Gameplay- One of the main reasons i hear people complaining about Silent Hill is because they say the controls are too clumsy and not easily manueverable. This might be true, but if you keep at it long enough you can get it down. I think the clumsy controls almost add a good idea to the game though. I mean imagine if you were in Silent Hill. Would you have the running grace of an olympic athlete faced with these odds? NO! So, yes Harry's movements are clumsy and if you dont' stop the right way he even lurches forward about 3 steps, and he runs into walls if you don't stop him in time, and it's it a pain in the butt to turn around unless your running in that direction. I think it makes the game more challenging and more realistic.

Graphics- Considering Silent Hill came out in 99, i think it had some decent graphics. Of course the FMVs were great, but how about the rest of the game? Well, i also think that was great! When you're walking around in Alternate Silent Hill, it feels like you're at a slaughter house. Chains hanging from the ceilings even a few bodies turned inside out. Sometimes the backgrounds can be badly pixelated, but what can you expect from a game that had such high hopes, but was stranded on a 32 bit system. Actually it's funny too, since i'm talking about the graphics i will tell you a little scoop of info about some of the backgrounds around you in town, day or night. I bet you thought that all that fog was supposed to add suspense to your game, right? Wrong, the fog/darkness was originally place there because they didn't have enough to work with on the sony system. So they had to have the fog/darkness, because there was not enough space to have perfect detail. It just so happens that the fog and darkness ended up playing a major role in the game.

Characters- Now we've all played games that have weak characters and it can kill the game. But i do have to say in Silent Hill, you truely don't know what to make of the characters. The only person in this whole game that you know is telling the truth is yourself(harry). The cast of characters includes Cybil, Cheryl, Dahlia, Lisa and Kaufman(i left some out on purpose not to spoil anything). All of these characters seem to have a quiet undertoe to them. Like they're hiding something but you have no clue what it is they're hiding. It's a really creepy feeling when everyone speaks in monotone while the world is crumbling down around you! Over all i say the characters make the game! Especially since it has actual dialogue! That was one of my favorite aspects of this game. Actually hearing them speak and knowing what their voice sounds like. This was the first game i ever played to have out loud dialogue. So i really loved it.

Plot- Now this is another thing people say they don't like about Silent Hill. I have played the game numerous times and i will say it did used to piss me off a little. Oh wait, i forgot to tell you what it was! Well, even after you beat the game, you don't know what happened. You know what the characters are up to and who's doing wha, but you dont' really understand anything that has happened. There are many unexplained things that happen in Silent Hill that are completely baffling. Like i was saying i beat the game about 12 or more times and i still couldn't tell you exactly what happened. In most game the plot is laid out right in front of your face, and while things seem questionable at the beginning you are going to know exactly what is going on by the end of the game. In Silent Hill's case, you beat the game and after seeing the ending feel a jolt of giddy pleasure, but then once it subsides, you're left wondering," What the hell just happened." The main things that happen that there are no explanation for are listed below. Skip if you haven't played the game yet, as there are major spoilers!

-Monsters- There are different monsters everywhere, but yet there is no explanation as to how they got there, or why they are there.

-World Switch- In certain scenes, Harry shifts from one spot to another, usually switching from alternate to normal silent hill(or vice versa) and he can be with one character, and warp to another character in the alternate world. There is always a mention of sirens in the background everytime this happens. So why is this happening? What's going on?! That is one thing I cannot explain at all. I just don't understand it.

-Lisa- In one scene which was right after a world switch(mentioned above) Harry wakes up on the floor startled and Lisa is kneeling behind him with an EVIL look on her face. I swear she looked like she was going to kill him or something worse. Later on Lisa becomes a zombie, but she didn't know at the time when this scene happened. So what was going on?

-People- Alright now this is a good stumper. Why the hell are these few select people alive while nobody else is around? Harry is obvious..he wasn't in town when whatever happened happened. Cybil wasn't either so she has an excuse to be there. But now think about it, Lisa, Kaufman, and Dahlia, why are they around? Why haven't they vanished like the others. I thought that maybe they were in a cult, but why wouldn't the other members of it(shown standing around alessa's bed in nowhere) be there?
As for all these puzzlements, who knows is all that can be said. There is no true answer because we were never given one. One can speculate as much as they want, but the fact is we will never know unless Konami decides to shed some light. I don't know if this confusing plot comes from a game put together quick or if it was intentional. After all is said and done, i think it's a good idea. I mean how many games actually make you think about what happened? Sure there's resident evil which tells you everything. And maybe it's fun, but i mean don't you get sick of the whole zombie virus topic? They can change the place and characters but it gets boring after awhile. Maybe Silent Hill developers knew what they were doing. they keep the players curious...and if they ever did come out with a sequel...anyone who played the game would be dying to get it! Genious if you ask me.

Replay Value- this is one of the best parts of the game. There are 5 actual endings to Silent Hill that can be seen by doing different things in each game. I have played the game 12 times already which i would say is great replay value. You have to play at least 5 times to see all the endings, and then maybe more to get better ranking and better special items and weapons!

Overall- This game was great...i give it a 10.