A dark horse...
The save system was changed so there weren't random saves scattered around. And instead you had to travel threw tunnels that lead to your appartment and you had to save there. Any problem yet? well if you take into account the loading times it is a little on the annoying side.But the main gripe with it was that as the game progresses towards the end, spirits began to manifest in your appartment, and if you didn't sort out the spirits you ended up losing health, or worse dying in your own save area. You can see the frustration in that.
The second major issue was the item system that was changed. In previous games you had an unlimited inventory that allowed you to store as much as you wanted. Now you can only hold up to 10 items (i think), making things a real pain because if you fill it up (and it is really easy to do that one pistol clip fills an inventory slot!) you had to travel all the way back to your room and empty some stuff. The third and final issue in my eyes is the lack of variety on enviroments. You visit the room, train station, prison, appartment, hospital, forrest, and a building. All varied? yeah but it begins to grain when you have to revisit all the areas again in the same order for te second half of the game. It has a reason for it on the story side but gameplay-wise it isn't very practical.
Now To the good points. This is probably the scariest game i have ever played to date. I've played ever survival horror game out there and this one is still the king for me it is shocking. From its eerie music to its grainy graphics to its super shocking monsters. There really isn't anything like it. The story is as weird as ever and the fighting system has been improved.
Graphics: Brilliant, they still look good even today. Dark moody, and scary as hell.
Sound: Supurb. SH games are known for there sound and this one is as grim as ever.
Gameplay: Alot has been improved and alot has made it a frustrating experience. But for the most part they've done good.
S**** Box: Inventory system, Save system, Revisiting areas, Lacl of fire power weapons. Not a very strong story this time.
Value: You can pick it up for next ot nothing these days so its well worth a try out.
Overall: Not the best SH to date but by no means is it the worst. Its taken a diffrent take on the SH games and i think its the 2nd best in the series. Well worth a look if your a horror fan but be warned it really is scary...