Customer Reviews

Silverload

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If this game was made recently, I would have given it an average rating, but....it wasn't. It was made when Playstation was new to America. You have no ability to walk on your own. Instead, you are forced to point and click with a cursor, to where you want to go, what you want to look at, what you want to pick up, and who you want to talk too. Very similar to the controlling configuration to Myst or Riven. But unlike Myst or Riven, you are able to look about your surroundings without having to click on anything and waiting for the next scene to load. I thought I should mention that first, for you stubborn people who expect advanced configuration won't waste your time reading the rest of this review.

This game's true quality has little to do with how you move your character around. It's primarily meant for gamers who enjoy to sit, relax, and think. One puzzle after another. There's even puzzles that are optional, that you don't need to solve to finish the game, but are better to solve to achieve a better and less obscure storyline.

The plot is simple. The game takes place in 17th century America, where cowboys and Indians alike, fended for themselves and family to survive. You are a Bounty Hunter, or a 'Gun for hire', that was sent to rescue a young boy who was kidnapped from a travelling horde of Settlers. They suspected that their son was taken to a town that went by the strange name of...'Silverload'. A place of very little people and provisions. An unfriendly barren of a town, that doesn't take too kindly of unwanted visitors. At the very entrance of this Silverload, hung a sign that counted the town's populace: POPULATION 1500 (crossed out) 1200 (crossed out) 293--that one, at the bottom of the list, wasn't crossed out. A plague, perhaps?

What made this game so great, was how the town was seemingly a great big tombstone. Even the people who lived there, were totally devoid of life of any kind. You tried to talk to folks, but just about everyone treated you like trash. And even the few nice folk, were reluctant to speak of the town's history. The more puzzles you solve, the more you delve into this mystery...not liking what you find one bit. It wasn't a plague, or a lack of money. It was something much worse, something that still existed, keeping the townsfolk imprisoned...or better yet, entombed there forever.

Believe me, it's a horror game, not just a puzzle solver. Some of the movie scenes and concepts this game portrayed were very morbid and gross, which I know some people can appreciate. There are times when you actually use your gun to shoot and kill people (or monsters), but this is very rare. The voice-acting was....worse than Resident Evil 1, I'm afraid to admit. The graphics were pretty good, considering the date this game was released.

I bought this as a special surprise for my mother-in-law... she was thrilled to receive it! It was in excellent condition & arrived earlier than was expected! I'm VERY pleased with this purchase!

I agree with the other reviewer. Silverload is a point-and-click horror game, with one of most original stories I've ever played in a game. Like the other reviewer mentioned, if you are concerned with graphics it may help to put the game into the context of its release date, which was back in the dawn of the PS1. I played the game on a big HDTV and the graphics didn't bother me at all.

So there are vampires and werewolves in the game, but Silverload doesn't resort to Hollywood cliches at all. In fact, the game doesn't really resort to many cliches at all. You have to remember, this game came out before "survival horror" became a term (with 1996's Resident Evil). It's a great adventure-horror plot, brought to life by the gruff voice of the lone wolf protagonist, a half Native American gunslinger called simply "the Gunslinger." Some of the other actors are less than great, and one or two are atrocious. There's really no excuse for that, but when was voice acting the standard of critical excellence in these old mid-90s video games?

Overall, a terrific find and a little-known horror.