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The sequel opens with James Sunderland, the series' average joe protagonist, and a mysterious message that reads, "Silent Hill, our sanctuary of memories. I'll be waiting for you there." More puzzling is that the note is signed by Mary, his deceased wife.
James sets out for Silent Hill hopeful that he'll find a trace of Mary. After an aborted attempt by car, James plunges into the dank fog and embarks on his quest by foot. Enter Angela, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Mary, and who also beckons him with another curious message. It seems James can't go back; strange things are happening in Silent Hill.
Silent Hill 2 offers 10 new formidable foes, plenty of puzzles, and bone-chilling gameplay. The sequel's new story and characters promise to thrill and terrify. The visual and sound effects are amazingly detailed and macabre, and, if you're playing on a system with surround sound, you may find yourself keeping the lights on.
Silent Hill 2 is masterpiece of persisting psychological tension -- not a huge step beyond the original game, just a refinement to near-perfect horror. It is about the very essence of fear, captured in myriad qualities. The grimy visuals, the horrifying sound, the manipulation of your senses...
The designers behind this game knew _exactly_ how to evince fear in a player. They play on the fears a lot of regular people have...strange, dark places; darkness; weird sounds. Firstly, your vision often somehow restricted. Most oppressive is the ubiquitous fog sluiced in the town; in dark places, you must rely on a flashlight. Sound is also used effectively. James carries a radio that creates distorted noise when monsters are near. Imagine the uneasiness of the following situation: you are standing in a dark, narrow hallway, your flashlight shining ahead, revealing nothing. However, you are nearly deafened by the cacophony coming from your radio, and there is a fleshy thump of a demonic creature staggering around somewhere ahead.
The sum of these effects (visual and sound) is a pervasive fear that can be virtually suffocating. It goes farther, still. Random sounds can be heard as you explore. Maybe you'll enter a room and hear breaking glass. This puts you on edge, because you think it could be an attacker or just a random sound inserted to frighten you...there's no way to tell. Sometimes an area will contain a monster physically unable to attack you, but because of the darkness there is no way to tell. You will be constantly on alert because of the monster's sounds and the static of your radio. With the right audio gear, the game can be experienced in surround sound, which greatly enriches the experience. The music can be downright terrifying...although it is rarely music, actually. Often, it is just oppressively creepy atmospheric noise.
The visuals also work hard to unsettle you. Camera angles often impair vision, used to inject senses of claustrophobia or vertigo. Aesthetically, this design team is so deranged/talented it's scary. Grimy environments, decrepit buildings, messages written in blood... That's not so bad though. The truly frightening imagery appears later, where blood covers walls like paint, rusty iron grates cover abyssal pits, gruesome paintings adorn rooms, sheets covers walls and floors (why _is_ that so creepy?), and generally weird, sick stuff that eludes description. Silent Hill 2 has you exploring locales like an underground prison and a mental hospital, which let the developers show off their devilishly twisted creativity. The monsters are sick and bizarre, usually resembling fleshy, humanoid things smeared with red-black gore. Their movements alone are unsettling, with jerky, sporadic movements and attacks.
It's difficult to describe how all these elements factor into the experience. Let me try and explain my own thoughts... From the beginning, the game is unsettling, and it is relentless in its tension. As the game goes on, I found that it was becoming psychologically and even physically taxing to continue. Every encounter with a monster left me tired. It's not that fighting the monsters were difficult in gameplay terms, but their movements and sounds created a nearly paralyzing desperation. All of the twisted imagery, jarring sounds, and unending anxiety really wore me down. But it's just a game, right? Sure, but the guys at Konami tapped into virtually every conceivable factor that makes one afraid, and they mercilessly hammer at you. The visceral impact of this game is nearly incomparable.
The game is paced very well, from the tepid yet nerve-racking opening to the intense final hour, and the game is set up so you don't have to backtrack as much as you did in the first game. The puzzles are pretty easy (even if you put riddle difficulty on "hard"), but clever and disturbing in their own way. I don't think the game is difficult, but it _seems_ like it is, because it keeps beating up your courage.
Some have said Silent Hill 2's story is stupidly convoluted and weird. I would suggest those who make such comments have not bothered to think about the story fully. In-depth analysis reveals the story's complex brilliance. I encourage players to ask themselves: What is the very nature of Silent Hill -- how does it affect the people there? What is the connection shared between the humans drawn to the town -- and how is Laura different from the rest? What is the underlying cause behind the different monsters that appear? The answers lead to understanding. Having played and analyzed the story of the first game will help one's grasp of the second, as well. Silent Hill's story is so deliciously complex and open to interpretation that it beats not only most games, but also a wealth of good cinema and literature. Really.
