Silent Hill Origins: Interview with Travis Grady

By Dan Birlew | Posted August 14, 2008 in Game Reviews | 2 Comments »

Silent Hill Origins on the Sony PSP is the newest game in the decade-running series by Konami. A prequel to the original 1999 game, Origins depicts events occurring seven years before the events of the first game. The protagonist is a trucker named Travis Grady, who has deeply rooted connections to the town of Silent Hill that not even he realizes. While driving his big rig past Silent Hill one evening, he has to slam on his brakes to avoid striking a figure in the road. When he hops out to investigate, he encounters the ghostly figure of young Alessa Gillespie. The little girl leads him to a burning house, wherein he finds her smoldering body. Rescuing the burned girl, he passes out in the yard. He awakes in the mist-enshrouded town of Silent Hill and finds all exit routes cut off. Horrible creatures lurk in the mist. In the familiar scenario, Travis must search the town to find the truth about Alessa as well as his own past in order to escape from Silent Hill, while the town gradually transforms into Hell on Earth.

Silent Hill Origins is a fun and frightening game, albeit a short one. Any fan who’s played the first game on the PSOne will certainly appreciate the story connections, as well as revisiting recognizable locations from Central Silent Hill with enjoyable graphic upgrades. The sound effects and music by Akira Yamaoka are creepy and effective, especially when headphones are worn.

Playing Origins makes me wish that Sony would make the original game available in the PlayStation Store for download and play on the PSP and PS3. After all, the first Silent Hill came out in 1999, and most gamers are now too young to own a copy.

I do have a few problems with the mechanics in Silent Hill Origins. To address my concerns, I thought I’d head to Silent Hill and interview the man with whom I have the most grievance: player character Travis Grady. I caught up with the trucker just outside the familiar Alchemilla Hospital, where the concepts of medicine are old-fashioned, to say the least:

Dan: Hi, Travis. My name is Dan Birlew. Mind if I interview you for my blog?

Travis: I – How . . . did I get . . . here?

Dan: A bit confused, huh? Well, that’s to be expected in this town. I’ve visited Silent Hill a few times before, and things here can be hard to decipher. Maybe I can just tag along?

Travis: Uhn, sure.

Dan: Great. So here we have Alchemilla Hospital, which also featured prominently in the first game. It’s nice to see these environments re-rendered with greater realism. But revisiting the same old territory starts to feel a little unoriginal and rehashed, doesn’t it?

Travis: There’s a mirror on the wall. The reflection is wrong.

Dan: Cool effect! The room behind us looks completely different in the mirror!

Travis: I’m going to touch it.

Dan: Ah, no, I wouldn’t do that.

Travis: Here goes.

Dan: Aw, man. . . .

(The room blurs. All I can see for a few seconds is television static. When it clears, Travis and I appear to be standing in the same room, but it’s changed. Everything is bloodstained, rusted, decaying. Some unknown violence has thrown the furniture around, rearranged things. The music and environmental sound are more industrial and more frightening.)

Dan: Dammit, Travis. I told you not to touch that.

Travis: I had to.

Dan: Yeah, I suppose so. After all, switching over to this dark, menacing world allows us to access new areas and to find new keys that aren’t available in the misty world we left behind. But it’s also darker and more monsters abound. This adds a nice suspense element too, since I really begin to dread finding mirrors. Hey Travis, looks like we found a staff member.

Travis: Helllllllllllo nurse!

Dan: Don’t get fresh, you trashy ole’ trucker. Wait a minute, seems she’s getting a little frisky herself. Oh that’s right, the Nurse monsters are a staple of the Silent Hill games. Watch out!

Travis: Nnnuggh!

Dan: She’s got you, Travis! No wait, you’ve got her! Press the button rapidly to throw her off. Good job! Wow, that was a cool new feature. Looks like enemies can grab you, and you can break free either by rapidly tapping the X button or by pressing the buttons shown onscreen with good timing. My only problem is that enemies seem to be able to grab you from several yards away. This makes it nearly impossible to avoid damage while using a melee weapon. The programmers should have fixed that. . . . She’s on the ground convulsing. Quick Travis, finish her off while she’s down!

(Travis shoots her.)

Dan: No, no, NO! What the fuck, Travis? You’re wasting bullets! Just stomp it to death, as in all the previous games.

