Silent Hill: Origins (2007)

Fun fact: this is the first and only game I've ever played through on a PSP.

0rigins has the misfortune of not being part of the holy original four Silent Hill games. As such, it tends to get lumped together with the later entries in the series which are typically viewed as where the franchise quality dipped drastically. So I went into this game not expecting much, to be honest. Pardon the shitty image quality, but I don't know how to screenshot on a PSP, if it's even possible.

Overall I was actually impressed by how decent this game is. It plays pretty well for the most part, though the placement of the joystick nub used for all movement on the PSP very quickly cramped my hand. The game looks pretty solid for a handheld game of the time as well. The biggest highlight is that the horror atmosphere in this entry is at times on par with that found in the "holy OG four." It's just a bit inconsistent, is all. When you boot up the game, it displays a message recommending that you play in the dark with headphones, which is exactly what I did. Definitely give it a shot, even if you've played it before without. The sound effects are unnerving and the music is a joy to listen to.

All that said, 0rigins also misses the mark in many ways. The story turns into messy gunk right at the very end in an attempt to function as a prequel to the first game. I think it would have been much stronger if it just focused on Travis (our protag)'s repressed memories of his family. Also, partway into the third major "dungeon", the game loses all sense of pacing with enemy placements and begins spamming them hardcore until some time into the fourth "dungeon". As a result, I began to lose my patience with it very quickly and it just soured that entire portion of the game.

So around this point of the game I was feeling a bit like Mr. Travis up in the image above. I knew I was near the end, but wasn't sure I wanted to push through the remainder if it was just going to piss me off. I did keep going, of course, and I think I'm glad for it. The final area is actually very cool and may be my favorite of the bunch. The leadup to the final boss is kind of insane in the best way too.

I'd say this is maybe worth your time if you're a fan of the series and want more of its iconic "hall full of locked doors" gameplay, like I did, but it also has some very nonsensical tie-ins to the first game that one could find pretty annoying, if you're big into the lore. If you played some of the other entries and didn't like them, definitely skip this.

So the back portion of this game is wayyy too spammy with enemy placements. I can't walk through the streets without a parade following behind me and every room is an exercise in frustration with how easy it is to get swarmed. Also even if you do manage to clear a room, when you leave and come back there's a good chance one, two, or sometimes even more enemies will have popped back up, which just feels like I wasted my resources.

How can I do the survival horror thing and try to plan to conserve ammo/health items when there's a (fairly high) random chance I'll have to pay a consumable item tax via bullets or taking damage every time I enter a room I thought was safe?

This one is just kinda boring, and a mediocre entry throughout, nothing to write home about is the easiest way to describe this. Enemy design is repetitive and uninteresting, location set pieces are just retreading past areas, Travis isn't a horrible protag but he isn't particularly interesting (why the fuck can he kill so well? He's a badass without explanation lmao), the plot is retreading common SH beats and it sets up SH1 by adding very little to the actual plot (prequel syndrome)

I actually liked the opening sequence, hearing the banter between Travis and his buddy was really endearing and gave him character. Saving Alessa from the burning house was cool too, and I enjoyed the hospital reasonably well, the mirror dimension switching is a good concept if generic, though I've heard complaints that it ruins the fog world/otherworld cycle mirroring REM sleep. A couple puzzles were decent and I was satisfied.

That said you quickly realize that monotony sets in damn quick in SH Origins. What you see is what you get. The combat is either braindead easy or cheap, but never challenging or rewarding. I had literally infinite ammunition and melee weapons and generally restricted myself to melee for the goofiness of hitting an uggy monster with a TV set. You repeat the flow of keyhunting-puzzle-keyhunting-puzzle-keyhunting-bossbattle about 4 times, and then the game ends.

Also a couple broader issues. The camera was very bad, arguably worse than SH4 or any previous entry, and I had frequent issues of the camera swinging rapidly around corners. The horror was actually nonexistent in the game, outside of hitting my pen and taking in the soundscape and being a little on edge (Akira Yamoaka CANNOT miss), it basically never happened. Cutscenes are goofy, I laughed a little bit at Travis' dad Gordon Freeman twitching around like a GMod ragdoll. Fuck stamina man.

Also I dislike endings being forced to be canon in games like this. The good ending is canon to set up SH1, not a fan of that. Looking into the bad ending as being an alternate reality that Travis' mother saw is kinda interesting? If Travis is supposed to have this repressed rage mirroring Alessa, which explains his violent tendencies, they're not really shown enough or elaborately to mean anything. The bad ending is acquired through violence, which makes this have some symbolism but it still feels weak.

