Silent Hill 2 has a very compelling story, one that actually makes you want to play through the game just to see what happens, and not for the horrors, but trust me - you'll be a bed wetter by the time you beat it. The story is that your character, James Sunderland, receives a letter from his wife Mary, telling him that she is waiting for him in their "special place" in Silent Hill. The weird thing is, Mary was very sick and died two years ago. James goes to the town Silent Hill to find the truth behind that letter and see if Mary is still somehow alive. Along the way, you meet up with an...interesting cast of characters, to say the least. From a fat guy that seems a LITTLE off his rocker named Eddie, to an annoying little brat that impedes your progress for the most part named Laura. The four of them all have their own reasons for walking the streets of this nightmare town, and the emotion and fear they show all really help involve you in the story and get closer to the characters. There's also a couple of good plot twists in the game, including one of the saddest moments of any game I've played near the end of the game. All in all, the game's story is fantastic - one of the most intriguing of any games I've ever played. Just don't look at an FAQ for the game while playing... It spoils the good parts...I learned that the hard way. :(
The games environments and enemies are what makes this seem like a REAL Silent Hill game. When outside, you can barely see 2 feet in front of you due to the fog, or due to the darkness of the indoor environments. When you CAN see it, it is all dark and at times, gruesome. There's blood on the streets and on the walls when inside, along with quite a bit of disturbing scenery in every area in the game at one point or another. The enemies are the things that your darkest nightmares of made of. From a faceless man that's wearing what seems like to be a straitjacket that is bonded to his skin, and slithers along the ground when knocked down*which looks a lot like this
*, to a pair of mannequin legs attached to another pair of mannequin legs *hard to describe, sorry.*, to the legendary monster that you might recognize...
Yes. I am talking about Pyramid Head. When he shows up, you see him doing something very disturbing, and I actually went "HOLY SHIT!" when I saw it. Now aside from the monsters and creepy imagery, The graphics are all around great. The game has a sort of filter effect, making it look grainy, like an old movie, to some extent. The character models look nice, and so do the weapons. The cutscenes - of course - are where the game really shines, making it look as real as the damned game can get. The facial expressions are what Konami seemed to take extra care with, making each character fully emotional. You can tell they're scared and in their own personal version of hell, like James is.
Now, the sound and music of this game are very effective. Apparently, all the music and sound effects were done by one man - Akira Yamaoka. Let me be the...well, I'm sure I'm not the first person to congratulate you on a job very well fucking done. The music, when it's there, fits the mood PERFECTLY. And the sound effects... whether it was the chilling moans in the hallways, the sudden loud bangs once in a while, or the creepy radio static, It's all just perfect and adds even MORE to the ALREADY wonderful atmosphere of the town of restless dreams.
Oh my. I've gone this far into the review without talking about the gameplay. Well, it plays kind of like a survival horror. You run around a scary area, shoot or hit creepy enemies, solve mind bending puzzles, and enjoy a good scare once in a while. The combat system is much more fun than in resident evil, which you just stand there like a god damn idiot. In Silent Hill, you can side step, move in any direction while in combat mode, and even have Melee weapons that don't suck! As a matter of fact, the very first weapon you get is a freaking piece of wood with a nail sticking out of it! My friend said that's retarted, but i say NOW THIS IS SURVIVAL FREAKING HORROR. YOU CAN EVEN CENTER THE CAMERA BEHIND YOU! NO MORE HORRIBLE CAMERA ANGLES! The puzzles are also really interesting. When you start the game, you can choose the difficulty for the action and the riddles separately. While I haven't tried Hard riddle mode, the normal riddles can occasionally require quite a bit of brainpower, due to the riddles they offer. On hard, they're COMPLETELY cryptic and you have to read it several times and try to understand the hidden meaning. The game also has quite a bit of replay value. There are 6 endings, three difficulty settings for action, four for the riddles which is only unlockable if you beat Hard riddle, two extra items you get when you beat the game, and it's just fun and perfect for late night gaming sessions and Halloween nights.
Speaking of Resident Evil, game such as that rely on cheap scares, like dogs jumping through a window. These games will fuck with your mind, making things you see disappear the next time you see it, cause loud noises when you very least expect it, and creep you out so much, your character's shadow scared the hell out of you! True story. To add to the creepy atmosphere, you find a broken radio early on in the game, when you find your the plank with the nail in it. It's broken, but it makes static whenever there are enemies around. With the static and the fog/darkness, you know there's something there, but don't know where or what it is. It's VERY unnerving...that's why James's shadow scared the crap out of me. XP
Well, I think i've gone over everything. Here, I'll just give the score, one more picture, and say Adieu.
Story - 10
Graphics - 9
Sound - 9
Game play - 9
Replay Value - Six endings. VERY HIGH.
Scare Factor - Thanks to this game, I piss the bed on a regular basis. I also have weird nightmares involving this game now, so I'd say pretty high, considering I hardly get scared by games.
I appreciate you taking the time out to read this. Now stop messing around and go buy this, you knuckleheads!
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