Monsters - The best thing about Silent Hill?Nowadays Silent Hill is getting a bad rep since Team Silent split up but there are two things that have not changed in this series. Akira Yamaoka's spectacular music and the Monsters.
Silent Homecoming for example gave some of the best monsters in the whole series.
This year marks ten years since the the first Silent Hill hit the shelves and with 6 games under Konami's belt there's too many Monsters to count. Which Monsters are the best and which are easily forgotten? I have set up a survey to find out which Monsters have stuck in gamers minds and which aren't worth our time. To have your say click HERE.
To start us off, I'm going to show you what my top 5 Monsters in Silent Hill ever are and see if the fans agree with me.
5. Mannequins (Silent Hill 2)The reason I like the Mannequins so much is because of their presence. They hide silently in the dark and when you come across one they omit a creepy atmosphere. I'm also afraid of inanimate objects coming to life thanks to the film Poltergeist and these fit the bill.
The first time you see one is when James finds a flashlight. You think you're alone until you pick this object up and a Mannequin scares the living daylight out of you when it jumps up from the floor.
When you hit them they have a very masculine scream, unusual for something that looks so feminine. Another creepy moment regarding this Monster is when you're walking besides a building and one jumps from the roof as if committing suicide.
They represent the sexual frustration that James feels after not being able to get intimate with his wife since her diagnosis.
4. Nurses (All)The Nurses have been in all the Silent Hill games since game one (Although people know them as Patients, the Official Silent Hill 4 Guide refer to them as Nurses).
However, the Nurse that interested me the most were the Nurses from Silent Hill 3 (Left). They look almost Doll like and make one hell of a noise when you're around one. Even better is that these are the only Nurses to have a Gun.
At first they represented the Nurses that took care of Alessa but their representation is beginning to fade now that they've become such a fan favourite.
The Nurses have evolved spectacularly throughout the series and now they have become a Silent Hill Icon. They came first in the best Monster category in my Silent Hill Survey but this time I've split them up... Which one will be the most popular? Origins or Homecoming maybe?
3. Siam (Silent Hill Homecoming)Siam was one of the first Monsters to be made public for Silent Hill Homecoming and he/she looks very intimidating indeed. I remember becoming very excited about this game as soon as I saw this picture. Just like I had done 5 years earlier with my #1 Monster.
You will only come across 5 Siams throughout the entire game and because you're too busy trying the kick the hell out of it you don't really take him in that much. I was playing Homecoming for the third time the other week and I was at the part where I had to turn the power off to get into the prison. I had done that but wanted to go back to the cemetery for the Rifle so I ran right past him when he bust out of the electric gates.
However, when I returned I figured I'd wait until he came into view and shoot him from a distance. I could hear him but couldn't see him. He grunts and she has the creepiest scream I've ever heard. The best designed and the most frightening of them all.
They represent Alex's parents. The male part represents Adam's controlling nature and the female part represents Lillian's powerlessness to do anything about it. Some think it may also be representative of James Sunderland from Silent Hill 2.
2. Schism (Silent Hill Homecoming)Schism was another Monster that was one of the first to be revealed for this game. You come across them regularly and they're usually in groups.
No-one could forget when you first come across them at the Police Station. Never before have you been surrounded by a group of one particular Monster as large as this. The Shepherds attic is another place where the Schism's like to gather.
On several occasions you find yourself being surprised at their sudden arrival and Jesus, they're fast.
If you ever find yourself hidden enough to see how the Schism stands you'll see how he sways his head from left to right. He's actually rather creepy despite his human appearance.
He most likely represents Alex's guilt over his part in Joshua's death. The Swinging Pendulum was a medieval torture device used to force confessions out of criminals. The Schism may be trying to force Alex to come clean about Joshua's death and acts as a constant reminder of his guilt.
1. Double Head (Silent Hill 4)My Winner, the Double Head. The reason I got into the series and Survival Horror in general. The first time I saw this... thing was in a Playstation Magazine which I got after buying my Playstation 2. I thought it was the creepiest thing I had ever seen in my life, intrigued I read about it some more. After that, every time I saw something on Silent Hill 4 I read about it and became very interested in the game.
In game play they're even creepier when you see the size of them and when you're in the Forest World for the second time, the sight of them in the darkness pointing at you stops you in your tracks.
It represents the Locane siblings Billy and Miriam who were killed by Walter Sullivan just before his arrest. Sullivan's guilt over killing the innocent children not only make them look younger than they actually were, but also manifests it into a separate entity to the rest of the victims.
So, what do you think? There's no doubt that your top 5 is different from mine just because there's so many to choose from.
Don't forget to follow the link I gave to take the survey.
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