I had Gamefly send me this Silent Hill 2 & 3 HD Collection so I could check it out. You see a video above comparing the graphics of the previous versions of the games for PS2 to the graphics for the re-release versions of the games for PS3. I understand this is simply a package deal of Silent Hill 2 & 3, but I was pretty disappointed. 

If you are completely unaware of these games, I’ll give you the basic premise. The game is set in a part of the world, Silent Hill, where a Stephen King fan might say, the boundaries between the real world and the evil on the other side are, are thin. As you explore this abandoned town, you flip between the real world and what I started calling “The Dark Side” when I was playing through for the first time. Silent Hill 2 was pretty good, because it stuck (loosely) to the original plot lines that were set in the original Silent Hill. Silent Hill 3, however, was not as true to the same ideas as the first two games were. I wanted to see these updated graphics, however, and thought I’d give it a shot.

The problem is, the PS3 controller is setup differently than the PS2 controllers were, so some of the mechanics were off just a bit. I had a bit of trouble dealing with enemies that were low to the ground. When you’re fighting with an enemy, you tend to knock them down. Then they crawl after you and try to nibble at one’s heels and/or ankles. I had a lot of trouble getting my character to attack these prone baddies! I don’t remember it being that much of a pain in the ass originally. I was hoping for some extras, (bonus missions or endings) but was out of luck.

Again, I understand that I have pretty high expectations for what is, essentially, a re-release. This new collection is solely about graphics, and the up conversion to HD. I thought that the graphics would be vastly different, and wasn’t impressed. It’s the equivalent of watching a DVD that is being ran through an upconverter vs. watching the actual BluRay. Sure, it looks better, but it’s not BluRay. Which means the primary purpose for putting this out, is shot. Wait, could there be an ulterior motive here? Yes, there could be. The release of Silent Hill: Downpour, which came out a week before this collection, and the release of Silent Hill: Book of Memories set for release in June. Here is a pretend convo that I am having with you at this very minute:

You: So you’re saying they did a shotty upgrade on a classic series to promote other games?

Me: Yep. That’s what I think happened.

*SCENE*

It wouldn’t be the first time, a similar thing happened with God of War a few years back for the launch of the PS3… except God of War 3 was rad. I’m jumping to conclusions here, I have SH:D in my queue, but haven’t played it yet. It might be good, but if the last few games (The Room, Shattered Memories and Homecoming) are anything to go by, then I am just going to assume Downpour is going to be garbage.

Wait, you’re a convicted felon? Hey, I recognize some of those places he’s walking in the trailer! OK. This could actually be legit.

This game is cool if you REALLY liked SH2 & 3 and want slightly better graphics than your PS2 copy. I just didn’t think it garnered a re-release. Where’s the original Silent Hill re-make? THAT would have been amazing! The only real benefit to this is if you still want to play those old Silent Hill games. If you’re going for replayability of those games, then this is the package for you. All-in-all, I’m giving this 2.5 stars out of 5, simply because as a graphical upgrade package, this fell short.