Silent Hill 4: The Room

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Silent Hill 4: The Room
Silent Hill 4
Developer(s) Konami
Team Silent
Publisher(s) Konami
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
Xbox
PC
Release date JPN June 17, 2004
NA September 7, 2004
EUR September 17, 2004
Genre(s) Survival horror
Psychological horror
Third Person Shooter
Action
Supernatural
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s) ESRB: Mature (M)
BBFC: 18
PEGI: 18+
Media DVD-ROM
CD-ROM

Silent Hill 4: The Room is the fourth installment in the Konami Silent Hill survival horror series. The game was released in Japan in June 2004 and in North America and Europe in September of that same year. Silent Hill 4 was released for the Sony PlayStation 2 and the Microsoft Xbox consoles as well as the PC. A soundtrack release was also made at the same time.

Unlike the previous installments, which were set primarily in the disturbed town of Silent Hill, this game is set in the fictional town of South Ashfield, and is focused on the character of Henry Townshend attempting to escape from his locked-down apartment. He explores a series of supernatural worlds and finds himself in conflict with an undead serial killer.

Originally intended as a spinoff from the main series, Silent Hill 4 features an altered gameplay style with first-person navigation and plot elements taken from previous installments. Upon its release the game received a mostly positive critical reaction despite mixed opinions to the deviations from the original Silent Hill style.

Contents

[edit] Gameplay

A haunting in Henry's apartment
A haunting in Henry's apartment

Silent Hill 4: The Room was originally envisioned as a spinoff of the Silent Hill series, rather than a continuation of the main story, and possesses a substantially different gameplay style than the other games.[1] Gameplay is centered on the protagonist Henry's apartment, which is shown through a first-person perspective and contains the only save point. The other levels of the game are reached through mysterious holes formed in the apartment walls.[1][2] For the first half of the game the room will also heal the player.[2] The second half of the game has the room become possessed by various hauntings which drain Henry's health.[3]

In the main levels of the game the player uses the usual third person perspective of the Silent Hill series.[1] Unlike other games the player only has a limited item inventory which can be managed by dumping unneeded items in a chest in Henry's room.[2] Silent Hill 4 emphasizes combat during gameplay, with a near-absence of complex puzzles in favor of simple item-seeking tasks.[1] In the second half of the game Henry is accompanied by his neighbor Eileen Galvin; Eileen cannot die while she is with Henry, although as she takes damage she succumbs to possession by Walter Sullivan. The player can also equip Eileen with a weapon to have her join Henry in combat.[4] The damage Eileen takes in the game determines whether or not she dies in the final boss fight, directly affecting the ending achieved.[3][5]

Combat in Silent Hill 4 follows the pattern set by the other games. The player has access to a wide variety of melee weapons, two handguns, and a stun gun during the game. Breakable melee weapons, which can only be used for a limited number of hits before becoming useless, are introduced through a set of golf clubs.[6] There is also a feature which allows melee attacks to be "charged" before they are used.[7]

Henry and Eileen fighting a ghost
Henry and Eileen fighting a ghost

One of the most significant changes is the introduction of the "Victim" monsters, the unkillable ghosts of Walter Sullivan's victims. The ghosts have the ability to hurt Henry with a damaging "aura" which can be nullified by the holy candle and saint medallions items.[6][8] The same items can also exorcise the hauntings in Henry's apartment.[3] Ghosts can also be knocked down for a long time with one of the two silver bullets and pinned permanently with a Sword of Obedience item.[6] Unlike previous creatures of Silent Hill, Victims can in fact chase the player from area to area.

[edit] Story

[edit] Characters

Henry Townshend, main protagonist of Silent Hill 4
Henry Townshend, main protagonist of Silent Hill 4

The protagonist and player character of Silent Hill 4 is Henry Townshend, a resident of the South Ashfield Heights Apartments building in the fictional town of Ashfield.[9] Henry is an "average" man who has been described by Konami as an introvert in his late 20's.[10][11] For the most part Henry navigates the game's world alone, although he eventually works with his neighbor Eileen Galvin, an NPC whose role has been unfavorably compared to Maria of Silent Hill 2.[11] Henry also deals with the new supporting characters of Cynthia Velázquez, Andrew DeSalvo, Richard Braintree and Jasper Gein - the latter believed to be named after the serial killer Ed Gein.[12]

The main antagonist of the game is Walter Sullivan, an infamous serial killer who is believed to have died years prior to the game's events.[13] Sullivan appears in two forms: an undead adult enemy and a neutral child supporting character.[14] The previous victims of Sullivan play a small role in the game as enemies, and the original Japanese official site offered backstory information on these minor characters.[15][16]

