Silent Hill: Homecoming

The second Silent Hill title developed by a non-Japanese team and the sixth installment in the video game series (the first four having been developed by the now-disbanded Team Silent), Silent Hill: Homecoming centers around a Special Forces soldier named Alex Shepherd (who incidentally bears a striking resemblance to David Boreanaz), returning to his hometown of Shepherd's Glen after being wounded in battle and eventually discharged from hospital. Upon arriving home he discovers his mother catatonic and only able to ask for the whereabouts of his younger brother Joshua, who apparently has been missing for some time, along with inhuman monsters inexplicably stalking the streets. Endeavouring to find his brother, he embarks on a dangerous journey as he follows the trail of clues to the nearby town of Silent Hill, all while being haunted by hints of secrets best left buried. 
__TOC__
=General overview=
In a nod to Silent Hill 4, the firearms in this game all have distinct magazine capacities that are determined by the specific difficulty option selected at the beginning of the game, the particulars of which are noted in their descriptions. This title is also the first in the series to allow for manual aiming of firearms via an "over-the-shoulder view" along with weak spots on enemies that players can aim for while shooting, and also the first to allow the use of firearms in melee attacks. Compared to the game's dedicated melee weapons, however, using firearms in this manner is slower and less damaging, and is best reserved for knocking back enemies to give one more breathing room to shoot. 
To emphasize the "survival" aspect of its "survival horror" genre, Silent Hill: Homecoming is also the first to severely restrict the amount of ammunition the player character can carry. Alex can have no more than 2 full loads of ammunition per firearm plus the load that specific firearm carries, for a total of 3 full loads of ammunition (if he finds more ammunition after having reached this point, he will simply exclaim "I can't carry anymore"). This restricted ammunition load is compounded by the previously-mentioned decreased magazine capacity depending on the difficulty level, forcing players to make their shots count or otherwise rely on melee attacks once their ammunition supply runs out. Each ammunition pick-up item also gives only enough ammunition to fill up its associated firearm once.
A second firearms-related feature this title pioneered for the series was the appearance of "upgraded" firearms obtainable by the player, or in other words, improved versions of firearms that would replace the older versions when picked up. These improved versions all have larger magazine capacities (which ammunition pickups will thankfully match) and better damage stats than those they replace, the latter of which is unrealistic because a firearm's "damage" is a function of its ammunition and not largely dependent on its design.
Note: All ingame handguns are symmetrically modeled. 
=Revolvers=
== Single Action Army ==
The Single Action Army makes a return from Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3, simply dubbed "Old Revolver." It is now clean and has wooden grips. As with those earlier series titles, it cannot be used by the player. Unlike those titles, no enemies use it either. It is the first firearm available in the game, and one of three that the player must obtain on every playthrough.
Alex first finds it in the lap of his catatonic mother after first coming home, and takes it from her as he fears what she might do with it. Upon finding it to be nonfunctional, he eventually discovers Curtis Ackers' salvage yard in Shepherd's Glen where he then trades it with the yard's owner for the Mk. 23 handgun. The gruff and unfriendly Curtis claims that he can fix the gun eventually, but the gun is still never returned to Alex in the course of the game. Its deteriorated state implies that it may be a period piece, improperly stored and long forgotten.
On a side note, Curtis' inaccurate remark in a cutscene that Alex must have stole the revolver from his father is a reference to the Single Action Army seen in Silent Hill 2, which was stolen by its user Eddie Dombrowski from his father. 
==Unknown Revolver==
This short-barrelled revolver (which is resemble some S&W models) is found on a dead NPC in the game's final level, and is always depicted as holstered. Alex is shown to have one in a holster if the player selects the "Deputy Alex" costume after unlocking it when starting a new game, but cannot use it.
=Pistols=
==Custom M1911==
Dubbed the "Chrome Hammer Pistol" ingame, this handgun resembles the various M1911s configured for competition shooting produced by companies like Strayer Voigt, Inc. or STI International. Its customizations include a compensated barrel with venting holes in all directions except towards the magwell, holes in the slide to lighten it, and a large external magwell to facilitate quick reloads (though Alex's reload speed is not enhanced by this feature).
