Silent Hill 4: The Room Member Review for the Xbox

"Yet another worthy sequel."

I couldnt have said it better. SH4 addresses the previous issues with the recent games, and comes up with some challenging systems and ideas. For example, I never figured out how the main character kept enough stuff in his or her pocket to fill up a tool shed. In SH 4, your limited to the number of items you can carry. Also, there is a much stronger emphasis on melee combat, as ammo for guns is in short supply.

The graphics are much improved, but still capture the gory atmosphere, and the controls now incorporate a dodge function rather than an irrelevant block. The main character is still an average Joe, and while the plot has turned away from Alessa and her family, it still revolves around the cult in Silent Hill.

The one thing that sets this title apart from other SH titles, is that all of this is happening-the nightmare world, themonsters-in the main characters apartment! His flat acts like a hub, and clues and puzzles in the Room can apply to the worlds inside which he must travel.

Seriously, though, SH n' company need to breath a little life into their characters. The main character may shout and scream, but during most cutscenes, he looks and sounds like he took enough percocet to kill Robert Downey Jr.