When Silent Hill first came out on the PlayStation back in 1999, it terrified the gaming community. Few games back then had the ability to cause as much fear or anxiety, with the exception of Resident Evil — enough to terrify gamers worldwide.
This tradition continues with the much anticipated sequel, Silent Hill 2. But is Silent Hill 2 better than the original? Can it evoke more fear and sheer terror in you than its predecessor?
Find out in this review.
Silent Hill has always been about psychological terror, rather than “boo” style scares that shock you for only a moment — where once you’ve wet yourself and put 50 bullets through the blasted zombie, you move on with little to no fear, as you now know what to expect.
“Boo” style scares work well in some games, but can get repetitive quickly. You no longer feel the fear after about the fifth time a mutant dog bursts through the window, only to be mowed down once again by your handy machine gun.
This is where Silent Hill 2 shines in the scare department. SH2 and its predecessor scare you by immersing you in an eerie or downright horrifying atmosphere. Dark hallways, blood soaked or rust covered walls, fog that gives a claustrophobic feel, dead bodies modeled after the protagonist, a radio that emits static when a monster is nearby, disturbed survivors that don’t quite know what’s going on, gritty environments, and much more, all work to leave the player with a type of ”stressful” fear that tends to stay with the player even after he or she isn’t playing anymore. This fear, however is what forces you to continue playing long into the night just to find out what happens next; which leads us to the story of Silent Hill 2.
SH2′s story begins with a saddened and confused James Sunderland who wanders into the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his dead wife Mary begging him to return to “their special place,” the town of Silent Hill. Over the course of his exploration of the town, he encounters several disturbed townsfolk that only confuse James further and are of little aid to his quest to find Mary. The story overall is very well written and even the most insignificant piece of dialogue can actually be a clue to one of the many characters’ back stories. To illustrate the dialogue between characters in a way that captivates the audience, and of which many game developers are currently embracing, the game uses fully voiced cut scenes to show in greater detail, the story. However, I do wish to point out that in several of the cut scenes, the characters speak rather awkwardly which may just be bad acting.
The graphics of Silent Hill 2 are absolutely incredible and possibly one of the best for PS2 during 2001. The characters move and animate smoothly without any “blocky” or jumbled movements which is quite an accomplishment for the current technology of the PS2. Even the smallest details are animated with beauty and precision and showcase the power of the PS2. Konami really put some quality time in making the graphics truly immerse you in Silent Hill and (finish).
Now we get into the most important part of any game, the game play. Many gamers have complained in the past about the control scheme of the original Silent Hill and disliked how you had to basically swivel your character around to get him to face the direction you wanted him to go. And for those of you, I apologize. This control scheme has been carried into this game along with the occasionally troublesome camera system. Early on in the game however, you are allowed an option to change the control scheme to a more desired “move in the direction your analog stick moves” scheme. But for the most part, I recommend using the original control scheme as you will have fewer issues with the camera and since the character flows a bit better even with this bad control scheme.
The combat of Silent Hill 2 is still as brutal and disgusting as ever. You still take wooden boards and steel pipes and beat the hell out of every unsettling creature you come across; unless of course you use some of that precious ammo from your pistol or shotgun to finish them quickly. There is also a lock-on feature which is highly useful for the guns but sort of iffy for your more brutal weapons. Sadly, throughout the game, the enemies don’t get much stronger even on the hard difficulty but some of them do get do gain the ability to intimidate or scare you quite a bit more such as the bobble head nurse or the…interesting “dog combined with a table (which is very large by the way).”
Most of the game play, with the exception of the combat, involves the player going on “fetch quests” or solving puzzles by way of objects found in the various locales.The issue of backtracking, which was rather frequent in the original Silent Hill, has been reduced significantly to the point where it actually seems realistic enough to make the player do it without sighing, turning around, and begrudgingly running all the way to your destination. Many of the puzzles in the game on the easy and normal difficulties are fairly simplistic and usually involve little thought. The roulette wheel is the most iconic symbol of the online casino and mobile roulette at WJMC shows it at its best. The graphics of these mobile casinos are crystal clear, even on the small screen of the mobile phone. Watch the wheel spin and the ball land in one of the pockets.Some of the puzzles in the hard difficulty however do require some thought and are often in the form of complex riddles such as the coin riddle which reads,
“First lies the seat of
He who is Peerless
Silent and empty,
heartless and fearless
Beside him sits one who knows
The place of the servant is
next to throne
Dozens of feet,
yet not a single toe
The One that is Hidden
beside him doth go
Seducer of dreams,
creature of Hades
Lying further from
Man and closer to Lady…etc.”
Overall, Silent Hill 2 is an incredible game and I recommend it to any mature casual gamer.There are few games in the survival-horror genre that can truly immerse you in the horror and make you feel such strong emotion for the characters. Consequently, I can say with confidence that this is by far one of the scariest games I’ve played making me, for the time being, afraid of even obscure things such as the ceiling and sheets. Silent Hill 2 is one of the best horror trips you’ll find available for the PS2 and one of the best horror games you’ll find for any system for that matter. Enjoy your visit in Silent Hill.
