needed weapons for combat.
Nothing in these games was simply added for the purpose of mere gameplay elements. Everything involved had a direct correlation with the series’ mythos and story. Note: In the case of Pyramid Head his inclusion is mildly understandable, but if you want a horrifying creature that will stand in our memories, take the time to make one yourselves and don’t rehash a rehash of another team’s work.

     The characters in this entry were also laughable. Alex Shepard’s mother was so down trodden and boring, she should have been euthanized from the onset. The other main characters such as Elle Holloway had little relevance to Alex’s main quest. Apart from opening doors and the occasional escort mission, what was Elle’s purpose? Not in terms of direct story, I mean why have Elle in this story if she didn’t have her own real pressing issues. Sure she has issues, but she doesn’t have any immediate need to do anything. She hardly even seems to want to escape the town. Was the town even blocked off from the rest of the world? They could have just left the town at any point. There was no real sense of urgency. It would be bothersome to have to continue looking for Josh if they took their time, but he apparently seemed to be safe since he’s the one wandering about the place all without a care in the world. This game had too many weak structural supports. If it were a building it would’ve been tagged for the wrecking ball first thing.
    
     Then comes Alex Shepard and his, and forgive me for this, lame excuse for being going home in the first place. Firstly he was already in military gear when he set off from the truck in the during the initial sequence, so the revelation that he was at a mental institution before the main story occurred is a bit confusing. Secondly that would mean that not long after his release from the institute, he went through a lucid period, bought the gear, then had a relapse and, seeing himself in this outfit, created the elaborate illusion that he was a member of the military, dog tags and all. Then to suddenly give a crap about saving his brother and you might as well throw your hands up and expect the sky to fall. This is a lot for the audience to soak in and the average audience member may think this far back, or this far ahead, whatever it depends of the viewpoint. This game makes its doesn’t give its audience room to think. It practically throws all of the information in your face. What I am trying to say is that the reasons for this quest are weak from the beginning and as such a weak story would have to follow and a lackluster ending soon after. Note: In terms of gameplay you turned this game into a bad version of Resident Evil 4. A great game in itself but it must be noted that the horror in that game is a massive after-thought and it is decidedly and action-adventure game. That is a genre that Silent Hill was never meant to mingle with. 
  
     I feel as if I’ve been a bit harsh, but to be honest the feeling that you made this game simply so it could be a “cool and thrilling” entry in the series is pretty obvious and in focusing on that mentality you have come out with a game that seems no more memorable to the world than any other third rate company’s venture into survival horror genre. How many horror games have dark and bloody corridors? How many horror movies, games, and books don’t already star a scary child? Note: Cheryl in Silent Hill 1 never fit that category. She was an obvious victim as was Alessa. The game sees a man go home, kill everything in sight and leave in the same state that of his arrival save for a few scars and some knowledge a few years in therapy would have helped him attain anyway. You as a team used every trick in the proverbial book to create a terrifying experience and you ended up with a title that will go down in history as that game everyone wished they ignored.

     I write this not to insult you, but to point out that you had the potential to take a franchise and not bastardize it as we have done with so many other franchises in the past. We tend to “Westernize” everything for this our own consumer audience because we truly believe that this country isn’t clever enough to take in anything else more complex. It’s sad that you seem to agree, even if you don’t admit it. I hear that you may possibly be making more Silent Hill games, well I will pray that you at least have enough sense to give your writers a good talking to about what creating a story is about. For the future of you company I hope so. My mother used to and always reminds me of this saying: If you aren’t going to try and do something right, then don’t do it at all. Don’t waste our time with more filth. As a fan of the previous games, I beg you.