Silent Hill (video game)

"Silent Hill" is a video game, the first in the survival horror series with the same name. The game was released in North America on January 31, 1999, Japan on March 4, 1999, and in Europe on August 1, 1999. It was released exclusively on the Sony PlayStation. A movie adaptation based on this game was released theatrically on April 21, 2006.Infobox VG| title = Silent Hill


developer = Konami
Team Silent
caption = Boxart for Silent Hill
publisher = Konami
designer = Keiichiro Toyama
composer = Akira Yamaoka
engine =
series = Silent Hill
released = ^NA January 31, 1999 ^JPN March 4, 1999 ^EUR August 1, 1999
genre = Survival horror
Psychological horror
modes = Single player
ratings = ELSPA: 15+
ESRB: M (Mature)
SELL: 16+
USK: 18+
platforms = PlayStation
media = CD-ROM
requirements =
input = Gamepad

Gameplay

The goal of the game is to safely guide the player character, Harry Mason, through the dilapidated town of Silent Hill. A major threat to Harry's survival are the hostile creatures wandering along the streets and inside buildings. Another problem is poor visibility; Harry will almost always be surrounded by thick fog or darkness. He locates a pocket-size flashlight early in the game, but the light beam only illuminates for a few feet. For this reason, sound plays a large role in "Silent Hill's" gameplay, as the player will often be alerted to the noises enemies make, rather than the actual sight of them.cite web |url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps/adventure/silenthill/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review |title="Silent Hill" for Playstation Review |accessdate=23 February |accessyear=1999 |author=Fielder, Joe |work=gamespot.com ] Harry keeps a radio with him after picking it up in the 5to2 cafe (a staple of the series) which alerts him to the presence of creatures by emitting static, allowing him to detect hostiles before they can ambush him. The third obstacle to Harry's success is his own fragility; being an ordinary man, he cannot sustain many blows from enemies, and will gasp for breath when he has sprinted for a large distance. "Silent Hill" is typically shown from a third-person perspective. In pre-scripted areas, the camera occasionally switches to other angles for dramatic or disorienting effect. Because "Silent Hill" does not feature a heads-up display, the player's current status is determined by a portrait of Harry in the pause screen. If Harry's picture is framed in green, his health is at maximum. If the image is red, then Harry is wounded and will die if he suffers further damage.

In order to navigate through a given area, Harry needs to locate a map, which is collected like any other item. Once found, the player can switch to the map screen at any time. The map interface is stylistically similar to a tourist map. Whenever Harry encounters a point of interest, he will automatically highlight it on the map with a red pen. Maps can be read while outdoors only if Harry has the flashlight turned "On". Otherwise, he will be unable to cue up the map in any place with an absence of light (as is the case in most areas).

Navigating through Silent Hill frequently requires finding keys or solving riddles to progress. Unlike future "Silent Hill" installments, which feature fewer boss fights and less emphasis on combat, the player regularly faces bosses in each area. Harry defends himself with a number of melee weapons and firearms, including a steel pipe, an axe, a pistol, a sawed-off shotgun, and a hunting rifle.

Plot

The game's opening cinematic depicts Harry Mason and his daughter, Cheryl, driving at night to the resort town of Silent Hill for a vacation. A police officer on a motorbike drives past his jeep, but moments later, Harry spots the same motorbike lying unattended by the side of the road. Not long after, the jeep crashes when Harry swerves to avoid hitting a girl, who seems to have been standing in the road. Regaining consciousness and discovering Cheryl is missing, he sets off to find her in the foggy streets of Silent Hill;Harry: Cheryl. Where could you be? It's strange... It's quiet. Too quiet. This place is like a ghost town...cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] following what appears to be Cheryl in the distance,Harry: Cheryl? Is that Cheryl!? Where are you going? ... Hey, wait... Stop! cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] he finds himself in an alleyway that transforms at the sound of an air raid siren into a hellish version of the alleyway, covered in blood, rust, and with a body tied to the metal railings. After being ambushed and seemingly overcome by pale, child-like monsters, he awakens in a cafe,Harry: Was I dreaming? Officer: How do you feel? Harry: Like I've been run over by a truck, but I'm alright, I guess. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] with the world returned to its foggy state, and meets Cybil Bennett, the police officer whose motorbike they passed earlier.Cybil: What's your name? Harry: Harry... Harry Mason. Officer: Cybil Bennett. I'm a police officer from Brahms, the next town over. The phones are all dead, and the radio, too. I'm going back to call in some reinforcements. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English]