Additionally it's implied that there is strong misogyny in Travis' other personality. Whenever he switches to the mirror world through a bathroom, it's a woman's bathroom. The opening scene where his friend feels a little skeevy and sexist, Travis rebukes nothing and it's noted that he doesn't really want to find a girl to settle down with, more of a fear of women in this case than hatred. Supposedly, the Butcher represents either a dark past for Travis or a possible avenue if he continues as he is. This is why he turns into The Butcher by the end. Alternatively, those photos with the dead women? He could be a serial killer who committed those acts. It's not developed enough to properly land, and there isn't real development or resolution of this point.

This game apparently went through development hell and the fact that it is as competent as it is might be a testament to the strength of humanity. I don't hate it, it's just unremarkable. That said, the more I look into interpretations of the symbolism, the more potential I seem to think it could have. It's kinda just SH2 again but without any time to cook.

Wouldn't recommend this to either Silent Hill fans or fans of Survival Horror.

The first western-developed Silent Hill game feels surprisingly similar to the original Silent Hill, more so than any other game in the series. As a game that was originally made for the PSP, it even looks quite a bit like a hybrid between the PS1 original and the classic PS2 trio. Developer Climax Studios did an excellent job of emulating the aesthetic that made these games so unsettling and memorable. Series composer Akira Yamaoka turns in yet another incredible, haunting score. There are even some legitimately great monster designs and interesting locations to explore... but there just seems to be a bit of creative spark missing overall. It makes sense. In a time when the brand was expanding rapidly and after a game that got pretty weird with the formula (SH4), Climax wanted to do something a little more focused on fundamentals, even though that isn't exactly the most exciting approach. The result is well-made survival horror that feels held back by its handheld platform and its lack of innovation.

There's also the fact that the story, which is always a huge part of these games, feels conflicted between its obligations to tell a story that serves as a prequel to the original Silent Hill and weaving its own tale about a trucker dealing with his dark past. Basically, it's trying to have its bowling alley pizza and eat it too. The plot certainly has some inspired moments but the Alessa prequel story adds almost nothing to the overarching series mythos and feels like a missed opportunity while the trucker story seems slightly under-cooked due to the shared spotlight. However, if you can overlook some subjective plot issues and lack of creativity, this is still a great survival-horror adventure. This game was completely rebooted during production and it's actually quite shocking that it came out as well as it did. It's my personal opinion that every Silent Hill game is absolutely worthwhile and adds something unique and enriching to the series. This one just adds the least.

Consola: PS2 Desarrollador: Climax Studios Publicado: Konami Año: 2007 - 2008

Pasaron 3 años desde la ultima entrega (Silent Hill 4: The Room, en 2004), la desintegración del Team Silent y que Konami permitiera a un equipo no Japonés el desarrollo de un nuevo Silent Hill; el resultado fue Silent Hill Origins; con un desarrollo atropellado y que en un principio iba a tener un enfoque muy diferente al resultado final.

El juego se ubica 7 años antes de los eventos del primer Silent Hill (1999), y pone al jugador en la piel de Travis Grady, un camionero que pasa por Silent Hill en el momento menos indicado, salvando a una niña que se encontraba en un incendio; desde ese momento se comienza un viaje que entrelaza a la orden o culto de dicho pueblo y la tragedia personal del protagonista.

En el aspecto visual es necesario recordar que este juego tiene una versión para PSP, la cual salio primero que la versión de PS2; lastimosamente esta ultima versión tiene ciertos problemas, sobre todo en la primera parte del juego, donde se ven pixeladas algunas secuencias, lo que dificulta un poco el distinguir algunos elementos de las escenas; este problema se compensa con los aspectos de los tipos de mundos con los que interactua el usuario: el mundo de niebla y Otherworld.

La niebla -que es un elemento característico del juego-, cumple su propósito: dificultar el campo de visión del jugador para que no pueda vislumbrar los peligros que tiene al frente; el Otrherworld está definido por el óxido, la sangre, el deterioro y oscuridad; tanto la niebla como el óxido ayudan a construir un ambiente de suspenso y temor a lo desconocido que compensa las fallas técnicas mencionadas en el párrafo anterior.

La jugabilidad es similar a la de las entregas anteriores. El jugador dispone de una radio que suena en proximidad de enemigos, una linterna que se puede prender o apagar según sea necesario, un botón para acceder al mapa de la zona en que nos encontremos, otro botón que sirve para recoger elementos dispersados por el pueblo, otro botón para atacar y botones para acceder rápidamente a las armas que el jugador tiene a su disposición.

