Latest 'Silent Hill' adventure clever and creepy, but faulty

— -- It's been 13 years since Konami's first Silent Hill game scared up fans on the original Sony PlayStation.

Along with sequels for multiple platforms, this Japanese "survival horror" video game franchise also spawned a feature film (and a second currently in post-production), comics and graphic novels, and collectible action figures.

The eighth official Silent Hill game is now available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and while it doesn't quite live up to its renowned predecessors it still delivers some chills, spills and thrills.

Silent Hill: Downpour follows Murphy Pendleton, a convicted felon who has been incarcerated for several years. It's not exactly clear what the game protagonist did to land him behind bars, but while being transferred to the nearby Wayside Maximum Security Penitentiary, a freak bus accident gives Pendleton a chance to escape to the nearby town of Silent Hill. As he soon discovers, jail would've been a safer option.

Similar to past games , Downpour is a cinematic third-person adventure that combines exploration throughout a foggy town (now with rain, too, which adds to the atmosphere), combat against bizarre demonic creatures (with a number of melee weapons and handguns to choose from) and plenty of puzzle-solving elements (to help unlock new areas and story elements).

While unraveling the mystery behind Silent Hill — and figuring out why Pendleton was the one destined to perform the task — fans of the franchise will appreciate some new features. Environments are now much larger — so you don't feel like you're kept on a tight leash — and there are more side missions to take on, new characters to interact with and some moral choices to make. Puzzles are some of the best in the series, including a memorable sequence involving a Hansel and Gretel stage play, and music still plays a significant part of the interactive experience.

But there are some issues with the game, too. Combat feels somewhat stiff, which is not unusual for a Silent Hill adventure, mind you, but because more enemies attack you at the same time in this game, it could be awkward to tackle them all simultaneously. While scary, the monstrous baddies aren't as imaginative as in previous games. On a related note, the frame rate can slow down whenever there's a lot of onscreen action, which can hurt the all-important immersion factor. Perhaps Czech developer Vatra Studios, a newcomer to the series, will release a downloadable update to address these unfortunate technical issues.

Shortcomings notwithstanding, Downpour is a more action-heavy and open-ended adventure than past Silent Hill games, and fans of the franchise will likely appreciate the new twists to the nail-biting gameplay.

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Silent Hill: Downpour

Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

Genre: Action/Adventure

Developer: Vatra Studios

Publisher: Konami

Web site: konami.com/silenthill

Price: $59.99

Rating: "Mature"

Score: 3.0 stars (out of 4)

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Contact Saltzman at techcomments@usatoday.com