Cybil leaves to find help, but not before giving Harry a pistol;Cybil: Have you got a gun? Harry: Ummm... no. Cybil: Take this. And hope you don't have to use it. [...] You'd do best to stay near by. I'll be back with help as quick as I can. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] in the cafe, he finds items including a radio that begins emitting static whenever monsters are nearby; indeed, his first encounter comes after hearing the static for the first time, and after downing the flying creature that attacks soon after, he decides to take it with him.Harry: What's that? Huh... radio. What's going on with that radio? "He fights the flying demon that appears, and kills it." Harry: This is not a dream! What's happening to this place!? cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] Going back to the alley he visited earlier, which this time remains in its normal state, he finds a note from Cheryl's sketchbook, which suggests she is at the school.Harry: Isn't this Cheryl's sketchbook? Hmmm... She's at the school. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] On his way there, he finds roads blocked off or seemingly dropped off into chasms, whilst day changes to night suddenly, and snow begins to fall out of season.Harry: What? It's getting dark again? What's going on!? cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English]

At the school, Harry ventures through monster-ridden classrooms, and begins to solve puzzles, culminating in finding a passageway behind a clock-tower; as he walks through it, the air-raid siren sounds again, and he finds himself once more in a nightmare version of the same school he has ventured through.Harry: Where am I? Have I been here before? "There is a large mark on the ground, the mark of Samael." Harry: I don't remember this being here before... cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] Despite hearing Cheryl's cries on a telephone, he fails to find her, and his search culminates in a battle against a lizard-like monster in the distorted basement; defeating it, he catches a glimpse of the girl he nearly crashed into in his jeep before the world returns to normal."Harry spots the figure of the girl fading before him." Harry: Huh? What was that!? Who in the hell was that!? ... Where am I? This is a... boiler room? What's going on here? cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] Hearing a church bell, he follows the sound to the Balkan church, where he meets Dahlia Gillespie, who gives cryptic warnings about what is to come before exiting, leaving an artifact, the Flauros, for him, and telling him to visit the hospital.Woman: I knew you'd come. You want the girl, right? Harry: The girl!? You're talking about Cheryl!? Woman: I see everything. Harry: You know something? Tell me! [...] Woman: Here, the Flauros, a cage of peace. It can break through the walls of darkness and counteract the wrath of the underworld. These will help you. Make haste to the hospital before it's too late. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English]

