To sum everything up in a single sentence, Silent Hill 2 is a great game that has a few issues. I'll get into exactly what those issues are in a moment, but it suffices to say initially that I was thoroughly impressed with the planning and execution of the title. Not having played the original Silent Hill, I wanted to jump into the series on a next-gen console rather than starting from the very beginning. Since I learned in advance that Silent Hill 2 is independent from Silent Hill in terms of plot, it seemed like a good enough starting point. Not just a starting point for the series, though, but a starting point for the survival horror genre. Anyone who's seen enough films or played enough modern horror video games know that there are two kinds of horror. There's shock horror, where the bad guy kills off the naive kids one by one with escalating levels of gore. Then there's psychological horror, where the horror isn't about death after death after death. It's about making you think that you're going to die. And it's not always about death. It's the difference between shouting something to the mountain tops and conversationally implying it. Silent Hill 2 does an extremely good job at providing an environment rich with psychological horrors. Like any really good movie, there are moments in the game that stick with me even after finishing it. I remember walking down an extremely dark hallway, the enemy-proximity radio buzzing like mad, only to find the intimidating Pyramid Head (or Ol' Shovelhead, as my wife and I liked to call him) staring at me from behind a gate. I remember investigating a seemly empty bathroom stall in a disused prison only to hear a gut-wrenching scream come from within as I walked away. The problem is that, when you get to the end of the game, where everything is supposed to come together, everything falls apart. The plot loses its own cohesion and just falls away, offering feeble explanations that don't deliver on the big promises that all the psychological horror made throughout the game. So at the end I was joyed that I'd finished a game that I enjoyed a great deal, but I also felt a bit cheated that when it came down to it, the writing failed to finish the job it started off so well. As a result, this game which otherwise gets high marks from me is getting a relatively low tilt. As far as the other axes of the rating, Silent Hill 2 performs remarkably well. In terms of graphics, I have never until now experienced a game that managed to immerse the gamer so completely in the game world. Turn the lights off and you are James Sunderland. The lighting is done extremely well - I recall running down the grand staircase of the Lakeside Hotel and noticing the way the light from my flashlight reacted to the supports of the banister. I recall noticing the way light reflected off the water in the sewers. Additionally, the characters and monsters are well designed and well rendered. More importantly, the creatures you're fighting for your life are believable - something the DooM 3 designers can't seem to pull off for the life of them. The music is, per the standard established by the first Silent Hill (which I am playing now that I've finished SH2), phenomenal. The use of the radio as a proximity detector to monsters is incredibly effective. On top of that, the very creepy industrial ambient score by Akira Yamaoka turns the scary factor up a few notches. Of course, the game isn't without it's more tender or relaxed moments, and the soundtrack isn't insensitive to that. Those kinds of tracks from the original Silent Hill are some of my favorite mix CDs and I'm sure the same would be true of those tracks from Silent Hill 2. As far as Gameplay goes, I can't say I'm disappointed. There are some things I wish I'd learned a little earlier in the game, but to Konami's credit, that's probably because I don't read much of the instruction booklet. There were also some realism issues with weapon control. For instance, when I switch to the pipe and go to bash a still living spitter zombie that's fallen at my feet, the first gesture my character makes should not be to futilly stab forwards. But these are minor issues and don't really make me dock any points from the game. On the whole, this is a fantastic game that has a case of Lazy Writer's Ending. But I got what I paid for, and I absolutely enjoyed the game. Plus, there are plenty of extra things to do, so this first play through won't be my last.This title is truly worthy of being on the Greatest Hits rack, and it should certainly be in your collection.
Other Helpful Reviews for Silent Hill 2 (Special 2 Disc Set)
(I'm not going to give anything away about the story and please read whole review before rating ~ Cassie) GAMEPLAY: The gameplay of this game is very much like the first game, in the way that you control your characte... Read Full Review
Silent Hill 2 is the sequel to Konami’s survival horror series Silent Hill that was released back in 1999 for the Playstation. Silent Hill 2 does not continue from the original Silent Hill but it is required that you pla... Read Full Review