Silent Hill 2 has four endings, as well as a fifth joke ending. Usually if a game has more than two endings I won't pursue them because I don't have the time, but my desire to more fully experience this game drove me to getting the four main ones. They are called: "Maria", "Water", "Leaving", and "Rebirth". Personally, I interpreted "Leaving" to be the happiest ending, but opinions may vary. "Rebirth" is particularly dark and twisted, available only after beating the game once and acquiring several secret items. The game can be beaten once in about 10 hours, but I think it's still a great value given the sheer intensity of the experience. Quality over quantity!
There is still much more I could say (I could write a book on the plot analysis), but I think I'm pushing Amazon.com's word limit. In short: this is by far the most frightening game ever. Don't pass it up.
That's the basic plot, and that's all you need to know from the start. Things will get much more involved, perhaps to the point where you don't want them to...
This game, hands down, is a work of art. It deserves much higher accolades than I think it's been allowed so far, with most of the reviews from major publications basically saying "Oh, it's good, it's creepy, you'll like it, now sit back and read some more Metal Gear Solid 2 coverage." I've got nothing against Metal Gear 2, really, but it's a shame this game (and so many others) have been overshadowed by it, because this is right when the PS2 is starting to put out some serious AAA titles. This, naturally, is one of them.
Without giving too much of the plot away, it's a safe bet that this game is not one of those "pick it up, play for a bit, put it down" kind of games. The story and atmosphere will easily draw you in and creep you out, but like they say, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. If you play this game with the lights on, a party going in the back room, and a phone in your ear, you may as well not play it. I've seen lots of people buy this game and try and tell me "yeah, it's creepy, but it's no big deal." So, I say, did you play it with the lights out? "Well, no." How about the sound up? "No, I was listening to the radio." Were you alone? "No, my brother kept switching the channels." Well, no wonder it wasn't scary!
To really appreciate the game, there are 2 that things must be done.
1. Set the mood. Play it ALONE, at NIGHT, with the lights OUT and the sound up very LOUD. This is crucial, and I'm kind of surprised they didn't simply instruct people to do this in the manual. Atmosphere is half the game's selling point, and if you ruin that, the game looses a good deal of it's charm. If you have wimpy sound, you're not going to jump or even be affected by the game's specific use of certain sounds made to strike emotional responses within people. HAving the lights will kill a good amount of the tension as the purpose of the game in many parts is to severely limit your field of vision. When you're seeing James wandering dark halls with your furniture intruding on your point of view, it's not the same as seeing nothing but James, alone, with a single cone of light as the only viewable source. Think of it like a movie. Movies are widescreen so they fill your vision. This game is meant to be played the same way.
2. Pay attention! If you have "no time to sit down and play video games" then this is not a game for you. Likewise, if your attention span is so short that you can't sit through an episode of The Sopranos if someone isn't getting whacked onscreen, pass this game up. It's not meant for you, and you'll be wasting your money. If, however, you think you can spare an hour or so every other night where you can be by yourself and can actually focus, you'll be rewarded by a surprisingly deep and well constructed game that will creep you out and keep you interested. The game is not boring, but it isn't spoonfed to you either. The "M" rating is there for a reason, folks. It's not just for violence, this thing requires the attention span of at least a 17 year old as well. The puzzles make a fair amount of sense and aren't particularly hard (the first puzzle area is actually the most difficult) but you'll get stumped if you haven't been listening or watching. James takes notes and draws maps for you, but you do have to check them occasionally.
With that out of the way, I seriously can't suggest this game enough for someone looking for a deep, involving game that plays with the emotions. This game has almost nothing to do, plot wise, with it's predecessor for the PSX. There ARE referrences to the first, but only vaugely, and they're easy to miss. Also, those who played Silent Hill 1 may be in for some dissapointment as far as the fear factor goes. While this game IS very creepy, SH1 veterans will probably be inured to it within three hours of play, and that's assuming you're doing the whole atmosphere thing. One of the big gripes with this game is that the "evil world" (SH1 vets will know exactly what I'm talking about) has been considerably weakened. You only really see the "real" evil world a few times in the game, and even then it's breif. Most of the time it's an odd hybrid, and this time the evil world only exists indoors. No more running around Silent Hill in it's other form. Whether this is a dissapointment or a relief depends on the player, but I stand by my assertion that the bottom of the hospital in Silent Hill 1 is far more terrifying than the Hospital in Silent Hill 2. The Hotel? Well, that's a different story (it's by far the best part of the game). When you get there, you'll see. Heh...Video Tapes in Silent Hill are ALWAYS disturbing.
