I've never played a Silent Hill game. I know, I know. All my friends are telling me to pick up the HD collection cuz their the best survival horror games in the world! But something about them just doesn't appeal to me. I've watched trailers and gameplay and nothing ever caught my interest.

Should I just go grab it and play and hopefully that'll suck me in? Are they REALLY that good or is it just a bunch of nostalgia for everyone?

You should know that the HD version butchered the originals. If you really want to know why your friends keep telling you it's the best survival horror games then go get a PS2 and find copies of the originals.

The HD-collection is Konami's way of shitting in the face of old fans. They removed the grittiness and fog from the visuals-a vital component to the atmosphere of the games- and replaced it with rustproof sheetmetal and invisible cleaningladies.

They also changed the VA, which ruins the games even more.

Avoid it at all costs. You're better off playing the PC versions of 2 and 3.

If you're absolutely sure you want the HD-collection, do avoid the PS3-version. I heard some nasty things about the performance in that one.

They remind me of a time when people knew when to use the word "their".

@mordukai said:

You should know that the HD version butchered the originals. If you really want to know why your friends keep telling you it's the best survival horror games then go get a PS2 and find copies of the originals.

Noted.

@binhoker said:

They remind me of a time when people knew when to use the word "their".

Reminds me of a time before the internet and when not everyone was a smart ass.

@ahaisthisourchance said:

The HD-collection is Konami's way of shitting in the face of old fans. They removed the grittiness and fog from the visuals-a vital component to the atmosphere of the games- and replaced it with rustproof sheetmetal and invisible cleaningladies.

They also changed the VA, which ruins the games even more.

Avoid it at all costs. You're better off playing the PC versions of 2 and 3.

If you're absolutely sure you want the HD-collection, do avoid the PS3-version. I heard some nasty things about the performance in that one.

To be honest I've brought the collection on Thursday and from what I've played of SH2 I'm enjoying it. The new voice acting on SH2 is piss poor tho, it's miles better having the original VA on.

I'm not to sure about SH3, Its been forever since I played it so I'm not too sure if they have replaced that as well. Also no massive nasty bugs or glitches on my PS3 copy either.

The originals are dirt cheap, anyway. (at least where I live) Its just a matter if you have a PS2 or b/c PS3.

For what its worth, I bought this 'collection' and I'm really enjoying it. You really have to be a fan of psychological horror to get anything out of them, though.

@BigSteve1983 said:

@ahaisthisourchance said:

The HD-collection is Konami's way of shitting in the face of old fans. They removed the grittiness and fog from the visuals-a vital component to the atmosphere of the games- and replaced it with rustproof sheetmetal and invisible cleaningladies.

They also changed the VA, which ruins the games even more.

Avoid it at all costs. You're better off playing the PC versions of 2 and 3.

If you're absolutely sure you want the HD-collection, do avoid the PS3-version. I heard some nasty things about the performance in that one.

To be honest I've brought the collection on Thursday and from what I've played of SH2 I'm enjoying it. The new voice acting on SH2 is piss poor tho, it's miles better having the original VA on.

I'm not to sure about SH3, Its been forever since I played it so I'm not too sure if they have replaced that as well. Also no massive nasty bugs or glitches on my PS3 copy either.

I would argue that the VA in SH2 was not good but worked well for the story it was telling. I haven't heard the new VA so I dunno if they tried to do something different with it. SH2 and 3 are fantastic games, but I dunno if they are for everyone. They have all the same problems people tend to have with survival horror games.

Most people say these ports are not very good so it sounds like if you are skeptical you should play the originals to get the best result.

They are two of the best games ever made. The games have great atmosphere and very few jump scares. I wouldn't call them scary, but extremely creepy. Also Silent Hill 2 tells a very mature story, a lot better than 3, one of the reasons I love that game.

@Lady_of_the_patriots said:

@binhoker said:

They remind me of a time when people knew when to use the word "their".

Reminds me of a time before the internet and when not everyone was a smart ass.

He has a point, though.

As far as I can tell, the HD collections are very poorly done. So if you can, go with the originals. They are very atmospheric, that I will admit, even though they're not really my cup of tea.

Under no circumstances would I ever recommend that someone purchase the HD Collection.

The HD versions are inferior to the originals in almost every way. A lot of the atmosphere is missing and for some reason the environments have fewer details. The fog is practically perfectly transparent, the shadows are nonexistent, the light and various filters don't scatter right and aren't near as pronounced. The game loses a lot when you don't have the clear lines of contrast between shadow and small beams of light. In the original version of Silent Hill 3 the flashlight would project onto fog and affect the way you see it. Sort of like when you have your highbeams on while driving down a foggy road. It created a thick, dense look and hid the world from you. "The unknown" is a key element in horror and the fog helps in obscuring everything. It is also there to hide graphical limitations the game faced when originally being developed, and some things look like shit when this trick is missing. Specifically water. You can also see the edge of the game map in some instances due to the lack of fog. The developer original stopped rendering these things because they were impossible to see. Yet in this version there they are, plan as day.  Another problem is how shadows have been toned down and the entire game is more well lit. This ends up spoiling some of the scares because you can totally see them coming before they pop up out of the nonexistent darkness.
 
