Story

Like the other Silent Hill game, this one too revolves around a religious cult. Henry Townshend is a normal man in South Ashfield, but for some reason, his apartment has been locked and he can\'t open his windows. He\'s stuck in this room... when suddenly a huge hole appears in his bathroom...

Content

The cult in Silent Hill 4 belives \'God\' wants them to purge the world of sinners through to use of the \'21 Sacrements\'. Though this religion is very occult, there is some Christian material within the game.

One letter Henry find says that this cult is blasphemous and against the Lord Jesus, and that this cult is actually serving the Devil. At one point, your apartment is possesed by demons, but you can get rid of them by using a \'holy candle\' or \'saint medallion\'.

There is PLENTY of violence, and many disturing images of people tortured to death in very gruesome ways. Blood coats almost every surface in the game, and not just blood, but guts sometimes. It TRULY earns it\'s M rating. There are many occult enemies, but nothing really bad.

Graphics

Wow! The game is so realistic, it almost blows Half-Life 2 away. The graphics are very realistic, and it adds to the horror feel. Henry doens\'t show much animation in his face, but the supporting characters make up for it.

Sound

Nice. The soundtrack is good as always, with ambient and rock songs. Too bad the sound effects aren\'t up to par. The enemy dogs sound like bobcats, and some horrific-looking \'paitents\' actually burp when you hit them. Some consoles do nicely support 5.1 SS.4

Gameplay

The mix of 1st person with 3rd is nice, and the combat is second nature. The targeting isn\'t THAT great though. The controls are changeable, and the options are limited, but nice in what they can do. You can even chnage the blood color! Too bad your inventory is really tiny.

Overall

Overall, the game is short (my first try was a good 9 hours and 47 minutes) and there arn\'t many extras, but it\'s good for a rental. The occult them is present, but there is still Christianity within. A classic horror fest.