Silent Hill 8 frightens Xbox 360, PS3 in 2011

LOS ANGELES--Today at Konami's press briefing, on top of announcing a Glee singing title and Neverdead, the publisher announced the next installment in the frightening Silent Hill series. According to series producers Devin Shatsky and Brian Gomez, Silent Hill 8 (working title) will make its way to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 next year.

A trailer for the game was shown, painting a series-familiar setting of gloom. In the trailer, the camera panned over a rain-soaked road, coming to rest as an inmate transport vehicle sped past.

Gamers will play as ex-inmate Murphy Pendleton, a man who suffers from lucid visions when he sleeps. In the trailer, Pendleton is seen running through the forest in his jumpsuit, crossing a ravine by tiptoeing along a log, finally finding his way to Silent Hill.

Next, the player enters a building and proceeds down a hallway that begins to disintegrate, revealing that the corridor is actually a metal cage suspended in a creepy sewerlike area. After this scene, Pendleton wakes up, still on the bus.

Silent Hill 8 will remain a third-person horror game in which players will be tested by puzzles, creatures, and various otherworldly beings. Konami did not specify a release date more exact than 2011.

In April at its Gamers Day event, Konami strongly hinted at a Silent Hill announcement for this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo. A trailer for the game ended with the tagline "The Silence Ends," and a definite reference to this year's show.

Outside of a well-received remake of the original, the Silent Hill series has been dormant since 2008's Double Helix-developed Silent Hill: Homecoming.