The Chrome Hammer pistol has a magazine capacity of twelve rounds on Normal difficulty, and seven on Hard. It can be obtained if the player has Alex hack away at wooden planks blocking off a crypt in the Rose Heights Cemetery with the Fire Axe. Whether or not the weapon is acquired is totally at the player's discretion, and Alex will still use the Mk 23 handgun in cutscenes.
thumb|none|350px|Strayer Voigt Infinity 1911 - .45 ACP
==Taurus PT92==
Named the "Mk. 23 Handgun" in-game, it most closely resembles a Taurus PT92. The gun itself is also very similar to that of the Beretta 92FS "Samurai Edge" featured in Resident Evil, another popular survival horror video game series (and the direct competitor of Silent Hill), albeit without the stainless barrel and slide-mounted safety. Despite Alex describing the gun as a "9mm pistol", it has apparently been converted to use .45 ACP ammunition as evidenced by the ingame pistol ammunition items. It is safe to assume that Double Helix Games must have mixed the appearance of the PT92 with the caliber and name of the Heckler & Koch Mark 23. The Mk. 23 handgun has a magazine capacity of nine rounds on Normal difficulty and five on Hard, and is one of three ingame firearms that Alex must obtain.
This handgun is the first usable firearm available to the player, and it is obtained after Alex gives the Old Revolver to Curtis Ackers at the Salvage Yard in Shepherd's Glen in return for his information. Curtis then gives the Mk. 23 Handgun to Alex because he likes "a fair trade." It can also be found near the end of the game in a specific room in the Order Cult's Lair, which is useful because the moment Alex enters that level all his weaponry and ammunition are stripped from him. The Mk. 23 handgun is also used by Deputy James Wheeler after he hands his shotgun to Alex. 
==Handgun Ammunition==
These cartridges are labelled to be .45 ACP, and are scattered throughout the game. Each will give a full magazine's worth of ammunition when picked up, appropriate to the player's currently-equipped handgun and difficulty level. The box clearly takes heavy influence from Remington's "Green and White Box" ammo, with the "Golden Bullet" moniker taken from the company's notorious .22LR ammo line.
=Shotguns=
==Franchi SPAS-12==
The Franchi SPAS-12 is featured ingame as the "BlueSteel Shotgun," and replaces the 12 Gauge Shotgun on pickup. Like the "Chrome Hammer" handgun, the SPAS-12 is also optional and can be obtained when Alex unlocks his father Adam Shepherd's (who bears a distinct resemblance to Terry O'Quinn) hunting supply and butcher room with the right key. The BlueSteel Shotgun has a slightly higher tube magazine capacity of five shells (four on Hard mode), and deals more damage per shot than its predecessor. 
There are some differences between the real-life weapon and its ingame version. First, the rear aperture sight used by the real SPAS-12 is not modeled in game, being replaced with a notched rear sight to see the front blade sight through. The real-life SPAS-12's semiautomatic firing mode is also not emulated in this game, and Alex is forced to use it in a pump-action mode only. Unlike many media depictions, the ingame version of the SPAS-12 is depicted with a full-size, fixed, and rifle-style buttstock, which could be because the development team didn't want to have to animate Alex extending or folding the real-life version's folding buttstock each time he took it out or put it away.
=="12 Gauge Shotgun"==
Simply called the "12 Gauge Shotgun", it has a tube magazine capacity of four shells on Normal difficult, or a paltry three on Hard. The "12 Gauge Shotgun" can first be seen in Shepherd Glen's Salvage Yard, but cannot be obtained there. Alex instead first obtains this shotgun at the Shepherd's Glen Police Station after Deputy Wheeler hands it to him. It appears to have a rifle-style front sight, but no rear sight (which would be required to make full use of a rifle-style front sight, rather than the standard shotgun bead sight). The "12 Gauge Shotgun" is the third and last gun that Alex must obtain on every playthrough. 
