Over the past year or so I played through Silent Hill 1, 2 and 3 (in order and having no previous experience with them).  I'm having difficulty deciding which one is my favorite.  They all have their own strengths and aspects that make them unique.  Here are some of the reasons I like each.

Silent Hill 1

-Obviously, being first, it has originality on its side and can really catch you off guard.

-Messes with your head the most.

-The first time playing through the otherworld hospital part almost made me shit my pants.

Silent Hill 2

-Graphics and voice acting are dramatically improved over the original.

-Has the best story and most endings.

-Beginning does a great job building tension and mystery.

-Pyramid Head.

Silent Hill 3

-The game wastes no time and starts out with you in the thick of things.

-Monsters, visual effects, and the environments are the scariest/most varied.

-Overall the scariest game if you were to play just one of them.

I really enjoyed all three games, the first for its originality, the second for its mature story, and the third for being the scariest.  Which game is your favorite?

Silent Hill 4

Haven't played it yet so thats why it isn't included

It is great game, you should play it.

I can honestly say Silent Hill 1 is one of those games I'm not sure if I can beat. When I was in high school, a little after it came out, I tried to play through it. I honestly couldn't do it. My friend actually put it like this: "I played the beginning, shut the game off, it was the work of the devil". I got it again recently as a PS+ bonus, I got about as far as the school, it's literally too tense of a game for me to continue playing.

Lol, the school is definitely intense.  If you don't like that then don't continue because it gets even more intense especially in the hospital.  I was scared playing through it even with the crappy graphics ;)

I will eventually, I'm planning on playing lone survivor next.

That's kind of my experience with Silent Hill 1. I was a little young and new to the horror genre of anything and only made it just past the school before I gave it back to my friend. Now I have it on PSN and again after the school, stopped playing. This time because my wife really doesn't want to watch any of it but I have other games to play too, Silent Hill just seems to not convince me to go back at it. Silent Hill 2 on the other hand is one of my favorite games.

^^Yeah, that game's freaky as hell. Like I popped in the old Resident Evil games, they're not scary one bit. Silent Hill, I still cannot play cause it just freaks me out that much. I think I have to play it with someone.

It's a great game, but it's not a Silent Hill game. You don't even go to Silent Hill. Anyways, I thought the third was the best, but it's been so long since I've played it. I just have the best memories of that one.