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Silent Hill: Homecoming represents an interesting new twist in the Silent Hill saga for several reasons, and I for one am glad for the ride.

Way back in the beginning, you were immersed in Silent Hill itself.  We got to see many prime locations like Midwich Elementary, and all those others that we came to know and fear.  The second Silent Hill took this basic approach and expanded on it, allowing you a glimpse into more of the terror surrounding this unobtrusive small town in the middle of nowhere.  And it continued like this until, for some reason, we reached the third one and the design began to unravel.  Indeed, it was as though we were watching the game series itself slip into its own dark side, where everything was clunky and jagged and rusty.  I don’t know about you, but I didn’t exactly get a huge terror buzz following the mallrat around in the third one, and the fourth one felt less like Silent Hill and more like a bad Japanese horror movie.  Playing Silent Hill 4: The Room left me screaming at my TV: “I thought this was Silent Hill, not I Can’t Leave My Apartment!” It was like hell for otakus, except in otaku hell, on the other side of that door are a hundred horny Sailor Venus cosplayers who are REALLY into fat guys who like anime.

The review of the series completed in both short and snarky fashion, I can now segue into Silent Hill V, otherwise known as Silent Hill: Homecoming.  You play Alex Shepherd, who returns to the town named after him (what, you thought we were going back to Silent Hill right away?  Oh no, sir!  We’re going to Shepherd’s Glen instead!  But don’t worry…Silent Hill’s totally on the itinerary.) after a stint in the military to see his family again and catch up.  First, of course, you have to survive some time in a twisted hospital (based on the hospital scene in Jacob’s Ladder–Silent Hill loves Jacob’s Ladder the way fat otakus love cake and Sailor Scouts) that gives you some truly unnerving picture of Alex’s family life beforehand.  When Alex emerges from his brief and hellish hospital lacunae, he emerges in Shepherd’s Glen, only to find that it’s true that you can’t go home again.  His little brother is missing. His father, the sheriff, has gone in search of him.  His mother is pushing catatonia back at the house and the basement is starting to flood.  Oh, and there’s also some really nasty monsters living down there now. Seriously–it’s like something out of Lovecraft in the Shepherds’ basement.

I have to hand it to Silent Hill: Homecoming. They REALLY understand the value of suspense and foreboding, because they REALLY ratchet it up.  Silent Hill: Homecoming’s ride is indeed brisk and terrifying, with some great sequences involving fighting your way through a hotel, through the police station, and of course, lots more fun with Pyramid Head.

Of course, as is the case with pretty much every Silent Hill since the third one, there are substantial problems.  Alex has the ability to dodge, though it’s dependent on precision button presses and this can get downright annoying when you’re still in draw-and-shoot mode and suddenly you’ve got to switch to Dance Dance Revolution or die.  The plot can get a bit shaky in points, depending very heavily on the religious cult that we’ve seen hints of in earlier installments.  That kind of plot doesn’t always sit well with people, especially with Silent Hill purists who just want to finally get back to blasting twisted little monstrousities in Midwich Elementary already, and who get freaked out if they can’t go back to Bloch Street.  I know I always get freaked out if I can’t go to Bloch Street.

Basically, Silent Hill: Homecoming is far from the best Silent Hill installment.  But it’s also a far cry from the worst, and certainly worth checking out.