14 DAY TRIAL // 
Silent Hill or Resident Evil? This has been one of the questions that tormented most of the gaming journalists who had to pick one series or the other in order to give it the proper awards for being the best title pertaining to the horror survival genre. Personally, I'm a Silent Hill die-hard fan, mostly because Resident Evil features tons of monsters, less puzzles and a mediocre story. Konami's masterpiece has everything that Resident Evil lacks, from the horrifying storyline that manages to make sense, even if it's extremely complicated, to the mind-twisting puzzles. There hasn't been one SH title to date that I haven't played and adored, replayed and grown fond of. Eight years have passed since the first title in the series surfaced and I still enjoy playing it. Imagine my joy when I got to play the demo version of Silent Hill Origins and enjoy 30 minutes of pure horror and excitement.
Story It appears that Silent Hill Origins is the prequel for the first game of the series, featuring a protagonist named Travis O'Grady, not my favorite SH character from what I can tell. He seems to be the typical redneck truck driver, who just happens to drive through Silent Hill and starts seeing things... The game is also connected to the Silent Hill movie plot, as the ever present demonic little girl, Alessa Gillespie stops Travis, when he passes by. He rescues the girl, because she's been badly burned and as he tries to visit her in the local hospital things go crazy.
Of course, you won't figure that out from the demo, so you'll have to see a couple of trailers and do a bit of research on the Internet... or just wait for the full game, coming out in November. The demo starts with Travis entering the Alchemilla Hospital and trying to figure out what's wrong with the little girl he had rescued.
Concept If you're reading this, you must be a Silent Hill fan or on the verge of becoming one... Just search for a screenshot on the Internet, or listen to one of Akira Yamaoka's tunes included in the series and you'll be drawn to this media product forever. Back to the latest installment in the series, Origins is the typical horror survival game, with puzzle elements and some of the scariest environments ever featured in a title pertaining to the genre. One of the essential elements of the fantastic SH universe is the fact that you can play either in the real world, or in a tainted version of it. All of the rooms inside a certain mansion or hospital will remain in the original locations, but the looks of the environments will be drastically changed.
In Silent Hill Origins you can switch between the two universes with the aid of mirrors that take you to the real world or to the tainted Alchemilla Hospital for example. It always puzzled me that you can encounter those zombie nurses in both universes, but at least their number increases in the tainted world. Travis can use lots of weapons to protect himself, ranging from a nice hammer, to a small TV set, a typewriter or an alcohol bottle. All of the weapons I used in the demo were breakable, an improvement in the long-running series, as this is a new feature. Too bad I didn't get to use any firearm. The classic health drinks are still here to save the day and I must say that the AI is pretty tough, like in most of the SH titles.
Another one of Origins' cool new features is some sort of interactive sequence triggered by the attacks of a nurse zombie. She'll try to stab you with a syringe or some other sharp medical tool, so you'll have to mash the X button a lot in order to stop her attacks. The control system of the game is pretty OK and Origins is fairly easy to get used to, which is great for a PSP title, the first one on this console in the series. You'll use the analog stick to move around, press and hold the square button to run, press the R and the X button to shoot and the L button in order to switch between a couple of camera angles. The triangle brings up the map and the Select button allows you to access the game's menu, its options, your items and check out your status.
Gameplay I've played the Origins demo a couple of times, hoping to find new items, quests or monsters and it seems that Climax have done a wonderful job, taking over Konami's legacy. There's even a tough boss fight a little bit before the demo's ending and I took quite a beating before defeating the ugly beast. You might feel frustrated because of the camera angles or the fact that your weapons can break extremely fast, but that can only make the game more challenging. The puzzles are as brilliant as ever, so you'll have to use the notes that you can find scattered on tables and on the floor, various clues on the walls, keys, golden eggs and even plastic body parts in order to recreate a dead body. Konami have always had their sneaky way of toying with letters and numbers, in order to give you subtle clues during your quests and Climax manage to do the exact same thing with Origins.
The nurses can now attack you from the distance and this spells trouble, especially when you'll have to face two of them. If you're cunning and fast, you can use the basic "weapon", your two fists to take the zombies down and crush them with your feet by pressing the X button. You can consider Origins a mix between elements from the first and second Silent Hill games, plus a few extra features. Since we're dealing with a pretty big demo, you'll even be allowed to save the game once you reach a certain triangle-shaped symbol. In case you get lost in the dark, feel free to use the map (that I first missed in the lobby), one of the game's features that never seems to change. The usual blocked doors with "someone holding them shut on the other side" or the doors without knobs will always be a part of the phenomenon produced by Konami. Even if the developer changes, the original recipe will always be followed, because it is the only path to success.
Video The game looks stunning, for a PSP title and frankly speaking I was expecting the worst, before playing the demo. However, the constant blurring of the image and the foggy environments add up to the horrifying experience, completed by the brilliant soundtrack. Travis moves in a realistic way, but the camera has the bad habit of ruining a combat sequence, just when you're taking a hit. So, the L button becomes extremely useful, changing the view angle and adjusting it to each situation. Each nurse looks as scary as any of the monsters featured in the horror survival series, but it's too bad that they all look alike.
However, this is still a demo and the boss I had to face failed to impress me... graphically speaking.. Will we see the return of the acclaimed Pyramid Head? I hope so, but the trailers have shown some pretty nasty beasts lurking in the Silent Hill universe. What's to say about the environments? The bloody rooms, the tense atmosphere, bodies ripped open all over the place and the only source of light to reveal them all... your torch attached to your chest... Play this demo alone, with your headphones on and with the lights off...
Sound I've been listening to Akira Yamaoka's songs all day long, since I'm a fan of his works, specially the Silent Hill OST. I don't know if he's part of the development team for Origins and in case he's not the one bringing the gamers pure audio horror, his successor is doing a great job. Post-punk music and dreadful noises reach straight to your brain, injecting the adrenaline you need to take a good scare. In case the bloody rooms and demented nurses don't scare you, the music will surely set up your nightmares for the following night. I can't say much about dialogs, since Travis is not much of a chatter and the demo doesn't allow him to demonstrate his oratorical skills.
Conclusion If you're a Silent Hill fan, craving for the fifth installment, you NEED to play this game, or at least try the demo version. November seems so far now and I think that I'm going to play the demo at least 40 times till the full game surfaces... Who knows what number on the wall or what item indicates the things to come in the rest of the title's action? Travis is not the best main character I've seen, but maybe his emotions and past will make me appreciate him, once I get to know his background by playing Origins to its end.
