Silent Hill 3 is a disturbingly immersive and suprisingly emotional adventure that's brilliantly executed.
Because Silent Hill 3 gets so many aspects done right, it's better to get the bad out of the way first. Silent Hill 3 features a completely awkward camera and movement system, one that neither a gamepad or keyboard and mouse combo can save. In fact, this is one element that could instantly kill the experience for many people. The game features two camera/movement options: a 2D setting where movement will be determined by where the camera is facing, and a 3D setting where the movement is relative to where the character is facing. On paper the 3D setting sounds much better, but the problem is that since the game is set in third person mode, your character will constantly be turning her back to or away from you (as well as to the sides). What this means is that sometimes you'll want to move left, but because the character is facing left, you actually have to press forward. If the game was set in first person view (or if the camera was always set on the back of the character), this movement system would be ideal, but in practice it's just incredibly disorienting. The 2D setting is clunky too, since rather than strafe, you can only turn left or right. Still, this setting is the one I personally recommend since it's much less disorienting.
The other flaw in the Silent Hill 3 experience is that the game's story takes a long while to pick up. Basically, for the first half of the game story advancement will be kept at a minimum. While this works in favor of elevating the spooky atmosphere, it also leaves you without a sense of purpose, and there will be moments where you will feel as if you're accomplishing nothing. Fortunately, once the story picks up, it REALLY picks up, but you will be forced to play the first half of the game solely on the premise that the story will eventually get going.
If you can look past both these flaws (and trust me, the first one in particular isn't easy to overlook, even if you may eventually get used to the awkward controls), Silent Hill 3 is an experience like no other. You play the role of Heather, a 17 year old girl who wakes up in a mall after having a bizarre nightmare. Initially everything seems alright and Heather just wants to head home, but after meeting a strange man who claims to have information important to her, everything turns upside down. Soon Heather starts seeing strange things and eventually she has to fight devilish creatures. And what moments ago looked like a lonely mall, is now a hellish sight, as the walls are covered in blood or burnt out, and horrible, disturbing sights (such as a cooked dog, the corpse of a woman holding her dead baby, a dead body hanging from the ceiling dripping blood into a bucket...) pop out with more frequency. Silent Hill 3 includes a disclaimer at the begginning of the game, warning people that the game contains scenes that can be considered cruel or violent, and this is most certainly true. Needless to say, this isn't a game for the squeamish or faint of heart.
And it's all those disturbing and creepy details that make Silent HIll 3 a success. Here's a game where you will be scared, all the time. As previously mentioned, the creepy atmosphere makes for an unnerving experience, rather than a relaxing one. There were moments in the game when I was literally checking my real surroundings to know that I wasn't trapped in a living hell. It may sound strange to say this, but for the sake of your mental health, I don't recommend a marathon session of Silent Hill 3. The game is fairly short though, clocking at around 6 to 7 hours of gameplay (though that doesn't include cutscenes), but given the nature of the game, that's a good length for it.
While the story takes a long while to start unfolding, it packs a lot of memorable moments, chief among them a scene towards the middle of the game (which is actually the scene that kicks the story into high gear). I won't spoil anything here, but while the recurring events of this particular scene aren't too surprising, the execution is flawless. This is the moment where Heather starts showing true emotion, and though it could've been real easy for the game to mess this sequence up by delivering the surprise and just move on, that's not the case, as the game builds everything else upon it. As the story keeps unfolding you'll learn everything about Heather's past, her true identity, and her true role in this whole mess. Best of all, unlike other games, every loose end is tied up and you will get a sense of closure by the time the game wraps everything up. It's a truly superb story.
As far as the gameplay is concerned, Silent Hill 3 avoids shooting itself in the foot by implementing a feature that I believe every other game (regardless of genre) should imitate. First of all, the gameplay here consists mostly of puzzle solving and close quarters combat, which is what you'd expect from a survival horror game, but as previous games have proved, it can lead to an occasionally thrilling, occasionally frustrating experience. However, at the start of the game you're given the option to select the difficulty level of both the combat and the puzzle sections. This is such a well thought concept that it ends up making up for virtually all of the game's faults. Silent Hill 3 is as easy or as hard as you want, and believe me, the difference between the difficulty levels is night and day. Combat on easy is a breeze, while on hard it's a nail biting experience. On the riddle side, some puzzles don't even show up on "easy riddle" difficulty, while others feature simple solutions on easy, and outrageous, convoluted solutions on hard. Silent Hill 3 earns a gold medal award for being such a user friendly game (ignoring the controls of course).
The audiovisual setup of Silent HIll 3 is amazing. Even by today's standards, the graphics are top notch. The character models look spectacular; they are so realistic and detailed that you can feel their emotions leaking out of their pores. The same goes for the meticulously detailed environments, which feature every nook and cranny necessary to immerse you in the gameworld, as well as deliciously rich textures. The lighting effects are also great, and given that long sections of the game are played in almost complete darkness, it only adds to the experience. All the same compliments apply to the sound. The effects applied here make up for a believable experience and the soundtrack adds to it. The voice acting is great for the most part, though there are a few scenes where it feels a bit wrong. It's not a major issue though. The presentation on the other hand is a bit on the dry side. Not the graphics or sound mind you, but rather the in-game menus. They look like they were taken from a budget 1998 title. Given the otherwise spectacular look of the game, it's jarring to be stuck with blurry, hard to navigate, low-res menus that just look cheap and feel completely out of place.
Whatever minor flaws the game may have, Silent Hill 3 is a disturbingly amazing experience, that fans of the genre will surely enjoy. Were it not for the clunky controls, this would be a masterpiece. As it is, it's a flawed masterpiece, one filled with a riveting story and a world so spooky and horrific, you'll be easily sucked into the experience. And that's when you'll start praying the game isn't real.