Been a while since I reviewed a game and I thought I would review one of the most classic horror genres; Silent Hill. Thought I'd start off with 2 because I admit I haven't played 1 in years and years and I was going to review some of the Resident Evil games but I'm currently reviewing the films of them now.
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| What better place to start a journey than in a dirty public bathroom |
Silent Hill 2 is not a direct squeal to the first because while it is set in Silent Hill it has it's own original plot and uses no characters or events of the first game (that is a job for 3). Instead this game follows the protagonist James Sunderland who lost his wife to a fatal disease three years ago but mysteriously receives a letter from her. The letter tells James to go to their special place in Silent Hill; a town they have been to before and that his wife loved very much. So we follow the story of James as he makes his way through the dangers of Silent Hill, meeting characters who are also drawn to the town while evading the stalking Pyramid Head.
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| "You killed him, who is the real monster here!?" |
The story of Silent Hill 2 is probably one of the best and well thought out ones that I have come across but that is to be expected when published by Konami; Metal Gear series anyone? But what really is great is the psychological horror aspect that leaves you questioning everything you come across. The game starts out kind of simple; a man searching for a supposedly dead wife but as the game processes there is a deeper story to it. Subtle hints are thrown in, in cut scenes and during game play, either written on walls, in notes, trivial examines you might find etc. It is not a game you can just pick up and play, you really, really have to pay attention to what is around you and you have to invest yourself in to the story to appreciate it.
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| My god Pyramid Head |
We also have a great assembled cast here that really compliment the story; James works well as the main character because a first you think that he might be just some regular joe but that is far from the truth. As he develops over the course of the game and we get to understand him better and at the end form a definitive opinion of him; while he is a determined character in finding his wife he does hold secrets you might not have expected. We also have the seductive Maria who tags along with James for a portion of the game and has a mysterious connection with his wife which is interesting to figure out. Then there is the three side characters, Angela, Eddie and Laura; each have their own reasons for being in town and blends in to the main story nicely, none feel like they are just shoved in there.
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| "James, I think those monster nurses are either trying to kill us or coming on to us" |
As for the monsters they all have some great designs which are scary and down right disturbing, like Pyramid Head who follows you with an over size sword while making some weird grunting noises and who also likes to rape monsters during the cut scenes. They are also a part of the story as well and I liked how most are all a representation of James. For example the Bubble Head Nurse and Mannequin represents James's sexual desires and frustration while Lying Figure represents him being trapped. Each one also has their own strategy and weaknesses to defeat them and they can be rather aggressive in combat (like a whole group of Bubble Head Nurse!).
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| Pretty disturbing; constantly trapped in your own skin |
The game also has typical survival horror elements such as collecting guns, ammo and melee weapons to fight the monsters while collecting health packs to heal your injures. It also has puzzles to solves for keys and passageways however none of them are really hard on any of the puzzle levels. This is the type of elements that makes a horror game a horror game something more recent games have been forgetting. However I must admit that the gameplays lets it down slightly and that is because the controls do feel a bit clunky and stiff (especially in melee combat). Also whether it inside or out monster can be easily out run so you can avoid fighting them for most of the game and even if you do fight them you do find a awfully lot of ammo and supplies.
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| "Should be OK as long as I shot anywhere by the helmet" |
For the graphics in the game they are some of the best for the PS2 at the time however some of it looked a little grainy and the fog might have been a bit too thick and hid away too much environment. The soundtrack for this is absolutely awesome, creates a really dark and suspenseful atmosphere and the voice acting is some of the best I have heard. That's the thing about games in late nineties - early two thousand, you haven't really heard of any of the voice actor before and you never really hear from them again.
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| A box that protected must have something unbelievable inside |
Silent Hill 2 is defiantly for mature audiences only and earns that rating because of its dark themes such as murder, rape, sex and violence but I highly recommend anyone who doesn't mind that to play this game at least once in their lives. Overall this is a classic survival horror game and one of the most influential of its time that is let down slightly by its gameplay.
SCORE: 8/10
Highlights: Story/Characters
Monster design
Soundtrack
Let-downs: Controls
Easy Puzzles
There screenshots you see here where provided by;
