A good game on its own, but not what we've come to expect from the genre-defining series. The Japanese did it better.
This is an incredible shame, and nothing is rising to take it's place.
Silent Hill, as always, has an atmosphere like no other. This is kept up well in this game, and makes the good decision to mix imagery from the previous games with the refined visuals from the Christophe Gans film adaptation, which works very well, as they picked the best visuals and left the rest.
The plot is, so so, at best. It doesn't fit in with the rest of the Silent Hill mythology in any way, but neither did Silent Hill 2, which was the best of the bunch. But this game just doesn't do it in any particular way that is charming or great. With James's story you had the constant urge to push on to find what has become of his wife, and you wanted to as it felt genuine. In 'Homecoming' there really is little to no impulsion whatsoever to find the protagonists snotty little brat of a brother. If a game revolves around a character like that, at least make them interesting or likable. Not much else can really be said with spoilers. But it's safe to say most of what does transpire you will have already guessed before it happens. No twist in the game comes close to the shocker at the end of 2, for example.
The combat is seriously advanced, with a range of weapons, moves and a dodge mechanic, and encouragement to really go at your foes with everything you have. It all works well and fluidly, but this is not entirely a good thing. In Silent Hill you are meant to feel lost and helpless. As soon as you realize you can dodge under the attacks of any boss monster that's coming after you, leap in with a few swift cuts followed by a charged up overhead strike then duck back out again, most of the horror is lost. I liked playing the faulty, awkward characters of the earlier games and really feeling like I was outmatched.
The enemies are nicely designed, some looking genuinely great. Asphyxia in particular is truly awesome looking. They do however follow no real pattern or theme, which makes them feel just like monsters more than aspects of the towns malevolence, like they are meant to be. Pyramid Head makes an appearance for the fans, and he's hunkier looking than ever with his oiled chest and huge great tool. The knife, I mean.
In summation, good game, with some great moments. Not the true atmospheric horror I was hoping for. Let's hope the new American designers realize what it was that made the game great and settle back into it for the next one.