Originally posted by Rydain

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First off, the radio in the original Silent Hill emits a prickly whining noise that is significantly more grating than the radio sounds in the other two games (which I'm pretty sure are the same). Its enemies are creepier and generally more threatening, too. Outside, you constantly have to avoid things that run at you, pounce on you, and attack you from the air, In various areas of the game, you'll come across freaky foes such as moaning demon children and possessed doctors and nurses, (Granted, the Slurpers in 3 are actually much more of a pain in the ass than the children, but they're not as disturbing to be around.) There is one area of the game in which you can get attacked from above, you can't really see, and get this - the radio doesn't work. I could barely stand to watch my friend play that, let alone go through it myself. Enemies respawn no matter what difficulty level you pick (in 2 and 3, most of the indoor enemies stay dead on Beginner and Easy mode). Furthermore, you occasionally run into harmless ghosts that set off your radio and then disappear, which is always good for a scare. There aren't any similar creatures in the other two games.

The first Silent Hill does have some features that can lessen the scariness, though. You get an effective melee weapon (a pipe) near the beginning of the game, and if you're playing on Easy, ammo and health are plentiful. I killed mostly everything I came across with my handgun, and I had full ammo pretty early in the game. Some people feel that survival horror games aren't as frightening if you have plenty of supplies. In my case, the atmosphere of the game set the mood quite nicely, and all the supplies gave me enough courage to actually play (until I freaked, put it down, and got lazy about playing again, that is ).

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