Upon arriving at the hospital, Harry hears gunshots and meets another survivor inside an examination room; the gun-wielding man is Michael Kaufmann, a doctor who works at the hospital, and is just as bewildered as Harry about their circumstances.Harry: Hold it! Stop! Don't shoot. Wait... I'm not here to fight. My name is Harry Mason. I'm in town on vacation. Kaufmann: Thank God. Another human being. Harry: Do you work here? Kaufmann: I'm Doctor Michael Kaufmann. I work at this hospital. Harry: So maybe you can tell me what's going on. Kaufmann: I really can't say. I was taking a nap in this staff room. When I woke up, it was like this. Everyone seems to have disappeared. And it's snowing out, this time of year. Something's gone seriously wrong. Did you see those monsters? Have you ever seen such aberrations? Ever even heard of such things? You and I both know creatures like that don't exist. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] With Kaufmann leaving, Harry takes to searching the hospital and, having found several floors locked out, returns to the elevator to find a mysterious new button indicating a fourth floor. On this floor, the siren sounds once more, and Harry finds himself in the alternate hospital, as in the school before. Continuing his search in the dark and nightmarish world, Harry finds Lisa Garland, a nurse who appears to be just as lost as he is.Lisa: Finally, someone else who's OK. Harry: Who are you? Lisa: My name's Lisa Garland. What's yours? Harry: Harry Mason. Lisa: Harry, tell me what's happening here. Where is everybody? I must have gotten knocked out. When I came to, everyone was gone. It's awful. Harry: So you don't know anything either. Great... I just don't get it. It's like this all is some kind of bad dream. Lisa: Yeah, a living nightmare. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] Fortunately, she knows a great deal about the history of the town, as well as Dahlia Gillespie. However, before he can get any tangible answers, Harry is transported back to the normal hospital and is confronted by Dahlia again, who tells him that darkness is devouring the town, and that the symbol he has seen, the "mark of Samael", must not be completed.Harry: It's you. Dahlia: Yes. Dahlia Gillespie. Harry: Tell me everything you know. What's going on? Dahlia: Darkness. The town is being devoured by darkness. Strength must overcome petty desire. Childish sleep talk. I knew this day would come. Harry: What are you talking about? I don't understand a word of this. Dahlia: Believe the evidence of your eyes. The other church in this town, that is your destination. This is beyond my abilities. Only you can stop it now. Have you not seen the crest mark on the ground all over town? Harry: So that's what I saw in the schoolyard. What does it mean? Dahlia: It is the mark of Samael. Don't let it be completed. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English]

Travelling to an antiques store, he meets Cybil, who has no knowledge of the alternate reality,Harry: Do you know anything about, well... like some other world? It's like some kind of bad dream. Cybil: What are you talking about? Harry: I'm not quite sure. I try to make sense of it, but then my mind goes blank. Everything's dark there, and I hear sirens in the distance. I met this nurse, Lisa. It's like I was there, but not really. It's all a blur. Like some kind of hallucination. You know? Cybil: I have no idea what you're talking about, Harry. Harry: Oh... I was just wondering. Never mind. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] but who claims to have seen a girl walking on thin air towards the lake.Cybil: On Bachman Road. She was heading towards the lake. Now don't get excited, it wasn't like she ran off exactly. There was no place for her to go. The road has been obliterated. Harry: What? So then Cheryl... Cybil: It was like she was walking on thin air. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] Noticing marks on the floor next to a large cabinet, Harry pushes it aside to find a corridor behind it and, going in alone, sees an altar with candles which suddenly light up in his presence.Cybil: What's this? Harry: Just discovered it. Maybe there's something back there. Cybil: Let's have a look. Harry: Wait! We don't know what's back there. I'd better check it out first. [...] What's this...? Some kind of altar...? Never see anything like this before. Maybe this is the "other" church. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] Cybil follows him after he does not respond to her calls, but he is not there. He awakens to find himself back in the nightmare hospital with Lisa by his side, who claims he must have had a nightmare; she imparts information about how to get to the lake, but she appears scared and disoriented, and rather than travel with Harry, remarks that she feels she's "not supposed to leave".Harry: Where am I? Lisa? Then I'm at the hospital? Lisa: You were having a bad dream. [...] Lisa: Harry, don't go! I don't want to be alone. It's so scary. I can't stand it! Harry: How about coming with me? This may not be the safest place in the world, either. I can't promise you anything, but I'll do my best to protect you. Lisa: No... somehow I feel I'm not supposed to leave this place. Oh, Harry, I'm so scared... I'm cold. cite video game|title=Silent Hill|developer=Konami (Team Silent)|publisher=Konami|date=1999-01-31|platform=PlayStation|language=English] Making it through the infested sewers, Harry reaches the resort area, where the player may optionally save Dr Kaufmann, and ultimately learn more about his connection to the local cult.

