"This town's dangerous, and it's not just the fog either."

Well lets begin at the start - The history of the games.

Way back in pre-Iphone era known as 1999 Japanese game developer Konami released a survival horror game for the sony playstation. From outside the game appeared to be like any other horror game of the time; lone hero, monsters in the shadows and every damn door could only be opened with a puzzle or keys hidden by a ghost with a sick sense of humor.

However when the demos started to appear the gaming world released something very different had appeared.

Silent Hill was the brainchild of Keiichiro Toyama and his team (team silent) a great fan of 1950's American b-movies, which is why the games use American voice overs with Japanese subtitles. The plot seamed simple a father wakes up to find his daughter missing in a strange town full of mystery and dread, but which the game taking direct influence from Jacob's Ladder, David Lynch, and classic Japanese horror stories nothing was going to stay simple.

Throw in the music of Akira Yamaoka, monsters that were fast and nightmarish and a overwhelming atmosphere made the game haunting as it was memorable.

As expected the game was a huge success and redefined the survival horror genre, and even the first game is still listed as GameTrailers top horror game of all time. Soon came the sequel games.  Silent hill 2 was released in 2001 for the playstation 2, xbox, and pc followed by silent hill 3 (2003) and silent hill 4:the room (2004). I will go into more about these in their reviews.

However team silents involvement ended here (apart from work with the film 2006) but the series continued with the work of Climax group and Silent hill Origins was released in 2007 for the PSP, Silent Hill 5: Homecoming in 2009, the first on a next gen console and by "sigh" Silent Hill shattered Memories for the Wii 2010. 

Although the team changed the spirit did not, but in some games it felt diminished. But this year at E3 this trailer was released..

Silent Hill downpour promises a return to the Silent Hill of old, all I can stay is lets wait and see....

I should also mention that Silent Hill doesn't stop with the games, it also spawned Several play novels, a side-story on the gameboy advance, comic books, figures, an arcade game and of course a movie directed by Silent Hill fan Christopher Gans in 2006.

well I think this is long enough next time..Silent hill 1!

 

                    All sorts of awesome

"This town is full of monsters! How can you sit there and eat pizza?!"

Well maybe not pizza (or millions), but that doesn't matter! What matters is the game and why I spent too many late nights and sunny days inside playing it; why even now after ten years I still swear with frustration and fear playing the original, and still get excited about the promise of an eighth installment.

 The answer is simple - I love Silent Hill. It is in no way a perfect game series...

                  No comment

...but it changed the face of the survival games genre, created iconic scenes, creatures and settings and still sets the standards for horror in games to date.

I fell in love with the game when the demo was making its waves back in the late nighties, I couldn't wait for the game to come out (or to be old enough) to get it! It had everything - an eerie soundtrack, nightmarish creatures, a hero with a mission, a classic creepy plot and most of all the iconic setting. 

                 Don't forget the fog! and the monsters..

I wasn't disappointed. Every new game in the series added something new for me to chew on, from sexual undertones, references to classic horror movies and creatures that made me throw my controller in rage and gasp in fright. Even after ten years I still get a chill up my spine on foggy days..., that's because the game gets rooted inside you, it feels as familiar as a haunting fairytale yet it still surprises you. Every time I play through the series again I spot something I haven't noticed before or a hint towards a new twist, and then spent far too much time researching theories on the internet.

But the time has come for me to research and review the games and hopefully share with you why the games are important to me and hopefully encourage you to pick them up, get a bag of millions sit back and enjoy.

                                                 Millions the god of horror snacks

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Back from Wales, will post next big post soon (history of the games) but for now another vid. Enjoy.

Away

Going to wales for a week so no posts, so I'll leave you with this

"The Monster Lurks.. What the hell does that supposed to mean?" AKA about this blog

Well here goes the start of my blog, so I better tell you all about it.  Check the basement is a blog dedicated to reviewing the Silent Hill series in depth, Over the next few months I will be reviewing the series from start to latest installments, as well as the comics and movie. And after that the world...i mean other horror games. But firstly Silent hill. The blogs will take form as follows;   

A synopsis of the game
  Characters
  Creatures
  The town
  review
  Awards

I will also be looking at the  theories behind the games and the town in question, and also some of the inspirations for the series. Currently playing the first game (also going to Wales for a week) so warning will be a few weeks until the review of the first game, however next blog why silent hill?

Coming soon