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Konami Corp.’s Silent Hill Origins for Sony Corp.’s Playstation 2 is a solid entry in the supernatural series. The prequel relays disturbing atmospheres, puzzles, and combat found in previous outings in a refined package.

In the title, lonely trucker Travis Grady takes a shortcut through Silent Hill. Grady stops when a girl appears in front of the road, and decides to trek on foot through town. Further down the road he spots a burning house and rescues a crispy girl body. He faints and gains conscious in a foggy Silent Hill.

In Origins, players traverse between the standard town and the dark alternative universe through mirrors. Grady will be required to manually move in-between universes to solve puzzles and nab all necessary items.

Controls have been revamped to allow for full three-dimensional movement rather than tank-like controls. In addition, players can choose weapons and items to use on-the-fly on the d-pad.

Combat is similar to previous outings. Grady can use his fists to beat down multi-limbed enemies. Melee weapons like the hammer can break after a few uses. Also available are firearms, and new toss weapons like toasters and alcohol bottles. Combat actions are a bit clunky, and likely intentional to make the player feel inhibited.

Players must finish enemies off by pressing the X button near a body. At times the game doesn’t register the finish action to require another beat down before a final blow.

Also new is a grappling feature to push enemies away by repeat X button presses.

Puzzles are standard and require gathering items and noting information on notes and surroundings. The requirement to move between universes at will adds more strategy to the game.

The graphics engine is solid at 30 frames per second. Character models and environments are well-constructed. Light-source special effects look great, though the built-in static filter can wear thin after a while.

The soundtrack includes pulse-heavy drums in the evil universe, and a stark calm in the traditional world.

Silent Hill Origins is a worthy prequel in the franchise. While the title doesn’t overhaul the series, the title enhances the series’ trademark aspects to deliver a freaky entry for fans.