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It's time for another endeavor into the world of Silent Hill.

For years, fans keep visiting Silent Hill for its dark and disturbing images which become embedded into your brain for life. What makes the Silent Hill so original from the vast number of other survival horror titles is the utter feeling of terror you experience in each game. The same is true in Silent Hill 4: The Room.

You play as Henry Townshend, an average male, living a far from average life. He is trapped in a room, which is bound by chains on the door, locked windows, and no communication to the outside world. Early in the game, you find that a hole appears in your bathroom that leads to another dimension and hopefully the way out. The only problem is that eerie creatures and pitfalls tangle up your encounter with the outer world, and you find yourself returning to your room for safe haven. It is in this room where you can regain health, learn valuable clues, and save your progress. Fans that have entered the residence of Silent Hill will be right at home with the twisted plotline and downright creepy environments that inhabit this world. New comers will get an experience like no other, and is not necessary to have played the previous versions of the game to understand this version. Survival horror games are plentiful now, but still few do it as well as this series. The game is relentless in its delivery of horror and gore and is a welcome addition to the collection for fans of the genre.

Audio in Silent Hill: The Room weighs on the nerves just as much as or more so than the visuals. Whether you walk into a room and a broom handle drops, or you hear moaning or growling somewhere near by, the presence of good horrific audio is abundant throughout the game. SH4 also utilizes some very well done voice acting. This helps make the world much more believable and frightening. Believe me, there is nothing like poor acting to take the edge off a game. Audio is a subtle mix of dark, moody tones, and complete silence. That silence does more for tense situations than if mood music were cued to let you know if a situation is critical. The ambient sounds top off the audio with moaning, squishy floors and surfaces, and the little surprises from every corner that keep you on the brink of wetting yourself throughout your journey of Silent Hill.

Gameplay is the only thing that has not been changed from previous versions, with the exception of the first person view. Since your room is the only time you use the first person angle and you never battle, it is hard to say this perspective is very innovative. The core of the game still takes place in the standard third person view, complete with the aforementioned clunky camera and a poor lock-on system that becomes more frustrating than terrifying when dealing with multiple enemies. Not to say the controls are bad by any measure, I would have hoped by now that in four installments the control scheme would have gone through more innovation than this. Heck, even in first person, it can be tiresome trying to look upon an item and have the focus on a different object. The biggest issue I found in this title was the amount of backtracking you must do in order to complete just one act. Throw in the tired idea of a weapons and item chests, and the cliches from survivor horror games rear their ugly heads. Overall, the game is still very playable; just do not expect any groundbreaking leaps in the control department. If you are familiar with the controls in the previous SH games, you will feel right at home with this one as well.

The only true curse with this genre is the low replay value and short game length. The same can be said with Silent Hill 4: The Room, as veterans can complete this in one sitting of 4-8 hours if so inclined. Even with all the monotonous backtracking and escort missions, the game is far too short. The downside is comparable to seeing a great horror flick that is only 80 minutes long. A fun and frightening experience that ends far too soon.

Even with the typical controls and even more typical game life, I still must recommend Silent Hill 4: The Room to fans of the genre, as the story is so original, the experience is completely scary, and the afterthoughts of the game will make you look over each shoulder when you are alone in the house. This game, like the Silent Hill titles before it, get in your head and stay there for quite sometime, if only you allow yourself to become immersed into the world.