Silent Hill 4: The Room uses two minor, unseen, characters from previous installments as major characters in its plot. The first, Walter Sullivan, was first referenced in a newspaper scrap in Silent Hill 2 as having killed himself shortly after killing twins Billy and Miriam Locane.[17] These two victims also appear in the form of the "twin victim" creature Henry encounters.[15] The second character is investigative journalist Joseph Schreiber, who was first referenced in Silent Hill 3 with a magazine article he has written condemning the "Hope House" orphanage run by The Order which the game's protagonist, Heather can discover.[18] It is implied in the game that South Ashfield Height's superintendent Frank Sunderland is the father of Silent Hill 2 's player character James Sunderland.[7][12][19]

Critics were, for the most part, pleased with the voice acting in the game.[11][20] The graphics of the characters were also praised.[7][11][20] In 2005 producer and composer Akira Yamaoka acknowledged the characters were, to him, "a little weak."[21]

[edit] Plot

Konami's model of the hole in Henry's apartment from GC 2004
Konami's model of the hole in Henry's apartment from GC 2004

The game begins with the player taking control of protagonist Henry Townshend, who has been locked in his apartment in South Ashfield, room 302, for five days with no means of communication and having recurring nightmares.[22] Shortly afterwards a large hole inexplicably forms in the wall of his bathroom, and he enters. From there he enters a network of holes leading him through a series of Silent Hill-style worlds.

Henry's first destination is an abandoned subway station where he meets a woman named Cynthia Velázquez who is convinced she is in a dream, but is soon killed by an unknown man. On his radio he hears confirmation that she is indeed dead in the real world. The exact same thing happens to the next three people Henry finds: Jasper Gien, Andrew DeSalvo and Richard Braintree, a resident in Henry's apartment complex. The cases seem similar to the deceased serial killer Walter Sullivan's M.O. and Henry finds scraps of the diary of his apartment's former occupant, journalist Joseph Schreiber, who was investigating his spree.[23][24] Henry learns that Walter was in fact an orphan who had been led to believe that his biological mother was Henry's apartment, where he had been found.[25]

It is revealed that Sullivan is in fact attempting to carry out a ritual which calls for 21 murders, the 21 Sacraments, to try and "purify" his "mother," and is in an undead state through which he can kill his victims immortally.[26] Henry is his intended 21st victim. Midway through the game a child manifestation of Walter's "innocent" self interrupts the murder of the intended 20th victim, Eileen Galvin, and she joins Henry trying to find Schreiber.[27] At the same time hauntings begin to inhabit Henry's apartment and its condition disintegrates. The two eventually find the ghost of Schreiber, who tells them that their only escape is to kill Sullivan.[28]

Shortly after Henry acquires Walter's umbilical cord, a tool required to kill him for good, Eileen leaves Henry under Walter's influence. He finds her about to walk into a deathtrap with Walter, and the final boss fight ensues. After Walter is killed, there are four possible endings, determined by whether or not Eileen survived the final boss fight and on the condition of Henry's apartment.[3] There is no UFO "joke ending," a feature included in all earlier installments in the series.[29]

[edit] Development and release

The fourth Silent Hill game was begun shortly after the release of Silent Hill 2 by Konami's development team "Team Silent" alongside Silent Hill 3 with the intentions of creating a new style of game that would be unrelated to the original series.[10][29] News of the game's development was made public by October 2003, and official announcements by Konami followed at Gamers' Day 2004.[30][31] The game was produced by the series's recurring sound designer and composer Akira Yamaoka.[21] Its working title, prior to its incorporation into the rest of the series, was simply Room 302.[32]

The main concept behind the new game structure was to take the idea of "the room" as "the safest part of your world" and make it a danger zone.[32] The first-person perspective was included in this area of the game to give the room's navigation a personal and claustrophobic feel.[21][33] The producers nonetheless retained the classic third-person perspective in all other areas to accommodate the increased emphasis on action and combat.[32]

In an October 2004 BBC Collective article, it was noted that the game, like previous releases, refers to the film Jacob's Ladder.[34] It was further mentioned that the protagonist Henry Townshend shared a likeness to actor Peter Krause.[34] The architecture of the apartment and the addition of the hole was comparable to a similar non-Euclidean space in author Mark Z. Danielewski's novel House of Leaves.[34] Other nods included the novel Rosemary's Baby and "flavour from the likes of Twin Peaks and Stephen King's short story 1408."[34] The creators of the game have acknowledged writer Ryu Murakami's book Coin Locker Babies as an inspiration on the game's premise.[35]

