Silent Hill 3

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Released (UK): May '03
Released (US): Aug '03

May contain Spoilers. At the time this was considered the best game of the series - at least it was according to the reviews and forums. I was really looking forward to playing this one more than I was SH4 or SH2.

You play as Heather Mason, a 17 year old girl who has a bit of an attitude at first. You don't know much about her but that's what this game is about - self discovery. On your first attempt at this game you're thrown right in the deep end because you're playing from the beginning. The opening 'level' is set in an Amusement Park and only lasts a couple of minutes. At the end, you find it basically acts as a dream sequence because Heather wakes up in a restaurant, the noise of hustle and bustle going on in the background.

When she leaves the restaurant you find she's in a shopping mall. You start to find more about her here because of two things. First she calls her Dad and looks happy when she speaks to him and laughs at a joke he must have told. Then she gets interrupted by a dishevelled looking man who introduces himself as Douglas Cartland, a Detective sent to find her - "It's about your Birth" he says. Heathers not interested though (would you be?) and walks away, however, Douglas follows you. Heather, it seems, also has a bad temper because she blows when he doesn't leave her alone. She runs into the toilets and escapes through the window.

This is when the game begins and you're on your way back home to Daddy as promised. Sounds easy enough but when she returns to the Mall she find's it deserted, except for some very nasty looking monsters. Actually the Monsters in Silent Hill 3 are pretty basic, the first one you come across being the Closer, a tall monster with clubs for arms - large but they move slowly. You also have the dog-like Doubleheads, the screeching Pendulum which is safer to run away from, the Numb Body (pictured), Scraper, Slurper, Insane Cancer and the Nurses make their return.

The monsters are of the same style as Silent Hill 2 - fleshy and wooden looking, but they're better in terms of sound effects. The Numb Bodies in particular make a screaming noise while they walk and they echo from the walls which gives a good atmosphere. The Nurses have a nice scream when you attack them which also add a bit extra. Other than these two, the monsters aren't anything to scream about yourself.

One thing this game does have though is bloody good atmosphere. Each area you go you're guaranteed a scare of some kind. We've already mentioned the Shopping Centre and you get a good freak when you knock on a toilet cubicle to find the door opens to reveal a bloody toilet seat. You also have the Subway, Sewers, Construction Site, Hilltop Centre, Brookhaven Hospital and the Amusement Park with the unforgettable Borley Mansion.

The best Silent Hill 3 moment takes part in the Hilltop Centre when a Mannequin mysteriously loses it's head when you back is turned - makes you jump too because it screams. I always find it creepy when inanimate objects come to life in some way.
Heathers stalker at the Hospital also causes a shiver down your spine just because the feeling that someone else is there in a deserted hospital is a good way to creep anyone out. Silent Hill 3 makes much better use of the hospital than SH2 (it's the same design) by making it look more like a mental hospital. The stalker, the knocked over wheelchair in the basement and the phone call you receive from a maniac in the locker room.
In general Silent Hill 3 has the better 'levels' than the other Silent Hill games I have played so far.

Heather meets several people while she walks around to settle her fate. We've already met Douglas but things go really freaky after our meeting with Claudia Wolf, a cult member who is arranging for her god to be born to make way for a new paradise. Another cult member we meet is Vincent, a priest within the cult who wishes to stop Claudia's scheme. He helps Heather throughout the game though we don't know whether it's in her best interest or his own.
Supporting characters include: Leonard Wolf, Claudia's father who was committed to the Hospital for violence towards 'non-believers' of the cult in which he was a part and Harry Mason, Heathers father and the protagonist of the original Silent Hill game.
You don't feel much emotion for these characters unless you had previously played the first Silent Hill game - Harry is well known to people who have played the original and it's quite emotional to see him meet his untimely end. Claudia and Vincent don't have much personality and I doubt they'd ever be named as a favourite among the fans. Douglas you feel a little towards because he becomes a new father figure for Heather and even though it's not mentioned, the game leads you to believe they leave together when the game ends.
Then we have Heather - named by fans as the best Silent Hill character but it must be the testosterone speaking because I don't think she has much going for her. She's a strong character for sure but likeable? She's a little bratty at the beginning of the game and has a short fuse and a little stubborn. I wouldn't name her as my favourite character of the series let alone my favourite Protagonist.

My opinions on this game always change. At the time I remember not liking this game much when comparing it to Silent Hill 2 & 4 but now I think it was a better game than Silent Hill 2. It has a better atmosphere than SH2 and the characters weren't exactly great in either of them. Silent Hill 3 also had better environments but Silent Hill 2 had a better Protagonist, storyline and Pyramid Head....

9/10

The game is on par with Silent Hill 2 but this is my opinion only. The general opinion is that Silent Hill 2 had everything necessary for a horror game but Silent Hill 3 also had these things but improved on them and if Heather is the best character Team Silent have ever come up with - wouldn't that make SH3 the superior one?

Heather Mason...Is she really the best Protagonist?
Or are fans deciding with their eyes?