When news of a Silent Hill prequel for the PlayStation Portable hit, I think the biggest concern fans had was that it would lose some of the haunting atmosphere the game is known for. Playing Silent Hill Origins at Konami's E3 bungalow, I might not have found myself checking over each shoulder for fleshy nurse corpses, but I was engrossed. There are a few concerns about the general look and feel of the game, but it's still a solid entry in the horror franchise.

The game's trucker protagonist seems out of place with the blank slate characters from the previous Silent Hills, but this is a minor quibble. That can be mostly overlooked given that the team at Climax has been very successful porting the look and feel of Silent Hill to the PSP, while adding a handful of game improving enhancements.

One of the issues I've always had with the series is that the game is largely a door-checking simulator disguised in a horror adventure's clothing. The lead character will now look not only at collectible items like health drinks and puzzle solving items, he'll eye-fix on door's that can be opened. There's still a good amount of quick-looking at the map to see what doors you've opened, but it's a welcome enhancement.

The screen will also become more grainy and scratched when enemies are nearby, similar to the series staple of radio static.

Weapon-wise, you'll find plenty of one time use items scattered about, including portable TVs and toasters that one can throw at enemies. Players will find them useful as weapons—lead pipes, crowbars, scalpels, etc—will degrade over time and ultimately break. At one point, I was forced to take out enemies with only my fists and a finishing trucker boot stomp.

Visually, the game looks great. Lighting effects from your vest-mounted flashlight look fantastic, casting believable shadows on walls and floors. Character models look on par with the PSP's graphical capabilities, but Silent Hill Origins' environments rival the PlayStation 2 releases.

For the most part, my doubts about Silent Hill Origins for the PSP were put to rest. It's mostly formulaic, yes, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. With Silent Hill V clearly a long time off, it should do well in filling the Silent Hill void until a proper new-gen sequel is released.