On his way to the lake, the Otherworld nightmare takes over the town completely. Harry and Cybil regroup inside a boat at the docks, where Dalia informs him that mark of Samael will seal the town in the abyss once it is completed. Harry heads to the lighthouse and Cybil to the amusement park, hoping to stop the completion of the Mark. Cybil is attacked by an unseen assailant, and Harry arrives at the top of the inside of the lighthouse, the floor of which is covered in the Mark, just in time to see the young girl departing. Heading to the amusement park himself, Harry fights a now possessed Cybil, and if the player has obtained Aglaophotis from the hospital, Cybil may be saved; if not, Harry is forced to kill her. Once Cybil has either been saved or killed, the young girl shows up again, presumably to complete the Mark. However, Harry confronts her and unknowingly uses the Flauros to disable the girl's powers.

Just as the girl's powers are broken, Dahlia appears, and reveals that she has masterminded Harry's entire quest, as only he would have been able to get close to the girl, who is in fact Alessa Gillespie, Dahlia's daughter. With Alessa's powers out of control, Dahlia quickly uses her own powers to escape and capture Alessa. Harry wakes in a distorted version of the hospital, where different parts of town now interconnect; this area is known simply as "Nowhere". Finding Lisa, she explains that, after having visited the basement, she has come to realise she too is actually a monster, and begins to transform when blood runs down her face; Harry exits quickly enough to escape her grasp, and re-entering the room, finds her gone. Her diary, which is found on the floor of the same room, explains that she was the nurse that attended to Alessa.

In the Nowhere version of Dahlia's home, Harry finds Dahlia, Alessa, Cybil and Kaufmann, as well as a figure wrapped in bandages in a wheelchair. If the player's actions mean Cybil is still alive, she confronts Dahlia, who reveals that the crest Alessa was using throughout the town was not the Mark of Samael, but the Seal of Metatron, which she was using to stop the cult's god from being born. Despite Cybil's best attempt, she is no match for Dahlia, and she is quickly knocked unconscious by magic. Harry steps in to fight, demanding that Dahlia return Cheryl to him. She reveals that Harry has seen Cheryl throughout his entire adventure; that the girl sitting on the floor in front of him is Cheryl. Cheryl was really a part of Alessa's soul, and upon returning to Silent Hill, she slowly assumed Alessa's 14-year-old form, without the burns. The real Alessa is the person wrapped in bandages. In order to summon her god to Earth, Dahlia sacrificed her daughter to fire, and trapped her in a nightmare to nurture the demon, whilst Lisa tended to her. However, a part of Alessa's soul escaped and became Cheryl.

Now that the two parts of the soul are together, they join to become the "Incubator", the mother of god. Then, depending on whether or not Kaufmann obtained Aglaophotis, he will appear and use it to exorcise the Incubator. If he does, Dahlia's god will be born prematurely, and Harry will be forced to fight him. If not, he will have to fight Incubator. Either way, the creature quickly kills Dahlia before turning its attention to Harry.

Four normal endings are available, depending on whether Harry saves Kaufmann and Cybil. The "Bad" ending is received if neither Kaufmann nor Cybil are saved; Alessa births the god and appears as a beautiful young woman in white robes, who kills Dahlia before turning on Harry. After Harry kills her, Cheryl's voice emanates from the body, and thanks Harry for freeing her and saying goodbye. He falls to his knees, and the game cuts to Harry's corpse lying dead in his crashed jeep. The "Bad+" ending is similar to the "Bad" ending, but as Harry has saved Cybil, she runs towards him to convince him to flee the balls of fire that now rain down from above as the Otherworld collapses. In a state of shock, Harry remains frozen, and they are both consumed. In the "Good" ending, Harry saves Kaufmann but kills Cybil, and Kaufmann appears in the ending to throw aglaophotis at Alessa, exorcising the god from her body. It now appears as a giant, winged demon, which kills Dahlia before turning on Harry. Having destroyed this form, Alessa transfers her soul into a new baby, giving it to Harry and opening a portal through which he travels to escape. Kaufmann tries to follow, but Lisa appears and drags him down into the depths below. The "Good+" ending is similar, but as Harry has saved Cybil, both escape with the new baby.

The final "UFO" ending is an Easter egg in which Harry finds a channelling stone which can be used at certain points in the game. If done correctly, this summons a fleet of UFOs; the aliens stun Harry and drag him onto one of their UFOs and fly away. The UFO ending has been carried over to several of the game's entries, including "Silent Hill 2", "Silent Hill 3", "" and .