Una de las novedades del juego es el uso de objetos como armas; cualquier objeto que el jugador pueda recoger y que no sea para resolver un acertijo puede ser usado como un arma: desde destornilladores hasta ganchos de carnicero; estos objetos tienen una duración limitada y se destruirán después de unos cuantos golpes. Otra de las novedades es el uso de los puños como un arma; también hay a disposición una cantidad limitada de armas de fuego como la clásica pistola o los rifles. Para el uso de las armas se dispusieron los botones de dirección para el acceso rápido a estas, dejando para movilidad el joystick análogo.

Otro de los cambios en el juego es el acceso a Otherworld, en este caso se usan los espejos como portales entre un mundo y el otro; esto a nivel de jugabilidad representa que se debe mover entre ambos ambientes para encontrar objetos, progresar en las áreas y derrotar jefes.

El apartado musical, viene de la mano de Akira Yamaoka, Joe Romersa en la composición de letras y Mary Elizabeth McGlynn en la parte vocal; musicalmente se crea un ambiente de tensión cada vez que se entra a Otherworld, en el mundo de la niebla se usan melodías un poco mas tranquilas e incluso partes donde solo hay silencio. En cuanto al trabajo de Romersa y McGlynn como siempre es un gusto escuchar canciones como "Shot Down In Flames", "O.R.T", "Blow Back" y "Hole In The Sky" refuerzan la situación y permiten entender a los personajes y adentrarse un poco mas en el juego.

Para esta reseña se jugó en dificultad normal, cabe resaltar que esta entrega no dispone de una dificultad de acertijos; y se termina en aproximadamente 7 u 8 horas (por lo menos ese fue el tiempo aproximado que dure jugando).

Los jefes finales presentan otro de los puntos flojos del juego, a excepción del jefe final, los demás carecen de un sistema de mecánicas y la mayoría se limitan a perseguir al jugador en un escenario, lo cual permite que puedan ser derrotados usando las armas de fuego; en aproximadamente 15 tiros de escopeta o rifle ya estaban derrotados, así que ese detalle puede causar un poco de frustración a un jugador experimentado o pueden divertirse tratando de derrotarlos usando los puños, eso puede ser divertido.

En cuanto a los enemigos dispersados por el pueblo, estos pueden ser un dolor de cabeza ya que pueden aparecer en grupos, embisten a Travis o escupen sustancias corrosivas restando salud y eso los hace mas peligrosos; en este aspecto innovaron agregando Quick Time Events cuando un monstruo agarra a Travis; si los enemigos están solos es fácil matarlos usando cualquier tipo de arma, a excepción de un par que se encuentran en el nivel del sanatorio, aunque la clásica táctica de huir puede funcionar en pocas ocasiones, ya que el protagonista del juego puede cansarse después de correr o pelear por mucho tiempo, necesitando un descanso y dejando al jugador vulnerable a un ataque.

Los puzzles en su mayoría son sencillos, solo es necesario leer las notas que vamos recolectando en el camino; los únicos que presentan una seria dificultad fueron los del teatro y el armado del Flauros.

La trama tiene los elementos necesarios para intrigar al jugador: para aquel que ya ha jugado títulos anteriores de la franquicia le servirá para complementar algunos detalles del primer juego y habrán otros detalles que entraran en conflicto con lo que se nos ha mostrado y el misterio que rodea a Alessa Gillespie.

Travis es un protagonista en conflicto con su pasado, mientras nos acercamos al final vamos desentrañando los problemas de nuestro protagonista; el punto negativo es que Travis parece carente de emoción. En este caso ignoro si esa carencia de emociones fue a propósito dadas las circunstancias que rodean al personaje; su madre fue internada en el sanatorio y su padre se ahorcó, lo cual hizo que al parecer reprimiera dichos recuerdos y quizá sus emociones.

Junto a esto tenemos las metáforas de los espejos como objetos que pueden revelar la verdadera naturaleza de las cosas y usados para viajar entre la niebla y otherworld; y la intriga que envuelve al monstruo conocido como Carnicero o "The Butcher", puesto que queda la incógnita de si era una persona a la que el pueblo o la orden convirtieron en eso o si solo era un asesino serial y los monstruos que el asesinaba eran personas o si los monstruos a los que Travis asesinaba eran habitantes del pueblo (eso es algo que no podía evitar pensar en la zona del Riverside Motel). Esa clase de cosas hacen que un juego sea mejor.

Para finalizar, es un juego que a pesar de sus limitaciones gráficas y poca dificultad en sus jefes, tiene una historia interesante que puede brindarle al jugador horas de entretenimiento y misterio, mientras descubre el origen del misterio detrás de Silent Hill.