Game title: "Silent Hill: Homecoming"

Platform: Xbox 360

Studio: Konami

Score: 6/10

Rated: M-for-Mature

THE REVIEW

Gameplay:

"Silent Hill: Homecoming" is creepy from beginning to end. It's such a heightened state of fear that it dictates your gameplay. How? By keeping you anxious and making critical choices based on fear. The levels of fear and anxiety aren't as high as with previous releases — however, the terror alert level is still orange.

One of the game's weaknesses is what I'd call the"haunted-house effect." Which means, if you are walking down a corridor and nothing happens along the way you know something is coming. There is too much anticipation. That happens far too often in "Homecoming." On top of that, haunted houses are always pitch black and often only guided by a single flashlight — just like "Homecoming."

As Alex, you can either go with hand-to-hand combat or use a small arsenal of available guns. You can't downplay the ability to dodge enemies — it's often enough to get away without injury. Alex is good with his weapons from the beginning, a change from previous versions of "Silent Hill." It used to be that your character started out not being able to protect themselves and learned along the way — that only added to the horror of the horror story.

Graphics:

It's hard to tell how good "Homecoming" looks when you spend so much time with a flashlight that lights about 2 square feet. But from what you can see, the environments are straight from a horror movie and the monsters aren't too shabby, either. The monsters even show damage after an attack.

Audio:

The atmospheric soundtrack provided by Akira Yamaoka is brilliant. He sets a mood that is unmistakable. This is a horror movie and you are playing it. The soundtrack often outshines the dialogue — which either speaks highly of the soundtrack or lowly about the dialogue.

WRAP UP

Parent's take:

Not surprisingly this isn't a game for kids. It's rated M for Mature — only 17+ are recommended to play. It's gory and violent, but most of all it's scary. I'm an adult and it gave me the creeps.

Final word:

"Silent Hill: Homecoming" is fun but it's also often dull. Even when it's terrifically scary it also feels contrived. The fact that the flashlight is used to produce fear seemed to prove that the game didn't have what it took to be scary based solely on its environment and monsters. Fans of the franchise will certainly feel let down by the fact that "Homecoming" doesn't further the franchise or storyline.