Development

The "Grey Child" monster went through between two (NTSC) and three (PAL) design changes before it was finally approved by censors. The North American (NTSC) edition of the game featured "Child #2 ' " (read “Child number two prime”), not "Child #3" as stated in the following link. [ [http://translatedmemories.com/bookpgs/Pg102-103.jpgTranslated Memories.] TranslatedMemories.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.] Originally a faceless, humanoid monster which resembled a nude child, it was deemed too graphic for audiences (particularly in a game which forces the player to kill them). In the PAL release of "Silent Hill", the Grey Children do not appear at all, instead being replaced by "Mumblers".

"Silent Hill" Play Novel

In 2001, a radically altered version of "Silent Hill" was released for the Game Boy Advance. Entitled "Silent Hill Play Novel", this version was a choose your own adventure styled digital graphic novel. The game contained a retelling of the original game's story through text based gameplay, with the player occasionally being confronted with questions concerning what direction to take their character as well as the puzzles which were a major part of the original game's gameplay. After completing the game once the player also has the option of playing as Cybil in a second scenario, with a third made available for download once the second scenario has been completed. [http://gameboy.ign.com/objects/015/015214.html Silent Hill Play Novel] . IGN.com, 2001-01-19. Retrieved on 2007-07-03.] An unofficial English translation of a portion of the game exists, but it is only a brief demo of the game and the project seems stagnant. [http://www.silenthillheaven.com/Site/SHpn/main.php Translated Silent Hill Play Novel Demo] . Retrieved on 2008-05-29.]

When the game was exhibited, western critics were unimpressed by the game, and criticized the lack of any soundtrack as severely detracting to the "horror" factor of the game. [Lake, Max. [http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/previewArt.cfm?artid=3414 GBA Preview: Silent Hill Play Novel.] Nintendo World Report, 2001-01-10. Retrieved on 2007-07-03.] It was never released outside Japan. [ [http://silent_hill6.tripod.com/id29.html Silent Hill Play Novel.] Silent Hill - The Alluring Nightmare. Retrieved on 2007-07-03.]

Influences and references

Silent Hill alludes to a wide amount of real world items. Team Silent were avid film, literature, music and art fans. As well as referencing their favorites they also used them unsparingly in creating the plot and atmosphere of the game; which they wanted to be distinctly western.

* The work of filmmakers David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, Dario Argento, Roman Polanski, Alfred Hitchcock and Alejandro Jodorowsky as well as films such as "The Exorcist III", "The Wizard of Oz" and "Village of the Damned", were all influential in different increments. [cite web |url= http://silenthillchronicle.net/films.htm |title= film |accessdate=2008-04-21]

* In character names, the surname of Lisa Garland is taken from the actress Judy Garland, Cheryl Mason's first name is based on Twin Peaks’s actress Sheryl Lee, Michael Kaufmann is a combination of Troma Studios producers' Lloyd Kaufmann and Michael Herz and both Alessa (originally named Asia) and Dahlia (originally named Daria) are names derived from relatives (daughter and former wife respectively) of Italian filmmaker Dario Argento. ["Lost Memories", pages 24-25]

* The 3 keys needed to pass through the house on Levin St. are named the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion after the characters from L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

* On the corner of Bachman and Finney is an establishment called "Metropol," this name was taken from the haunted theater in Lamberto Bava’s "Dèmoni".
* At the North end of Simmons St. is "Mushnick's Florist," the name of the florist shop in "Little Shop of Horrors". Audry Jr., the main character of the film, is also mentioned in the sign on the window.

* The 5 to 2 Café’s name is taken from the establishment "Natural Born Killers" opens in.

* The newspaper vendors in Silent Hill all display a paper reading "BILL SKINS FIFTH.", a reference to "The Silence of the Lambs".

* On the side of a garage door near the gas station is painted in blood, Near the gas station is a garage door with the word "REDRUM" painted on it in reference to The Shining. [http://www.absolute-playstation.com/api_review/rsilent.htm]

* Around town there are reproductions of the poster for Carrie and Pet Sematary.