Travis: Sorry, but I was equipped with my gun at the time.

Dan: You gotta be kidding me, Travis. You mean you can’t stomp a monster without holstering your gun? I mean, even an idiot like James Sunderland could manage.

Travis: Who?

Dan: Never mind. Get ready, here comes a Sea Pickle.

Travis: A what?

Dan: Konami Japan called them “Sea Pickles.” I renamed them “Straight-jackets” in the SH2 guide and somehow it stuck. This time, try using a melee weapon to save bullets.

Travis: It broke!

Dan: What the–? I’ll be damned, look at that. You struck flesh and bone with a steel crowbar, and somehow the crowbar shattered with a flash of light. Go figure. . . .

Travis: Ow!

Dan: Oh god, it’s killing you! Quick Travis, switch to another weapon!

Travis: I can’t equip stuff while I’m being hit.

Dan: No joke Travis, you’re just about the most inept Silent Hill protagonist ever. . . .

Travis: Take that!

Dan: Typical trucker, always trying to resolve things with your fists. Hey, you did it! Looks like Konami turned this game into a fighter without combos. The only weapon you can rely on is your fists.

Travis: Helllllllo nurse!

Dan: Finally, a real nurse! It’s Lisa, the sexy RN-in-training who previously appeared in the original game. Last time I saw her, she was bleeding from her eyes. Today seems to be going a little better for ole’ Lisa. She says she’s going to the local sanitarium. Guess we should head there too. It’s time to hit the streets of Silent Hill. Hey listen, Travis, I know there’s a lot of enemies on the streets, but we don’t have a lot of weapons or supplies. I mean, we only found three or four health drinks back there in the hospital, where you’d expect to find more. Maybe we should avoid the monsters entirely and just run.

Travis: Let’s go!

Dan: Okay, let’s go! Come on, Travis! . . . Travis? Why are you slowing down? What’s wrong, good buddy?

Travis: . . . tired . . . out of breath . . .

Dan: So soon? But we’ve only run a couple dozen steps! I’ve known grandmas with more stamina!

Travis: . . . energy . . . drink . . .

Dan: How will an energy drink help you run? Oh, I get it. . . . Like most truckers nowadays, you’re dependent on Red Bulls and Rockstars to stay awake. A life of sitting behind the wheel has made you sedentary and listless. Here you go.

Travis: Alright!

Dan: Glad you’re feeling better. But those monsters are catching up, so let’s run! Let’s go! . . . Let’s go, Travis! What the — You’re slowing down again! We’ve only gone another fifty yards!

Travis: . . . can’t run . . .

Dan: Jesus Christ, Travis! The monsters are hot on our tail! What’s the matter with you?

Travis: . . . energy drink . . .

Dan: Another one?! Travis, buddy, you really need to get in shape! Just thirty minutes a day on the treadmill is all it takes, I swear. In your case, maybe a few sit-ups wouldn’t hurt either. Well Travis, you’ve inhaled all our energy drinks like a recovering alcoholic, but we’ve finally arrived at the next stage. At least the puzzles are getting a little more creative and challenging. Oh look, your first boss encounter! Shoot it!

Travis: Back home, they call this my BOOM STICK!

Dan: Wow, it’s dead already? That was surprisingly easy. Hopefully the next boss will put up more of a fight.

Travis: Not likely.

Dan: Yeah, I suppose you’re right. This is Silent Hill, after all, where horrifying demons from another dimension can be easily dispatched with mass produced, proudly made all-American firepower. Perhaps there’s a statement in that aspect, something along the lines of, “Praise God and pass the ammunition.” Or maybe, “A few bullets a day keeps the Devil at bay.”

Travis: Hey! That’s the bumper sticker on my rig!

Dan: Travis, you’re quite a guy! Well it’s been fun, good buddy. But I think you have some more suppressed childhood memories to uncover, a Satanic cult to overthrow, and somehow you have to make it all vaguely tie in with the original game. I’ll leave you to it. By the way, where you headed?

Travis: Green Lion Antiques.

Dan: Oh yeah, I’ve shopped that store before. Not much of a selection. It’s more of a front operation for the cult. Have fun, and don’t forget to exercise!

Travis: See ya.

Dan: I mean it buddy. Lay off the guana. Keep on truckin’!

Tags: PSP, review, Silent Hill, video games