BOO! Are you scared? Well, you should be. What do you mean why? Because I say so, of course, and if that`s not enough to give you a good fright, then maybe you should try Silent Hill: Origins on your trusty PSP. Do you think you can handle the terror? The eerie, mist covered town of Silent Hill awaits you once more, with its untold horrors lurking behind the... mirror.

I`m always looking for a game that will keep me up at night and I was hoping that Silent Hill: Origins would have been suited to the task. I must admit, I prefer a good story in a horror game, much more than dozens of zombies falling decapitated at my feet, and that`s why I always preferred the Silent Hill series to all other "horror" games out there. Previous Silent Hill games kept me hooked with their dark atmosphere and each main character, with his special reason to be in Silent Hill, grew on me. James remained my favorite, throughout the series, and the search for his dead wife had me scared senseless.

This time, Travis Grady the trucker, whose shoes you fill, left me a bit puzzled. What exactly is he doing in Silent Hill? Concern for a little girl you almost hit with your truck, and afterwards save from a burning building, doesn`t give Travis the reason to go through all the buildings in the city and solve their weird puzzles. But hey, maybe character motivation and story progression isn`t as important nowadays. I`m saying this because the story seems to move at a snail-like pace for most of the game, whereas I was used to a more alert rhythm and many more characters in the grim town of Silent Hill.

The PSP once again doesn`t disappoint when it comes to graphics or sound effects. The sound track is crucial when it comes to setting the right atmosphere, and in this regard, Silent Hill: Origins doesn`t let you down. The haunting music of Silent Hill 2 and the chilling soundtrack of Silent Hill 4 still remain the best, but Silent Hill: Origins comes as a close competitor.

Travis doesn`t seem overly concerned when it comes to all the weird things happening to him in this small, deserted town. He is however much more violent than any other protagonist of the series. This is the first Silent Hill game where you can actually pick up items from the environment and use them as weapons. Of course, you can`t pick up everything that you see, but you can pick up TV's, big jars, typewriters and so on. This does raise the question of how does Travis run around with a TV, a type writer and a file cabinet in his pocket, but I haven`t been able to find an answer to that.

The characters that you do meet seem out of place and have too small of an appearance to leave any lasting impression. The monsters however certainly leave a strong impression, as their number is quite high and little is left to imagination. The nurses make another comeback, but all the other monsters are brand new. I was especially impressed by the monsters in the insane asylum that are invisible when the light is off, only their metallic parts showing and when you turn on the flashlight their shadow gives away their position. Monsters are sensitive to noise and light, so keeping the flashlight off means you can avoid a lot of encounters but this also means you`ll spend a lot of extra time looking for items and running into walls.

From the very start of the game you are advised to play this in a dark room, with your headphones on, and I strongly recommend this as well. Otherwise, you`ll have a hard time seeing anything on your PSP screen, without your flashlight, and you`ll miss the fun of going behind monsters and backstabbing them when they have no idea you`re there.