Silent Hill 4: The Room was first released in Japan on June 17, 2004.[36] The game was shipped for its subsequent North American and European releases on September 7, with pre-ordering customers receiving the soundtrack for free with the game in the former market.[37][38] In 2006 the game was released again in Europe as part of The Silent Hill Collection, a boxset of the three PS2 Silent Hill games, as a tie-in with the release of the Silent Hill film.[39] Microsoft has confirmed that their seventh generation Xbox 360 console is backward compatible with the game's Xbox port.[40]

Silent Hill 4 is currently the most recent Silent Hill console title developed by Konami. No sequels to the game were released until 2007, when the Climax Group-produced prequel game Silent Hill: Origins was released for the PlayStation Portable and Playstation 2.[41] A chronological sequel, Silent Hill: Homecoming is also in development for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but it is being produced by The Collective.[42]

[edit] Music

A remix of "Your Rain" was used in Konami's Dance Dance Revolution (arcade console pictured) series
A remix of "Your Rain" was used in Konami's Dance Dance Revolution (arcade console pictured) series
Main article: Silent Hill 4: The Room - Original Soundtracks

The soundtrack for Silent Hill 4: The Room was released alongside the game in 2004, composed by Akira Yamaoka with vocals by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn and Joe Romersa. The Japanese version featured a second disk containing music by series composer Akira Yamaoka played along to the reading of traditional Japanese stories.[43] The American version contained 13 exclusive tracks and remixes.[38]

A remix of the song "Your Rain" from the game's soundtrack was used on Konami's Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME.[44] Several tracks from the game were also featured in the Silent Hill Experience promotional UMD.[45]

[edit] Reception

The previews of Silent Hill 4: The Room provided at E3 2004 lead IGN to name it the best PlayStation 2 adventure game in show.[46] Upon its release in 2004 the game also attracted the attention of mainstream news outlets CNN, the BBC and The Times.[34][47][48] Rating aggregation site Metacritic averaged both console versions of the game achieved approval ratings of 76 of 100,[49][50] while Game Rankings listed 76% and 74% approval ratings for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox respectively.[51] Silent Hill 4 topped game sales charts in Japan during a video game sales slump, but dropped to tenth place one week later.[52][53] Official statements by Konami referred to sales of the game in North America as "favorable."[54]

The Xbox and PS2 versions of the game received an "impressive" 8.0 rating from IGN reviewer Douglass C. Perry. Perry described it as "neither brilliant nor terrible," and was displeased by the lack of boss fights and complicated puzzles. The article expressed the author's mixed feelings towards the element of "the room", and while Perry noted that the room "itself is a good idea", he was displeased by the inconvenience of constantly having to return there. His closing comments also noted another problem: "While all the classic touches that have become so familiar and so great in the series have returned, they have simultaneously become cliché."[11][55]

Kristan Reed, a reviewer for Eurogamer, expressed disappointment with the degree to which the game had been geared as a combat game with an absence of standard Silent Hill puzzles. He was nevertheless pleased with the game's plot, graphics, and audio and gave the game a 7/10 rating for the PS2, and a 6/10 for the Xbox version.[1][56] GameSpot gave both the PS2 and Xbox ports 7.9 ratings, concluding with "While not all of the changes made necessarily serve to enhance the series, the dark, gripping storytelling is what allows this game its Silent Hill credentials."[20][57]