The weapon itself is ultimately very strange. It has a huge receiver, and the barrel is clearly larger than 12 gauge, what makes think about KS-23. Receiver reminds the Ithaca 37, with ejection port from Stevens Model 67 (which is clearly tiny for those hefty shells that this gun should shoot). Triggerguard and shape of magazine tube with forearm resemble the Remington 870.
==Shotgun Ammunition==
Rarer than handgun ammunition, boxes of shotgun ammunition can be found throughout the game. The shells inside also aren't modelled to reflect the enlarged rim that shotgun ammunition possesses (strangely enough, the spent shells ejected by the ingame shotguns are in fact modelled with enlarged rims). In reality the shells' rims would preclude storage of them side-by-side with their primers facing the same direction without any spacers as the game depicts; the box would either need spacers to keep the rims from butting up against one another, or otherwise the shells inside would need to be placed so that all adjacent shells have their primers facing opposite directions. 
=Rifles=
==Accuracy International Arctic Warfare==
The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare, dubbed the "Police Marksman Rifle" ingame, is the higher-damage upgrade to the M14 rifle and can be found in the Order Cult's Lair. It is unrealistically treated as a semiautomatic weapon (the real-life version is bolt-action), and has a 5-round magazine capacity, as opposed to 10 rounds for the real-life weapon. The rifle's rear sights are ALWAYS depicted as folded down ingame, without any option to attach a scope or bipod. However, the very late ingame appearance of this rifle and the absence of any further rifle ammunition items in its associated level restricts it to being a 5-shot wonder against the game's final boss.
Due to the weapon being located in close proximity to two Shepherd's Glen Police Department officers, it may be possible the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare was bought as a civilian model for use by the Shepherd's Glen police.
==M14==
The M14 rifle is surprisingly called the "M14 Assault Rifle" ingame (despite its cartridge making it a battle rifle), and has a magazine capacity of 5 rounds on Normal difficulty, or 4 rounds on Hard difficulty (although exists the civilian 5-round magazines, the rifle in the game is presented with a standard 20-round magazine). In addition it is modeled with the 18-inch barrel, this suggests it was partially modeled after the M1A Scout Squad rifle. Its stopping power is higher than the ingame handguns, but lower than the shotguns. The M14 is a totally optional weapon, and can be acquired in Silent Hill's Dargento Cemetery if the player completes the Janus statue puzzle and loots it from an otherwise-inaccessible area of the cemetery. 
Regardless of whether or not the player obtains the weapon, a few soldiers from Silent Hill's Order cult can be seen using it, though it cannot be looted from their corpses. 
==Rifle Ammunition==
The rarest of the ingame ammunition pick-up items. It provides a full magazine's worth of ammunition for ingame rifle-type weapons. The cartridges, ostensibly of 7.62x51mm NATO caliber, are modelled with enlarged rims, something which real 7.62x51mm NATO cartridges do not have.
=Other Weapons=
==Laser Pistol==
As with the "Hyper Blaster" from the first Silent Hill title, the similar "Laser Pistol" is unlocked after getting the "UFO Ending." The weapon has unlimited ammunition and is able to kill enemies easily. Like the original "Hyper Blaster," the "Laser Pistol" is modelled after the Playstation version of the "Konami Justifier," a light gun peripheral made for the first Playstation video game console, but isn't coloured fluorescent green like the real version was. It is also the only handgun in the game that is not symmetrically modelled and textured. Being based on a light gun whose sole purpose was to play shooting games via "point shooting" at very short ranges, the "Laser Pistol" accordingly has no rear sight, yet Alex is somehow able to aim it as accurately as the other ingame handguns.
==M9 Bayonet== 
Befitting his military background, the very first weapon Alex Shepherd has access to is an M9 Bayonet within the game's opening nightmare sequence, which he will retain from that point onward. Unfortunately, Alex can NEVER affix it to any of his long guns, and is forced to use it solely as a standalone combat knife. He is also forced to stop using it once he retrieves the "Ceremonial Dagger" from a hidden location in Shepherd's Glen. 
Category:Video Game
Category:Horror
Category:Mystery
Category:Silent Hill