* "FAA," a store named after the animals rights group in the film Twelve Monkeys, lies across the street from Green Lion Antiques.

* Harry finds a chainsaw at "Cut-Rite Chainsaws," a reference to the store in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2".

* Norman's Motel, its layout and the layout of the area near the end of the Nowhere level, are references to "Psycho".

* Every street in the town is named after a writer of horror, science fiction or thriller fiction. [cite web |url= http://silenthillchronicle.net/streets.htm |title= streets|accessdate=2008-04-21] In the residential area of Old Silent Hill the streets take their names from Jack Finney, Richard Matheson, Robert Bloch, Ray Bradbury, Ira Levin, Richard Bachman and James Ellroy. In the business district of Central Silent Hill: Carl Sagan, Dean R. Koontz, Michael Crichton, Colin Wilson and Dan Simmons. And in the resort area of South Park and Lake Side John Sandford and Kit Craig are referenced.

* Some buildings in the town also share names with authors, Algernon Blackwood‘s last name appears on the corner of Finney and Bachman, Mark Twain has a bookstore named after him on the East end of Bradbury and the establishment on the West side of Bachman takes its name from Andrew Vachss's "The Blue Belle" and the sign’s font is similar to that seen on the book cover.

* Written in a bathroom in the Midwich Elementary School, there are the words "Leonard Rhine - The Monster Lurks." Upstairs, the player finds a book by that author and title. This is a reference to Dean Koontz’s novel, Phantoms, where "Timothy Flyte - The Ancient Enemy" is written on a bathroom mirror and is found to be from a tabloid.

* Some of the creatures and puzzles were named or designed with the books Alessa was fond of in mind, such as The Lost World ["Lost Memories", pages 26-27] and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. ["Lost Memories", pages 106-107]

* The names originally intended for the characters of Harry and Cheryl were "Humbert" and "Dolores," the narrator and title character of Lolita. The American staff altered the names, feeling that what this suggested was inappropriate. ["Lost Memories", page 24] This could be a clue as to the origin of Harry's last name; Humbert Humbert was portrayed by James Mason in Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Lolita.

* In manga, the works of Daijiro Morohoshi and Junji Ito have been influences. [cite web |url= http://silenthillchronicle.net/comics.htm |title= comics|accessdate=2008-04-21]

* Other admitted influences include the work of Robert R. McCammon, Kōbō Abe, Masako Bando and Kunio Yanagita. [cite web |url= http://silenthillchronicle.net/books.htm |title= books|accessdate = 2008-04-21]

* Portishead have posters, seemingly advertising their sophomore album, on a window in the 5 to 2 cafe.
* In the music room of the Midwhich School the sheet music on the piano is for the piece "Don't Trust Anyone Over Thirty" by The Moonriders.

* Genesis P-Orridge and one of his groups, Psychic TV, make appearances. The bridge to Central Silent Hill is named "Orridge" and the drug being trafficked in the town is called "PTV." A room in the Nowhere level contains boxes of the drug labeled as "PSYCHICK TV." When Harry comes to the shopping mall he approaches an escalator then suddenly Cheryl pops up on some tv screens and calls out to Harry, afterwards they show the same symbol shown in the school earlier, among the symbols flashing across the screens is the Psychic TV cross.

* The original members of Sonic Youth have their names in the teacher directory viewed at the Midwich Elementary school. Shortly after the level the player passes through K. Gordon's house.

Reception

VG Reviews
IGN=8.9/10 [http://psx.ign.com/objects/003/003982.html]
GS=8.2/10
MobyGames=8.4/10 [http://www.mobygames.com/game/playstation/silent-hill]
1UP=A [http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=2017376]
Edge=8/10 [http://www.edge-online.co.uk/edgedb/search.php?gamename=silent+hill&x=0&y=0]
GR=84% [http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/198641.asp?q=silent%20hill]
MC=86/100 [http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/psx/silenthill?q=silent%20hill]