So, the fear factor isn't as high, you say? (Keep reading, I'm almost done. You're doing so well!) So, what does the game have that's better? I mean, Silent Hill is supposed to be a HORROR game, right? Well, easy. This game is depressing. Very, extremely, kill yourself upon finishing it depressing. The first had nothing depressing in it whatsoever; it was all about the fear. This game will make you sit, staring at your TV trying to figure out who in the Konami development team hates you so much and why they put such horrible, horrible things in a video game to drive you to insanity. For the unlucky folk who get the "In Water" ending the first time around (run around hurt a lot, look at Angela's knife frequently, read the diary on the roof, and listen to EVERYTHING in it's entirety), be prepared to be mortified by the turn the game takes toward the end. It's so good because it's just so horrible. You don't expect to be moved when you play games, and sorrow is a harder emotion to invoke than fear. Hats of to Konami for pulling it off with aplomb, though there are points when I wonder if they shouldn't have just included a noose with the game.
Now, some quickie technical stuff. The game looks fantastic, but you may notice a grainy noise in the picture. That's SUPPOSED to be there. It adds atmosphere and makes everything look phenominally dirty. You can turn it off after you beat the game once. That taken into account, this game looks jaw-droppingly good. Detail is everywhere, seams are nonexistant (except in ONE spot - find it for fun!) and the characters move convincingly, especially in the cutscenes. The music this time around is actually, in some cases, music! This is a departure from SH1, where "music" consituted sending a sound tech guy to the ninth layer of Hell with a microphone and putting the results in the background of the game. The music this time is actually really good, but always fitting to the game (read: Dark as a train tunnel.) The voice acting is not even close to as bad as some people make it out to be. it's actually very good in some spots (Mary's yelling at James sounds totally convincing, which is REALLY rare in a video game) and never gets below average. At it's worst, it's unobtrusive, which as far as the survival horror genre goes, is a first. Steve Burnside from RE:CV anyone? God I wanted to kill him myself after four seconds of hearing him speak...
Also good is that this time the puzzles are fitting to the plot, and not nearly as random as some other games. The darkness is played up to full effect here (as before), and touches like the sheen on the bodies of the monsters and Mary's clothes, and James turning his head to look at obtainable items are nice touches that show just how much work went into the game. It has a high quality feel that leaps off the screen. You can use this to show off your PS2 without hesitation. It looks, sounds, and feels remarkable. Just make sure you're showing it off and that's it. Play it alone...
Highly, highly recommended. I've beaten it 4 times so far, and I'm still going back for more. This is totally the game I was hoping for, and hopefully you'll like it just as much.
It might seem sad that one could get scared or freaked out by a game, but guarented this one, like its predecessor, will get to ya. The spooks and chills aren't the variety where you jump out and grab your sister from behind the staircase--startling. The horror and despair derives that from a deep story that gets into your mind and doesn't let go. The quality of Silent Hill is amazing; it isn't the same hash, it isn't evil corporations churning out zombies for profit (capcoms lol). The town of Silent Hill is corroded, dilapated; just like the first. The streets have been cut off from the rest of the world and freaky things r haunting the streets hidden in fog which now swirls and writhes about you like a living thing. Creatures abound and you can hear gnashing of teeth, growls, and a plethora of crumbling machines pistoning and squealing in the distance. This game will have you looking all about trying to locate these noises, making you wonder if theres something out there that will harm you.
Silent Hill is a sequel that stands on its own, you don't have to play the first to understand whats going on. The ps2 gives the game a whole new level of kick w/ its graphics. My one complaint w/ the first was the ugly and fairly bland enemies. Now we have a machine that truely brings out the terror of these monsters; by way of their looks and their flipped out movements. The story, you've probably heard, and the character is similar to harry mason from the first in that he isn't anyone special, no special forces rambo wanna bes here. I doubt the res evil crew could hack it in silent haha. Not appropriate for children; you may have to keep the lights on, friends nearby, and play it in increments, because people do get freaked out w/ this series (i know, i've had friends you couldn't sleep at night, and ran home in the after dark when they had to walk to their apartment from a friends-- and that guys was like 23). This is the first time i've played a game w/a dual shock and so the controls were a bit funky at first, but if you're like me, you'll take to it like a duck to water; the vibration only ads the game. Plus, if you don't mind zipping back to the graphics, its fun to see the main character swing his head back and forth w/ the analog. A cool feature w/ the game is that when you enter an area w/ an item, James will swing his head about to hone in on the object, making finding items and your foe alot easier. To be honest, I can't say enough about the good in this game, it may not be perfect, but hey, its a blast. Power up the game and watch the detailed (graphicly) intro, and I'll bet you'll be wondering why the hell would anyone go down the mountain road encased in fog . . . sorry no . . . james bud, if you're smart you would have turned back and run . . ask harry!! So come on in, relax, pick up that board, fire up the radio, welcome back to silent hill, the sanctuary of memories, welcome back to hell.
