The first and currently only Silent Hill title for the PSP was released onto store shelves this past week. The game itself is a prequel with the events therein taking place before Harry Mason took his first steps into the creepy resort town that eventually turned into a place of both nightmares and dreams. The player will take control of Travis Grady, a solitary truck driver whose route is halted by a unexpected and unfortunate turn into Silent Hill, and becomes ensnared in the town’s web. The player will have to help Grady escape the town and it’s horrifying denizens while trying to unravel the nature of the hallucinations Grady has experienced since childhood.

Silent Hill: Origins also features an updated control scheme that improves the combat style of Grady as he fits his way through the legions of creepy crawlers that wander or fly above the streets of Silent Hill. The luckless truck driver will have at his disposal his fists, ingenuity, and a variety of melee weapons such as a meat clever, sledgehammer, and pool cue to pummel his way past opponents.

Anthony Crouts, the Vice President of Marketing for Konami, has hinted that the game offers other contributions besides the new character and combat system upgrades. Mr. Crouts was quoted as a saying that “Fans can expect a fear-inducing experience with Silent Hill: Origins” and that Konami was “adding to the mythos by revealing some secrets hinted at in the original Silent Hill.” Silent Hill: Origins will also feature a new soundtrack made especially for the new release by Akira Yamaoka, the composer for the series along with what Mr. Crouts described as “elaborate puzzles and a chilling storyline that has made Silent Hill a hit for gamers everywhere.”

Silent Hill: Origins is rated M for Mature and has a retail price of $29.99.