In the midst of my jobhunting, registering for classes, and catching up with old friends, I finally found some time to spend with The Silent Hill Experience. I’m a big fan of crafting a suitable environment for the game that you’re about to play, which is why I turned out the lights, closed the blinds, put on a nice pair of headphones, and gave all of my attention to the experience before me. Needless to say, I was terrified. Not the unnerving I’m-going-to-die terrified, but the innocent, charming kind that comes with playing horror games or watching a scary movie.

The Silent Hill Experience for PSP is a truly unique release. It’s considered a UMD Video, but it isn’t quite that (though it certainly isn’t a game either). It consists of two digital comics, 20 tracks from the four main Silent Hill games, trailers, an interview, and more.

While everything included in the release is interesting and worth viewing, the digital comics are the main focus. The first comic, Silent Hill: Dying Inside, is a rerelease of an older comic with wonderful segues and fitting music. The original comic, quite honestly, wasn’t worth viewing. But this time around, with all the added effects, the experience is much more pleasant. The other comic, and one that is exclusive to this release, is The Hunger. The art style and storyline are significantly different in comparison to Dying Inside, but it still manages to pack in an engrossing story that captures the unique Silent Hill vibe.

Konami truly put a lot of work into this release and really sprung to create a captivating environment. The included media isn’t the only wonderful part. The menu finds the viewer navigating through a Silent Hill locale in order to find everything. In theory it sounds as though it could be annoying or even tedious, but they managed instead to make it worthwhile and fun.

The Silent Hill Experience is not the type of thing that could be created for every franchise. It requires a powerful atmosphere and history to truly be pulled off.  While admittedly it was released as a promotional tool for the live-action movie, it still carries enough goodies and fanfare to warrant a place in the collection of any fan of the series.