Survival Horror's never felt so psychologically traumatizing!
Silent Hill 2 is probably one of the strangest games I've ever had to review, because it's just not a very normal game at all. At first glance, it's just another survival horror game, but it's oh so much more. Mostly due to the fact that from the very instant the story begins, you're dragged into its world. Something the first Silent Hill didn't do so well. It's the plot. It's the character. It's the use of harsh and raw emotion that hooks you. You want James to succeed, even if his goal is absolutely out of this world. Finding his dead wife, alive and well.
The gameplay is much like the first Silent Hill or like any Resident Evil game. If you haven't played a survival horror game, this may be very uncomfortable. Luckily, there's an option to switch the controls so that you control James like an adventure game. You search through the desolate and foggy town looking for clues that'll bring you closer to your objective. Along the way, you meet strange people and even stranger monsters. You'll arm yourself with melee weapons or small firearms you find along the way. But be careful, resources are scarce. That includes any health drinks and first aid kits you can scavenge. You're equipped also with a pocket flashlight and a radio that emits static anytime a monster is near.
All the tension brought from limited resources, disturbing creatures attacking you and just the ill creepy vibe coming from the town itself, make for an experience you don't find in many other games. It's not everyday that you find a game that actually succeeds in scaring you or at least creeping you out. Another important scare factor in all this is the musical ambience. There are eerie and suspenseful tunes that play along with tense moments, like your encounter with the infamous and virtually indestructible Pyramid Head.
While it's a game that for the most part, takes itself very seriously, there are many moments that are just incredibly ridiculous. One of the many good examples are the riddles which are an important part in the game. They're challenging, heck they even have their own difficulty setting, but sometimes they're just absolutely stupid and ruin the moment. For instance, there's a puzzle where you must attach a strand of hair to a rusty nail, so you can fish out an elevator key stuck in a shower drain. What's more mind boggling than that is how you obtained the nail and strand of hair and figured they'd end up being useful later on. It's a silly complaint, I know, but they were moments that completely killed the vibe and just had me laughing.
Being that I got my hands on the Restless Dreams edition of SH2, I got the opportunity to play the Sub-Scenario "Born from a Wish" which was a complete disappointment. Not only did it have little to do with the storyline, but it was terribly short and adds little to the overall game. I thought it was a good thing to mention just in case someone who already owns the original games feels the need to buy Restless Dreams. Silent Hill 2 is a pretty good game that suffers from a few bumps here and there. If you haven't played it, get Restless Dreams. If you have played the original though, don't worry too much about getting your hands on this version. The bonus content doesn't add too much at all.