Those are just the problems facing the atmosphere side of the game. It also has a couple minor framerate issues and many of the sound effects just don't sound right. You can argue that none of this stuff breaks the game, but they aren't near as captivating or, in my opinion at least, as enjoyable and unnerving as the older versions.

I am pretty great though.

Watching trailers and gameplay footage is not the way to get into these games. Silent Hill's gameplay is honestly downright fucking awful--especially now, considering advances in gameplay. These games are great for the story and atmosphere, and the unyielding dread you feel the entire fucking time you're playing the game. No games have ever just left me feeling so paranoid, uncomfortable, and freaked out like SH2 and SH3 did.

If you're willing to overlook kinda shit, clunky gameplay, these games are amazing. If you aren't, don't bother. And yes, avoid the HD collection at all costs. It actually takes away from the game.

I've played through the HD version of SH2, and as much as I concur with everyone on how the atmosphere has been molested, Troy Barker's performance as James actually makes the character believable, and not a total joke. The old voice actor was garbage. There's some serious leverage there, do you want an incredible atmosphere, or a lead performance that's not laughable?

Don't hype yourself up with high expectations for old classic games based on other people's reverence for them or else you'll only be disappointed. Old games are usually held in high regard by people who played them when they were released or around that time. I played Final Fantasy 6 and Deus Ex 1 two years ago. And while I enjoyed them and think they are good games, I will never have the same experience or hold those games in as high regard as the people who played them during the years that those games were considered contemporary.

So don't go thinking Silent Hill will be absolutely mindblowing, not because it isn't, but because that's a sentiment that you can't relate to and you'll only set yourself to be disappointed and underwhelmed. Go in with realistic expectations.

@BlastProcessing said:

I've played through the HD version of SH2, and as much as I concur with everyone on how the atmosphere has been molested, Troy Barker's performance as James actually make the character more believable, and not a total joke. The old voice actor was garbage.

Besides Maria's original VA--who was superb by any standards let alone Silent Hill's--everyone in SH2 was pretty garbage.

@TentPole said:

Under no circumstances would I ever recommend that someone purchase the HD Collection.

How can the new voice acting be worse than the original when the original was garbage?

@TentPole said:

Under no circumstances would I ever recommend that someone purchase the HD Collection.

Depends on how easy the achievements end up being...and looking at them, it doesn't seem too hard.

@Lady_of_the_patriots: There's definitely a large amount of nostalgia involved, but I was blown away (and scared shitless) by Silent Hill 2 at the time. There's a lot you'll find lacking by today's standards.

@BlastProcessing said:

I've played through the HD version of SH2, and as much as I concur with everyone on how the atmosphere has been molested, Troy Barker's performance as James actually makes the character believable, and not a total joke. The old voice actor was garbage. There's some serious leverage there, do you want an incredible atmosphere, or a lead performance that's not laughable?

The metallic coughing is a little strange, though.

I've never played a Silent Hill game. I know, I know. All my friends are telling me to pick up the HD collection cuz their the best survival horror games in the world! But something about them just doesn't appeal to me. I've watched trailers and gameplay and nothing ever caught my interest.

Should I just go grab it and play and hopefully that'll suck me in? Are they REALLY that good or is it just a bunch of nostalgia for everyone?

The only reason to play Silent Hill games are for the story and atmosphere. The gameplay is bad, no question.

The HD collection does have a ton of graphical problems, but the atmosphere is still pretty damn creepy. If you're interested in experiencing the great story that Silent Hill 2 has to offer, and your only choice is the HD collection, it's not THAT bad of a choice. The HD collection has BETTER voice acting, as I think the original VA was TERRIBLE, despite what many Silent Hill fans will say. But, again, the HD does preserve that bad combat and poor camera.

Silent Hill 3 has heavy ties to the original Silent Hill, so I'm not sure if you'd enjoy that as much if you haven't played the original.

The HD ports are horrible, but I'd still recommend the X360 version over

a) the PC versions, which you have to do complex operations every time you play to get it in widescreen, and most likely your controller won't work with force feedback.

b) the old PS2 versions, unless you already have a nice CRT that supports component and the comp cables.

That's just where we're at. If they don't have nostalgia for the old versions, or the right hardware set up for them, they should get the 360 port.

In the first 6 Silent Hill games, there are three well voiced characters; Maria, Heather, and Alex Shepherd. And then everyone in Shattered Memories was well voiced, and most of Downpour.

Anyone who tells you that Troy Baker is a worse voice actor than Guy Cihi is on all the drugs. The only thing Cihi brought to the role is that you spend the game wondering why James is such an ineffectual toad. Scenes where he talks to Angela or Eddie are basically a competition to see if James can stop acting altogether and just stand there against the other character's attempts to do all the acting in the entire series. Eddie's breakdown scene? Like a chubby Nic Cage.