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The Foggy Files #1 – Silent Hill 1 (PSOne)
Revisiting the Silent Hill Series

So I just recently finished a play through of Silent Hill 2 HD (PS3). I should mention that I thoroughly enjoyed the game and it is still pretty playable for an older game with some HD graphic updates, however, to break things down a bit further about where I stand with all of these games…well firstly I’ll admit that I haven’t played the newer games yet. I have played the originals when they were released which includes 1, 2, 3 and 4 but I never gave much thought to them mostly because I just enjoyed Resident Evil gameplay more. I also don’t remember too much about them because I don’t recall a community forming around them the way most games do nowadays. If there was a community built around the games at the time, I didn’t seek it or take part in it. There are plenty of sites out there with lots of analysis and theories about the games mythology and psychology for Silent Hill 2 alone and I enjoy sifting through all of it even after finishing the game.
 
(Where it all begins.) 

I still don’t like the combat in Silent Hill games. I don’t think the combat is fun at all. In fact, the thing that kept me going through Silent Hill 2 was the fact that you can completely avoid combat and get through the entire game, by only using a few gun rounds on the few boss fights that exist. You might think this to be a cop out, but honestly, if it weren’t for the great praise for the story and world design, I wouldn’t have bothered. I am glad I was able to explore and analyze the clues and characters about this game in the same way a lot of fans of the series analyze and explore these games. I managed to get through the game by either side-stepping hazards or just using a wood plank or metal pipe as a primary weapon, but the game experience didn’t suffer for this game play choice.

(F*@#ing flying F*@s will F*#! you up easy! Can I just walk one block at least without...)

Now with all of that out of the way, I’ve gone back and tried to play through the first game again for PSOne. I have to admit that upon starting Silent Hill 1 I’ve already had a bit of trouble handling the controls and combat. After a couple of hours in I am slowly being drawn into this game but honestly I find it to be difficult even on an easy setting. This game was designed when games were meant to be hard and make you learn them and get used to them to get good at them. Unlike Silent Hill 2, you cannot simply side step or avoid combat easily. For instance, when the game starts, you are left exploring the town of Old Silent Hill which consists of typical suburban homes with alleyways and a few business shops and stores spread around the map to make it seem like a town that was lived in, but recently abandoned. The town shops and homes serve mostly as backdrop and there are only a few specific areas that are able to be explored or exist mainly to gain access to the next area, as with most other games in a survivor horror genre. I am used to this game paradigm, so it doesn’t bother me, but in the starting area it seems everything wants to attack and kill you, and isn’t easily avoidable. There are for example, dog-like enemies that charge at you when you approach, and if there are more than one it can be a nightmare especially with the snow and fog effect added. There are also flying enemies that swoop down and attack your face as you run along the streets. This makes exploration hazardous and illogical for an adventure game because a few of these encounters can kill you easily and if you don’t save often, you need to redo it all again and lose that precious progress.  For a mystery type game, it sure doesn’t encourage exploration?

(Don't wast ammo on thes @$$*&0les, the re-spawn!)

In contrast, Silent Hill 2 had more enemies and hazards whenever you explored the interior of a building, but gave a bit of breathing room whenever you were outdoors serving as a sort of break or pause from the anxiety of exploring in the dark. Not so in Silent Hill 1. You are just as likely to encounter danger inside buildings as you are outdoors. Even worse, enemies re-spawn, or at least that is what I believe to be occurring as I explore the first main area of Silent Hill 1 – The Elementary School. When I first started this area, I was using bullets to clear out hallways in the school to make back tracking easier, but then I noticed enemies re-spawning in areas I had just cleared, so I lost that precious ammo. If I choose to use a melee weapon, I put my character at greater risk of attack and need to replenish vitality with limited recovery Health drinks constantly to keep from dying. I’ve already encountered a few game overs in the first hour. I don’t know if I have the patience to keep playing this game. I don’t like feeling like the game is defeating me, but even on easy mode, the game is defeating me. I’ll just keep picking at it here and there and see how it goes. I really don’t think that this game has aged well, visually or gameplay wise. There are some interesting puzzles and atmosphere, but the game seriously hates its players. I don’t have as hard of a time playing Resident Evil games, but I will try not to make further distinctions in the future. 
 
(This is a lie! You will constantly get attacked! There is no peace here.)

In conclusion, I will keep playing this game until the game utterly defeats me, but I'm not sure if the casualization of current gen games have turned me into a bad player, or if this game has always been frustratingly difficult?