The lead designer of Konami's forthcoming Silent Hill: Homecoming has stated that the team is striving to ensure that the highly anticipated horror entry will maintain all core aspects of its predecessors.

The company was responding to growing fan concern that the fifth instalment in the popular horror franchise wouldn't match up to previous titles, driven predominantly by the fact Homecoming isn't being developed by Team Silent, with duties instead handed over to US-based firm, The Collective.

"The Silent Hill series is all about narrative, exploration and atmosphere; even though this has been developed outside of Japan with an entirely new team (with the notable exception of Akira Yamaoka), we are still creating a Silent Hill game," said Jason Allen, during an interview with SilentHill5.net

"Foremost in our design philosophy for this title has been a strong desire to maintain the trademark atmosphere of the game. If we were to change that part of the experience - in my mind - it would cease to be Silent Hill."

"For a lot of western horrors, the key components are gore, shock and brutality. Atmosphere in Silent Hill is much more about dread, loss of identity and a sense of the futility of struggle; it hits you in an entirely different manner and in some respects is much more frightening to behold. So in a roundabout way, yes, you can expect the same creepy atmosphere."

Silent Hill: Homecoming is scheduled for release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this September. In this latest instalment, players assume the role of Alex Shepherd; a soldier returning from an overseas tour of duty, only to discover that his father and brother have mysteriously vanished.

Shepherd eventually makes his way to the town of Silent Hill, where he must navigate the fog-bound streets and combat an assortment of vile creatures in an effort to uncover the mysterious circumstances surrounding his family's disappearance.

Stay tuned.