Video Games: "Silent Hill: Homecoming" a good addition to survival horror genre

"Silent Hill: Homecoming," also called "Silent Hill V," is the latest in the long running survival horror series of video games. You play as Alex Shepherd, an American soldier on medical leave, returning for a visit to your hometown of Shepherd's Glen, a small community on the shores of Toluca Lake. But, when you get there, things are, let's say, wrong. A pervasive mist covers the entire town, the streets end in gaping chasms, and almost everyone seems to be gone. Most telling of all, monstrous creatures lurk in the mists, trying to kill Alex when they get the chance. It is up to Alex to find out what's going on, why this is all happening, how his family is connected to it, and where his brother is.

The game is quite good, not as good as the second in the series, but about on par with the third. It has an excellent story with several interesting plot twists. In terms of gameplay, it's probably a step up from most of them, having a more involved and active combat system where you can fight monsters with more finesse than in previous installments. The atmosphere of the game is almost perfect, being quite spooky at times, and generally unsettling, enhancing the feeling of being in a horror movie situation. The music and sound effects are very fitting as well, with the music being done by series regular Akira Yamaoka.

The biggest problem the game can have is that some areas are so dark that even with your character's flashlight on it can be hard to see where you are going, and you can possibly even overlook important things, though these sections aren't so common as to make the game bad by any extent.

Overall, I give this game an eight out of ten, and would highly recommend it to any fan of the survival horror genre.