The PC ports of the game received lower ratings than the console versions. IGN reviewer Perry complained about "the blurriest textures we've seen in years and some serious graphical glitches" and "extremely low mouse sensitivity" inhibiting gameplay, giving it a comparatively low 6.9 rating.[58] GameSpot's review of the PC version was slightly lower (7.6) than the console version, praising the graphics as having "been optimized well for the PC" but acknowledging "keyboard and mouse controls just don't fare that well in an environment of constantly shifting perspective views that can make navigation frustrating."[59]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Reed, Kristan. "Silent Hill 4: The Room (PS2)", Eurogamer, 2004-06-27. Retrieved on 2007-02-09. 
  2. ^ a b c Basics. Silent Hill 4: The Room guide. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-07-31.
  3. ^ a b c d Secrets. Silent Hill 4: The Room guide. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  4. ^ Walkthrough: The Hospital World. Silent Hill 4: The Room guide. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  5. ^ Walkthrough: The Apartment World (Part 2). Silent Hill 4: The Room guide. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  6. ^ a b c Weapons. Silent Hill 4: The Room guide. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  7. ^ a b c Williams, Bryn. "Silent Hill 4: The Room (Xbox)", GameSpy, 2004-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  8. ^ Walkthrough: The Subway World. Silent Hill 4: The Room guide. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-20.
  9. ^ Opening Narration: It was two years ago that Henry Townshend moved into Room 302 of South Ashfield Heights, an apartment building in the medium-sized city of Ashfield. (Silent Hill 4: The Room, Konami, 2004.)
  10. ^ a b Silent Hill 4: The Room - Official Website. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.
  11. ^ a b c d e Perry, Douglass. "Silent Hill 4: The Room (PS2)", IGN, 2004-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-09-22. 
  12. ^ a b Characters. Silent Hill 4: The Room guide. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
  13. ^ Joseph's diary - June 11: Walter Sullivan did kill himself. He died in his prison cell of blood loss after he stabbed himself in the neck with his spoon.[...]After that, his name became famous all over the world and it looked like his string of mass murders was finished at 10 out of 21. (Silent Hill 4: The Room, Konami, 2004.)
  14. ^ Joseph: [Walter's] boyhood desire to return to the bosom of his birth has divided him. Now his child self has manifested itself in this world... (Silent Hill 4: The Room, Konami, 2004.)
  15. ^ a b Enemies. Silent Hill 4: The Room guide. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
  16. ^ About. Translated Memories. Retrieved on 2007-12-15.
  17. ^ Article about Murder Incident: The police announced today that Walter Sullivan, who was arrested on the 18th of this month for the brutal murder of Billy Locane and his sister Miriam, committed suicide in his jail cell early on the morning of the 22nd. (Silent Hill 2, Konami, 2001.)
  18. ^ Teaching Despair: "Hope House": "Hope House", an orphanage on the outskirts of Silent Hill. But behind its false image is a place where children are kidnapped and brainwashed.[...]The cult religion that operates "Hope House" is known by the locals simply as "The Order".[...]I intend to continue my investigation of "Hope House" and the cult behind it. I've always believe that "telling the whole truth" and showing the children the true path, is our most important duty. - Joseph Schreiber. (Silent Hill 3, Konami, 2003.)
  19. ^ Silent Hill 4: The Room - Characters. Silent Hill Extreme. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.
  20. ^ a b c Massimilla, Bethany. "Silent Hill 4: The Room (PS2)", GameSpot, 2004-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  21. ^ a b c Cook, Chris. "GDC 2005: Akira Yamaoka Interview", Game Informer, 2005-03-10. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. 
  22. ^ Henry: Five days ago...That's when I first had the nightmare. I haven't been able to get out of my room since then. The phone doesn't work, the TV doesn't work...I can't even get anybody to hear me when I yell... (Silent Hill 4: The Room, Konami, 2004.)
  23. ^ Police officer on radio: Looks like another one, captain...got "1...121"... on his head...It's just like that case from 10 years ago...Yeah, that Walter Sullivan case...But Sullivan's dead. They even got the body...(Silent Hill 4: The Room, Konami, 2004.)
  24. ^ Joseph's diary - April 4: I've been investigating the mass murder that took place 7 years ago in which 10 people were killed in 10 days. [...]The name of their killer...it was carved in as well...His name was...Walter Sullivan. (Silent Hill 4: The Room, Konami, 2004.)
