The Silent Hill series has endured a tough time over recent years, existing in the shadow of it’s more popular and accessible distant cousin Resident Evil hasn’t helped, but altering the core gameplay of Silent Hill hasn’t provided the series with any benefit’s either. But where Resident Evil has almost completely viciously tore away at the roots that made it such a success, Silent Hill is once again embracing its origins. Weapons in Downpour are scarce and you will be relying largely on, well anything you can lay your hands on that’s likely to bludgeon any freakish creature that shambles in your vicinity. The story follows Murphy Pendleton, a convict who escapes from his transport vehicle that was transferring him to another facility, only to find himself trapped in the twisted world of Silent Hill, and in a brand new area of the town located in the South East corner of Lake Toluca.

But Downpour’s approach to the other world has slightly altered, rooms can warp you as you traverse across them, corridors extend and contract to bring a mix of claustrophobia and a deep sense of uneasiness, not to mention the hidden drops that ensnare you as you negotiate through various rooms. But hardcore fans who feel this is the return of the classic Silent Hill you all remember may want to avert your eyes now, ok, are you looking away? Shockingly despite Konami’s obvious attempts to return to Silent Hills heyday, both Pyramid Head and the Nurses wont feature in Downpour, which is probably not an oversight and is perhaps an attempt to freshen up the villains rather than relying on antagonists that could be considered stagnate and repetitive. Despite the lack of these prominent characters however, there should be enough substantial scares in Downpour to conjure up memories of the terrifying fear that overwhelmed you whenever you entered Silent Hill, forget the umbrella though!

Silent Hill Downpour is released in October, check out the link to watch the E3 trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ0xV_ZJnWo

Can Silent Hill resurrect the series? And is it a mistake to not include the 2 main villains? Let me know what you think, cheers.