Silent Hill 3

Category: Horror/Survival
Publisher: Konami
LPer: L0rdVega
My Game Rating: 3.6

Atmosphere:

The foggy world and dark areas don't seem to be improved on. Seems Konami is going with the old adage "if it's not broke then don't fix it".

The transitions from regular to nightmare world was a great touch. It certainly was a vast improvement over the previous technique of exiting one room in normal world and entering a new room in nightmare world.

Nightmare world still has that run-down and dark look with it's areas of blood (like the toilet in the nightmare mall; I would so hate to be the person who had to clean that!).

Background Music and Sounds:

Background music tends to be at a low level of volume. Sounds such as the radio static, footsteps, and monster noises easily sound over the music. That keeps with the isolated and alone theme.

The score is cool. Three of my favorite pieces are: the music when Heather finds Harry's body (adds to the sorrow factor); the music while she is exploring her apartment before leaving for Silent Hill; and the song played during the car ride to Silent Hill.

Puzzles and Paths:

It wouldn't be Silent Hill without......yup, you guessed it. Locked and/or jammed doors.

The pathways are definitely more convoluted. The path she takes from the mall to her house takes about as long as her route through Silent Hill does. Not sure why they did that. Maybe to give Heather a good source of information and practice before she hits Silent Hill?

Konami got creative with this game on puzzles. One key in the mall is under a pallet and can only be reached by using the tongs from the bakery. Then there is the hangar you need to pull down the ladder because Heather can't reach it normally.

New Features and Upgrades:

On certain puzzles where you have to use multiple items, the items appear in the bottom right corner so you don't have to go back into inventory.

The bulletproof vest was awesome. It reduces damage from attacks and I don't mean the bullet kind either.

Storyline:

Heather has a nightmare about an amusement park while napping at the mall. Upon waking, she phones her dad to let him know she's on her way home. As she starts to leave, a guy approaches her claiming to be a private detective hired to find her. To lose him, she goes through the bathroom window.

As she makes her way through the monster-filled mall, she meets Claudia, who sprouts nonsense about some "God" and Heather's True Self before leaving. At the exits of the mall, she runs into Douglas the P.I. again, who reveals Claudia hired him.

She leaves him at the mall and treks through several locations trying to get home. In a nightmare construction building, she meets Vincent. He acts just as crazy as Claudia, in fact even knows Claudia, and Heather believes him to be on her side.

When she gets home, she finds her father murdered in his chair in front of the T.V. She runs out onto the roof of her building to where she finds Claudia and a monster. Claudia tells her to meet her in Silent Hill and leaves Heather to fight the monster.

She re-enters her apartment to find Douglas waiting. Feeling guilty, he offers to help her get to Silent Hill. When she meets up with him outside, he says a guy named Vincent told him to find Leonard and also hands her Harry's journal.

On the way, Heather talks about what she read in Harry's journal, which is just a recap of the events of Silent Hill.

In Silent Hill, they split up. She goes to the hospital. She finds a video that brings back memories of Lisa Garland. She then finds Leonard, who turns out to be a monster. He attacks her, believing she is on Claudia's side. She defeats him and gets the seal he was protecting.

She returns to their motel room to find Vincent waiting on her. He says Douglas left a message for her to go to the church. Coming from Vincent, she shows a little doubt, but decides to head for the church anyways. First, though, she has to go through the amusement park.

She goes through a creepy haunted mansion section and soon finds Douglas wounded. They have a tense moment where he points a gun at her. He doesn't shoot and Heather continues on. She soon comes across a doppelganger of herself (maybe residual energy from Alessa bent on stopping her?) which she must defeat.

At the church, Heather meets up with Claudia once again. Claudia goes on again about "God", paradise, so forth. Heather reveals that she remembers her true self.. She also tells Claudia that she doesn't want the "God" to be born.

Claudia leaves while Heather is bent over in pain (girl can make a quick exit, can't she?). Heather starts exploring the church when she comes across a confessional box, where someone is asking for forgiveness. Heather has option to forgive or say nothing (this is something that affects the ending choice).

Exploring further brings her to a library where Vincent tries again to convince Heather he is on her side. She continues on, finding Alessa's hospital room then her room at her house. There she finds a tape of a conversation between Vincent and some woman, revealing the truth about him.

Finally Heather reaches the final room where she observes an exchange from Vincent and Claudia. Vincent wants them to die so the whole rebirth thing won't happen. Claudia believes him a traitor to their orders and kills him.

Heather pulls out the seal she got from Leonard and then learn it is worthless. Right after, the "God" tries to be born. Heather opens the locket her dad gave her to find Aglaphotis. She ingests it and it causes her to throw up the fetus. Claudia, panicking, swallows the fetus then births the "God". This kills Claudia.

Heather kills "God" like her father before her. She returns to the amusement park to find Douglas. She pretends to be possessed to pull a prank on Douglas. When Douglas calls her Heather, she tells him to call her by the name her father gave her (Cheryl) because she is not hiding anymore.

Protagonist:

Heather is definitely Harry Mason's daughter. She never wavers from her resolve, even when she learns things that would make a normal person have a mental breakdown.

She is so far the most logical protagonist in the series. The hanger to pull down the ladder she can't reach....the matress down the hole in the floor to cushion her drop...her ability to see things without the flashlight (unlike a previous protagonist who will remain nameless -_-).

She is my favorite Silent Hill character. She grows as the game progresses and seems the most real to me.

Other Characters:
Harry Mason

Harry is Heather's dad. If you have played or watched the first game, you know all about him and his adventures in Silent Hill.

His death is a true tragedy to the series but is understandable: Heather has to take this journey on her own.

Douglas

Douglas is a private investigator hired by Claudia to find Heather. He knows nothing about the reason behind the search thus making him a neutral figure caught up in the situation. As the story progresses, he begins to learn what is going on and is angered for being used.

He grows as a person, making him more real then most characters to date. You can't help but like him.

Claudia

Claudia belongs to the cult in Silent Hill. She wants to finish what Dahlia started. We learn that she and Alessa were like sisters growing up, explaining their connection. This connection is why she feels sorrow at what she must do to Heather to complete her task.

She is nuts, completely 100% out of her mind. The regret she displays may make her seem more human, but it doesn't subtract any of the crazieness to me.

Vincent

Vincent is a priest in the cult. However, unlike other members, he doesn't want the "God" born.

He is crazy in his own way. However, he is smart enough to know that if what is going on is the work of their "God" then something is seriously wrong with the picture.

Memorable Things For Me:

The BBQ dog in nightmare world's fast food restaurant.
Heather's first boss which is almost same as Harry's boss in the mall.
Heather's parting remark when she first meets Vincent.
Heather's remark about Leonard not really being a person.
The church map which is a child's drawing. BEST MAP EVER!
Heather's remark over Claudia's body about wanting to have killed her herself.
Heather kicking the final boss after she defeated it, just for good measure.

L0rdVega's Contribution:

He is awesome. He makes this experience in Silent Hill great. You really should check out his LPs.

One of my favorite parts was the carousal puzzle, where Heather has to kill the horses to move on to fighting the doppelganger.