  25. ^ Joseph: Let me tell you something about "him," Walter Sullivan. When he was a little boy, he began to believe that my apartment was actually his birth mother. He decided to "free" her from the stains and corruption of this world. (Silent Hill 4: The Room, Konami, 2004.)
  26. ^ Joseph: At the orphanage, [Walter] learned of the "21 Sacraments," the only way to purify her. He then performed the ceremony of the "Holy Assumption" and created this...twisted world. Now...he's become nothing more than an inhuman killing machine. Well, he's dead now, but he's still trying to complete the "21 Sacraments." (Silent Hill 4: The Room, Konami, 2004.)
  27. ^ Henry: I got this letter from [Joseph]. He told me to go down, down into the deepest part of him, and to look for the ultimate Truth. Let's do that. There must be something down there. /Eileen: Okay, I'll do it. You're the only chance I've got. I'll stick with you. (Silent Hill 4: The Room, Konami, 2004.)
  28. ^ Joseph: Follow the Crimson Tome. Stop [Walter]. If not, wherever you run, He will catch you. Find him. His true location...It must be nearby. You must kill him...you must kill him...kill...kill (Silent Hill 4: The Room, Konami, 2004.)
  29. ^ a b "Previews: Silent Hill 4: The Room", 1UP.com, 2004-09-17. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. 
  30. ^ "Silent Hill 4 is Coming", IGN, 2003-10-06. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  31. ^ Perry, Douglass. "Konami Gamers' Day 2004: Silent Hill 4 The Room Unveiled", IGN, 2004-01-09. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  32. ^ a b c Reed, Kristan. "Silent Hill 4: Two Guys In A Room", Eurogamer, 2004-08-25. Retrieved on 2008-01-16. 
  33. ^ Jenkins, David. "Silent Hill 4: The Room interview", Boomtown, 2004-08-31. Retrieved on 2008-01-17. 
  34. ^ a b c d e Daniel Etherington. "Silent Hill 4: The Room", bbc.co.uk, 2004-10-01. Retrieved on 2007-06-09. 
  35. ^ Dorre, Adam. "Konami: The Silent Hill 4 Interview", Kikizo, 2004-11-06. Retrieved on 2007-11-23. 
  36. ^ "Silent Hill 4 Japanese Release Date", 1UP.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-31. 
  37. ^ Thorsen, Tor. "Silent Hill 4 ships", Gamespot, 2004-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-10-31. 
  38. ^ a b Smith, David. "Soundtrack Album With American Silent Hill 4", 1UP.com, 2004-08-05. Retrieved on 2007-10-31. 
  39. ^ Fahey, Rob. "Konami to launch Silent Hill Collection", Gamesindustry.biz, 2006-03-30. Retrieved on 2007-10-31. 
  40. ^ Surette, Tim. "Xbox 360 BC list updated", GameSpot, 2006-06-13. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. 
  41. ^ Silent Hill: 0rigins. Moby Games. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
  42. ^ Silent Hill 5: Homecoming. IGN. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
  43. ^ Silent Hill 4 The Room Original Soundtracks. Game Music Revolution. Retrieved on 2007-10-27.
  44. ^ "Dance Dance Revolution Extreme Soundtrack Revealed", GamersHell.com, 2004-08-20. Retrieved on 2007-09-22. 
  45. ^ Bedigian, Louis. "Silent Hill Experience", GameZone, 2006-04-11. Retrieved on 2007-12-15. 
  46. ^ "PlayStation 2 Best of E3 2004 Awards", IGN, 2004-06-21. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  47. ^ Saltzman, Mark. "Review: Horror comes home in 'Silent Hill 4'", CNN.com, Gannett News Service, 2004-09-10. Retrieved on 2007-09-22. 
  48. ^ "Silent Hill 4: The Room", The Times, 2004-10-23. Retrieved on 2007-09-22. 
  49. ^ Silent Hill 4: The Room (Xbox). Metacritic. Retrieved on 2007-10-27.
  50. ^ Silent Hill 4: The Room (PS2). Metacritic. Retrieved on 2007-10-27.
  51. ^ Silent Hill 4: The Room. Game Rankings. Retrieved on 2007-10-27.
  52. ^ Fahey, Rob. "Japan Charts: Silent Hill 4 goes top as sales hit rock bottom", Gamesindustry.biz, 2004-06-25. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  53. ^ Fahey, Rob. "Japan Charts: Major new releases buoy software market after tough month", Gamesindustry.biz, 2004-07-02. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. 
  54. ^ Fahey, Rob. "Konami revenue and income falls in the first quarter", Gamesindustry.biz, 2004-07-29. Retrieved on 2007-10-30. 
  55. ^ Perry, Douglass. "Silent Hill 4: The Room (Xbox)", IGN, 2004-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-09-22. 
  56. ^ Reed, Kristan. "Silent Hill 4: The Room (Xbox)", Eurogamer, 2004-09-13. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  57. ^ Massimilla, Bethany. "Silent Hill 4: The Room (Xbox)", GameSpot, 2004-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  58. ^ Perry, Douglass. "Silent Hill 4: The Room (PC)", IGN, 2004-09-23. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 
  59. ^ Massimilla, Bethany. "Silent Hill 4: The Room (PC)", GameSpot, 2004-09-07. Retrieved on 2007-10-27. 

[edit] External links

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Silent Hill franchise
Main series
Silent Hill · Silent Hill 2 · Silent Hill 3 · Silent Hill 4: The Room · Origins · Homecoming
Spin-offs
Films
Miscellaneous
Soundtracks
SH · SH2 · SH3 · SH4 · SHO