If you've been informed (like I was) that Silent Hill is merely a Resident Evil clone and decided to give it a pass...you have no clue as to what you're missing.Put simply, the first Silent Hill is an exercise in sheer, undiluted terror. This isn't the typical "jump-out-and-BOO" cheap scare and gross-out fluff like in RE, nor even the darkly tragic and Lynchian drama/horror of the PS2 sequel. This is as nightmarish as a video game can possibly get. Silent Hill is one of the few games that establishes a unique atmosphere throughout all sensory inputs (sound effects, music, graphics, controls, everything) and then uses it to effectively warp the player's psyche, until you feel as if you are actually THERE.The game's graphics might be somewhat lacking from a technical standpoint (especially in this age of stunning, flawless renderings with seamless FPS), but it uses that to its advantage to create a gritty, decaying, and eerie landscape. Of note is the fog (and other natural effects). It looks almost exactly like real fog, not a polygon hider, as it wafts and drifts obscuring your path. And when "night" falls, the game plunges into a truly horrifying dimension of Hell, with bloody, grotesque imagery that will give you chills long after the game is over. The monsters are twistedly creative and frightening too--zombie children, strange flying beasts, knife-wielding nurses (the hospital alone gave me nightmares for days), and other assorted freakish displays, all of them hungry for.