Silent Hill
When we first previewed this game, it was awarded an astounding 1/10 on the anticpation meter. Perhaps if it had been a "sense of impending dread rating" rather than an "anticipation rating", it would have scored higher. Why such low expectations? Why does Silent Hill deserve anything but?
First, for those who have played the PlayStation game, or who are anticipating the sequel on the PS2, don't be fooled into thinking this is for you. Rather than being a brave stab and the fledgling handheld survival horror genre, Konami have decided that the Game Boy Advance version of Silent Hill should take the form of a novel - not just any novel, but an interactive "graphic" novel.
"Gameplay" consists of little more than choosing a route through the story. There's no skill involved, just sitting back and watching screen after screen of text and some reasonably impressive full-motion video sequences, although if you've played the PSX game, you'll have already seen everything it has to offer FMV-wise. From time to time, a small puzzle-oriented mini game pops up, but themed jigsaw puzzles aren't really the sort of thing we've been expecting from the GBA.
The only things that could possibly keep you "playing" are the addition of collectible cards you get at certain points throughout the story, which are supposedly there so you can prove you've wasted several hours of your life. For any readers we might have in Japan, Silent Hill lets you download a third story to add to the first two via the Mobile GB, if you're at all interested.
I'm sorry if I don't seem exactly enthused by the prospect of playing Silent Hill, but there are these things called "films" or "movies" that are a much better use of your time, and cheaper too. Until I get stuck with the unenviable task of having to review this monstrosity when it hits the western hemisphere (as Nintendo Power Advance have now confirmed it will do), this is hopefully the last I'll have to speak of it.
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