Others say...

"Really Spooky, But Only If..."
... you like atmospheric horror. There are plenty of gorey and disturbing images and plot elements to lend to the over all 'shock' of the gaming experience, and believe me, they're weird and creepy and disturbing all right, but for me it was the game's well-crafted atmosphere that really got to me. I highly recommend you play it at night, lights off, on a better-than-decent sound system with better-than-decent sound and video cards if at all possible, the better the tools, the better the experience. I'm really into atmospheric horror to start with, finding spine-tingling creepiness that builds and builds to a crescendo much spookier than instant shock-terror, so if that's you too, you will definitely appreciate the willies this game is capable of giving.
That said, however, I do have a gripe or two. You might also want to purchase a better-than-decent gamepad or controller and ditch your keyboard/mouse combo for this one, if you haven't already - the weirdness of the keyboard configuration combined with the frustrating camera angles do make combat more than just challenging.
The camera angles don't initially make sense, true, but after playing a bit I realized it's purely intentional - yes, it's kind of mean of the developers to not always let you see what's coming up ahead of you by turning the camera to face your character as you run 'forward,' but that's all part of the atmosphere (although yes, it does at times result in you taking damage a bit unfairly). I found it a truly neat trick that made the game a bit more difficult but also added significantly to the creepy factor, particularly in tense and dangerous areas. Note, however, navigating this way will definitely take some getting used to.
The combat (on a keyboard) is truly clunky and frustrating, make no mistake, but I found after a bit of practice and button reassigning I got the hang of it, and it's definitely better than some ports I've played. Do buy a controller, though, to truly enjoy the game's engine.
Lastly, the game's voice-acting and dialogue loops are a bit cheesey at times, but then that's also part of the atmosphere - when you're not being creeped out, you can laugh at the 'B-Horror' elements (which I believe are intentional) of the experience.
I'm currently about 1/3 of the way into the game; I purchased it new in 2004 but then shelved it for awhile in favor of other titles and have finally come back to it, and I'm glad I did. It definitely plays without problem on my XP Professional system although the amazon description points out it was made for Windows ME. The plot is so far definitely engrossing, and just as (if not more so) intriguing as Silent Hill 3, also definitely worth playing for much of the same reasons I'm listing above if you haven't already. However, if you are totally unfamiliar with the series (as I once was), I recommend you do some digging online and study up as it's a bit confusing and has recurring themes in each game. Or better yet, pick up a strategy guide.
If you like dark-room I-don't-know-what's-in-there-with-me-and-I-can-hear-it-breathing-when-I-hold-my-breath terror, than this is definitely a game for you!

"Download the demo first!"
I had great hopes for this- it looked spooky and fun. Perhaps it is on a console, but it's utterly unplayable on a PC. The camera seems to be controlled by a random number generator- why would I *ever* want the camera facing me when I'm exploring with a bunch of baddies around? For some reason Konami thinks this is the best possible angle, since moving away from it is virtually impossible and the camera will swing back after your character gets caught in a corner. Add to that the fact that there's no "invert mouse" function- it looks like there is in the options, but it does nothing. I simply cannot understand why this is a problem on any title today- both 1st and 3rd person (SH4 uses both) camera/movement control issues were solved years ago on both consoles and PCs

I still think it looks spooky and fun after playing for a bit, but I got so frustrated being unable to do the simplest things I gave up and went back to Oblivion. There's a downloadable demo- try it out and see if you can control the main character before plunking down cash for this dog.

"Not even worth the title silent hill LITERALY "

I was disappointed beyond even my expectations when I played this, I am one of THE BIGGEST fans of silent hill 1 (PSX only) 2 and 3 all extremely chilling and beautifully crafted games - this `silent hill' 4, only one word describes it, excrement.
My main problems with the game - although it has a great principle (locked in your own apartment with padlocks on the inside - no escape - only able to escape through an ever increasing portal) it really:
1) The controls are pointless; you would be better trying to move the character with `Good wishes'.
2) the camera positioning is pathetic, 1st person in the apartment - wide aspect `through the portal'
3) You can only hold 4-6 items INCLUDING GUNS AND BULLETS (bullets take 1 space for EVERY 25 or so)
4) The monsters are monsters that can't be killed - mmmmm pointless? Maybe. Annoying? Definitely.
5) And you don't actually visit silent hill - the town that gives the game it's name

I love silent hill 1,2,3 so much I rated them all 5 stars all round I have played them all 5-8 times but this I played for about two hours before I binned it, I actually binned it - on hind view I should have just resold but I do get freaked out like that - anyway the madness continues - I did some research LOTS OF RESEARCH and: Silent Hill 4 the room is NOT ACTUALLY A SILENT HILL GAME ORIGANNLAY, although Konami developed it, the plan was for it to be an independent game but Konami saw the similarities in the products (both survival horror, both psychological games) they mage some `alterations' making it more Silent Hill'ish and changed some names around - in my eyes they should NOT have released this under silent hill as - with an independent name I would have had a less extreme reaction to it - maybe even enjoyed it but THIS IS NOT SILENT HILL.

Good news for the die-hard fan of Silent Hill - I think that Konami have another silent hill in production on which THEY REVERT TO THE OLD SYSTEM (as with 2 and 3) this is a confirmed development (Silent hill 5) *crosses fingers for better game* I hope this has helped you.

My advice if you wish to buy this game DON'T LISTEN TO THE SILENT HILL TITLE - you will enjoy much more. Enjoy...


"SUPER SCARY"
The Movie version of "Silent Hill" came out recently, but it is not the story of Silent Hill 4 - The Room. The Movie reminds me about this game that I watched my brother playing with play stations 2 years ago. I admit that this game is way too scary for me to play it; I don't have the guts to be the player for this game, so I was just being an observer for this game. In the beginning, we started with the first person camera view, my brother and me were totally freaked out, since we thought we would be in the first person mode for the whole game. I think starting with the first person mode is really creative, it can really brings the player into the game. I like how there are so many things to explore just inside the small room. Looking through the hole of the door to observe what is happening outside, and also through the windows to look at the outside world. I didn't get to see the previous 1, 2, and 3, so I can't really get to compare them. However, I think Silent Hill 4 - The Room is a really great game for those people who are brave to play this kind of game, the story line is really interesting and the horrify surroundings were created in great details. There are always something surprising coming out all the time which makes it really scary. That's why even though I was only an observer, it gave me a really deep memory about this game.

"The best Silent Hill game to date"
The plot was excellent, and the endings were quite interesting. The environments were overwhelming, and the monsters were very scary.