75-ball bingo

In this game, you will purchase one or more bingo cards that consist of a 5×5 grid with numbers on each square except for the center. The center space in the grid is always a Free Space that can automatically be covered. There are a total of 24 numbers that will be on each card.

Each row will contain 5 numbers except for the middle row, which will only have 4 different numbers. These 5 rows will each have a letter above them: B I N G and O. The numbers in the row correspond to the numbers available for a letter. For example, only 1 through 15 can be located in the B column. Each column has 15 possible numbers that can be used.

Usually, the object of the game is to complete a Line of 5 numbers (or 4 numbers and a Free Space) in any direction: vertically, horizontally and diagonally. Sometimes, you may play in a Pattern game or a Coverall game. A pattern game will have a specific pattern that must be covered in order to win. A coverall game means that you will need to cover all 24 numbers and the Free Space before you can win.

90-ball bingo

In this game, you will purchase one or more bingo tickets (sometime also called bingo cards) that consist of a 3×9 grid. That means there are 27 spaces that can have numbers on them. Not every space gets a number. Only 15 of the 27 spaces will have a number on it. The other 12 will be blank.

Every column of 3 spaces will need to include at least 1 number. Every row of 9 spaces will need to include 5 numbers and 4 blank spaces exactly. There are 10 numbers available for each column. For example, the first row on your ticket can only contain numbers between 1 and 10.

There are 3 prizes for every 90 ball bingo game. If you cover all 5 numbers in a row, you will win a Line. There is a 2nd prize for the first person to cover any 2 of the 3 rows. The largest prize is called House; you receive this if you are the first person to cover all 15 numbers on your ticket.

80-ball bingo

There is a third game which tries to combine these two games together. It is called 80-ball bingo. This style of bingo consists of a 4×4 bingo card. Each column will have 4 numbers out of 20 available numbers. For example, the first column on the left can include numbers between 1 and 20.

The object of this game is to cover a line of 4 numbers in any direction: vertically, horizontally or diagonally. You may also be able to win if you get all 4 Corners.

30-ball bingo

Finally, there is 30-ball bingo (also called Speed Bingo). This game isn’t offered at many online bingo websites. This is a quick game of bingo to play. Each card is 3×3 and each column will have 3 numbers out of 10 available. For example, the first column will include numbers between 1 and 10.

The object is simply to be the first person to cover all 9 numbers on the bingo card.

Other bingo style games

There are other bingo games that you will find online. These include specialty bingo rooms like the Deal or No Deal themed bingo game for example. These rooms will include special features including progressive jackpots that can be won if you win in under a certain number of calls.

There are also bingo themed scratch cards, slot machines and other gambling games that you will find at the various websites around. In short, no matter what your fancy you will be able to find a bingo game that you can enjoy!

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.