No offense to our loved ones, but the day we receive a letter from them asking us to come party in Silent Hill is the day we kiss their asses butts goodbye. No post cards, no day trips and it's been nice knowing them. Unfortunately, the characters in the video games don't have that luxury. Konami just throws them into the hellish place and forces them to survive through armies of twisted creatures. The upcoming sixth installment, Silent Hill: Homecoming, is no different. Once again, a poor sap finds himself wandering through a hellish environment that makes Iraq seem like the perfect vacation spot, hoping that the sound he heard behind him wasn't made by some disgusting abomination. We wouldn't have it any other way.

We dare you to cop a feel.Click to see more images from the game...

Homecoming, available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this September, tells the story of Alex, an ex- soldier with Gulf War experience who gets kicked out of the military for having nightmares about his little brother. After returning to his hometown of Shepherd's Glen, he comes to the horrific realization that his bro is missing.

Most of us would probably call the police and put up posters, but this being a Silent Hill game, Alex decides to visit the mysterious town. He hitches a ride with a trucker and finds himself enveloped in fog, but this isn't just any fog. The Developer developers at The Collective (from Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb fame) haves created dynamic fog that swirls around and reacts... well... dynamically. This means that objects (the trucker's rig, for example) appear swallowed by it instead of just passing through, and being that it's fog, it'll affect your vision, which adds tension to the experience since you won't be able to tell where all those creepy sounds come from.

Previous Silent Hill characters are average Joes with little fighting ability, a great design decision that upped the tension as we fumbled with handguns and recklessly swung things around. Alex, however, has combat training, and is better equipped to deal with the twisted, homicidal nurses, skinless dogs and other terrors. As such, expect him to be dead more accurate with guns.

In addition to his firearm talents, Alex also has some effective hand-to-hand maneuvers. You can chain his light and heavy attacks to create more powerful moves, and you can dodge as well as perform counters. Furthermore, there are fatalities for all of the weapons, so instead of just hitting an enemy and watching the body go limp, you can chop off its head, among other things.

There's also a first person mode, press R3, that enables you to get a better look at the environments, which should help lessen the impact of any third person camera issues. As for item collecting, Alex's head will turn and look at things he can pick up, and the game doesn't pause whenever you grab something. Instead, you'll snatch it in real time.

Thus far, The Collective has done a great job with the look and feel of the game. The aforementioned fog goes a long way to creating a claustrophobic atmosphere, and the visuals of the deserted town, dingy environments and bloodstains looks outstanding. When combined with the eerie sound effects and score from series composer Akira Yamaoka, Silent Hill: Homecoming should make you crap your pants.

Konami's previous Silent Hill offering, Origins on the PSP, wasn't as good as its predecessors, so we're looking forward to the franchise's return to form. Whether or not The Collective can meet fans' lofty expectations, however, remains to be seen. But with large breasted (and faceless) nurses, buckets of gore and the decrepit town, Homecoming looks like a great way to spend those cold, fall nights.

Related Links

Silent Hill: Homecoming Xbox 360 Game Guide

Silent Hill: Homecoming PS3 Game Guide