While SH3 doesn't tell a story as well as SH2, it makes up for it by being twice as frightening.
User Rating: 9 | Silent Hill 3 PC
Silent Hill 3 doesn't tell a story quite as well as its immediate predecessor, but it makes up by being twice as frightening. That's not to say SH3 doesn't have a bad story, it does still have a story, but its much harder to follow and if you have not played the original Silent Hill, it will completely baffle you. The odd thing is that while Silent Hill 2 was about the monster within and was subtle as well as disturbingly sexual, Silent Hill 3 is more about facing the monster head on, and overcoming fear. Heather is more of a 'hero' than James is, she's innocent yet troubled. While its not quite as sexual as its predecessor, Silent Hill 3 still deals with some sexual undertones, namely Heather's molestation and implied rape as a child. However, these themes aren't as central as they were in the second game, the horror is a little more traditional here, strewn in guts and blood - yet it still relies on psychological fear. Sh3 balances psychological horror with shock horror and even a few 'boo' scares surprisingly well, possibly better than any other horror game. It still gets under your skin, but it will also having you gagging and flinching as well. Combining the two makes SH3 even scarier, and in my opinion, it is the scariest entry in the series.
Silent Hill 3's biggest flaw in truth, is the town of Silent Hill, while Silent Hill 1 and Silent Hill 2 both had different layouts and showed different parts of the town, Silent Hill 3 reuses most of the locales from #2 and a few from #1. Few locales are changed, although due to the bizarre nature of the town, the layouts are different. This adds a sort of sense of deja-vu and even repetition if you are overtly familiar with the first two games.
Yet despite that all, it is still a masterpiece. Silent Hill 3 is one of the scariest games ever made, and while its not as compelling or as well told as SH2, the scares and the brilliant visuals, sound design, and music all combine to make it another entry in one of the greatest, although sadly fallen, horror series of all time.
