E3 2006: Silent Hill Origins revealed @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on May 10, 2006

News: Konami's horror series goes portable.

Silent Hill Origins has been on the lips of gamers ever since the Silent Hill movie was released a few weeks back. Naturally, everyone assumed it would be a retelling of the first game with the female lead from the movie replacing the original's Harry. However, it would appear those folks are mistaken as Konami has finally revealed the origins of Silent Hill Origins.

Silent Hill Origins is being developed by Climax and is scheduled to ship for the PSP this winter. It is also an entirely original story in the Silent Hill universe.

According to Konami, a lone truck driver has broken down while travelling through Silent Hill. There, he is "confronted by perversions of his imagination that mirror his troubled past, he must escape from the town as it falls into ruin and also uncover the truth behind the hallucinations that have haunted him for so long."

The first entry in the series on the PSP will have many PSP-styled features including a new control system and an enhanced camera system. But series composer Akira Yamaoka will still be providing the creepy music to set the mood.

Silent Hill Origins will also introduce the Barricade System, a gameplay mechanic that allows players to throw furniture, boxes and debris in the path of the incoming monsters.

Finally, the Origins part of the title is particulary apt as Koanmi has promised that this entry will tell the story of how Silent Hill changed from a sleepy hamlet to the gateway to Hell.

"Silent Hill Origins delivers all the terrifying moments, gruesome enemies and memorable characters and storytelling the series is known for onto a handheld gaming system," said Wilson Cheng, Product Manager at Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "Players can now experience greater freedom with the game's enhanced combat and barricade systems and also learn how the chilling events of later Silent Hill games were set in motion."

We'll scare up more on Silent Hill Origins soon.