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I, the undersigned, do twitchily vouch the following statements are true: 1. Building a death chamber next to a kitchen is not a health and safety issue. 2. Hellish apparitions are best dispatched with the nine iron or, failing that, a putter. 3. It is entirely rational to say to a tenant, "There are a lot of strange things in this world. Like the umbilical cord I keep in a box in my room... lately it's started to really smell." 4. And when my golf clubs are all bent, I'll kill you with a spade.

Signed... a Silent Hill fan.

Now read the small print: Silent Hill does not act in any way to stop you running aimlessly for hours, watching too many loading screens or pinwheeling at ghosts that won't die. Even those familiar with the first three games should not expect total plot clarity. But do expect what you just signed for.

The Room is tweaked to keep the faithful happy, but the less patient will remain unconvinced. It's hardly a comedy festival, but has many darkly amusing flourishes and a slew of game and film references. New locations are gorgeously unwelcoming, especially the forest - though Lord knows we've done subways and hospitals already - and the hub structure makes it more immediate. Just head through the holes in your flat and there you are. It cuts out much traipsing, but there's still plenty of loading time to deal with.

Sometimes this is because your new inventory is full and you must traipse home to use the chest - you can't just drop stuff. Annoying. And sometimes it's because you don't know what you've missed or where to look for it. That's just bad design. And on one occasion, a very large and otherwise brilliant puzzle turns out to contain a red herring - very Hitchcock, but films move on regardless of what the viewer believes. Games don't. So we spent just over an hour randomly re-searching and re-re-searching three floors of rooms, before randomly finding out the random answer. Not everybody will bother.

But so what? This is cult stuff. The story's got claws, and its weirdness is grounded in Nowheresville normality; the visuals are stunning and somehow more twisted than ever - you actually have to figure out clues - and the atmosphere lolls from spaced out, dreamy weirdness to the shrieking you'd find in-between Hades FM and Radio Torment. There's still nothing quite like Silent Hill. So, you have found a Flawed Gem. Will you take it? Hint: choose yes.

Graphics 90%
Gorgeously detailed, sensational effects.

Sound 90%
Highly unsettling, mostly great voices.

Gameplay 70%
Story grips; more walking than golf, though.

Lifespan 70%
Savour the hours when you're not stuck...

Overall 70%
Feels different - faster paced, stronger in story - without solving old problems or really offering anything else new.