[08/23/2005] Silent Hill 2

[Agozer]

Title: Silent Hill 2

Developer: Team Silent (Konami)

Publisher: Konami

System: Playstation 2 (PAL) (also for the PC and XBOX)

Release date: November 23rd, 2001

60hz option: No

Additional stuff: Manual, mini poster, sticker, second DVD (Making of, trailers, etc.)

Homepage: http://www.silenthill2.de/auswahl.html

 

 

NOTE: This review is for the original 2-disc Silent Hill 2 for the PS2. This review is not about Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams / Director's Cut for the PC/PS2/XBOX.

 

Back in 1999, Silent set a new standard for survival horror games. Set in a ghost town called Silent Hill, the game dealt a lot with things from the human subconsciousness and especially the very core of nightmares. Silent Hill 2 marked the change from the old hardware, to the new and polished Playstation 2 with a completely new storyline.

 

Silent Hill 2 was the game that truly made me love this series. Like most fans, I didn't start with the original Silent Hill. The trailers that were shown on TV were so chilling that I was sold. I had been interested in Silent Hill in the past as well, but couldn't find a copy.

 

Story

James Sunderland came to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his wife, Mary. The thing is, Mary died three years ago. The letter said:

 

"In my restless dreams, I see that town.

Silent Hill.

You promised to take me there again some day.

But you never did.

Well I'm alone there now...

in our "special place"...

 

Waiting for you..."

 

This letter forces our protagonist to drive to Silent Hill and look for his wife, even though everything in his mind tells him that that is just not possible. The game start as James has just arrived on the outskirts of Silent Hill. located near Toluca Lake.

 

Characters

James Sunderland: The protaginist of Silent Hill 2. Looking for his presumably dead wife in their old favorite vacation resort of Silent Hill.

 

Angela Orosco: The first person James meets at the cemetary, on the outskirts of Silent Hill. You can tell that there's someting not right with this woman. Ran away from home as a child and went missing somewhere near Silent Hill.

 

Maria: James meets her at the Silent Hill park. Bares striking resemblance to James' late wife, although her hairstyle and taste in clothing are totally different. A very mysterious woman that helps James along the way.

 

Eddie Drombowski: A simple-minded and clumsy man. He has a very low self-esteem. Is gentle and quiet, but also possesses another side which he can't always control.

 

Laura: a little tomboy of a girl that has a habit of showing up suddenly. She was a patient at the same hospital as Mary. Mary cared for her and treated her is her own child.

 

 

Graphics

I don't know where to start. First and foremost, there's the presence of darkness. Almost every place James ventures into is dark, so the trusty flashlight comes in handy. About light and darkness, the game draws great dynamic shadows wherever the light hits. Greatness to the max and accounts for much of the feel in the game.

 

The character models are extremely detailed, and very lifelike. The game doesn't portray any of the characters and strikingly beautiful, but as normal persons with lines and shadows across their face, uneven makeup, etc. Silent Hill 2 also sports the thickest and the most realistic fog seen in a video game to date. The whole town is shrouded in this mist and you literally can't see more than five feet infront you.

 

The overall look of the town itself and the different locales is a sight to behold. The buildings are detailed both outside and inside. You'll see cracked paint on walls, rust, blood, and various other materials that look as realistic as possible. The graphics punch in a whole new gear when the Nighmare World introduces itself. The textures get even dirtier

than before, blood, dirt and rust taking the center stage.

 

Lastly, the game incorporates a noise filter, producing a movie like feel, hiding possible jagged edges and other small image artifacts, and the filter adds more to the already disturbing imagery. The game uses all kinds of neat graphical effects, just try turning the pocketlight on and off, then look at the screen for a few seconds.

 

 

Gameplay

The two key items in Silent Hill games have always been the pocketlight and the radio. The radio emits white noise whenever a enemy is nearby. Different enemies make the radio react differently, and with a bit of practice you'll know beforehand what's coming your way. The pocketlight provides much needed light to the otherwise dark setting, but it also attracts enemies. You can also choose to turn the pocketlight off and go around monsters in the cover of darkness as well, but it obviously makes navigating a lot harder.

 

Combat is largely the same as in all survival horror games. Depending on what movement style you choose, James' can sidestep. The weapons in the game are nothing unheard of. You can find a 2-by-4, a metal pipe, a pistol, a shotgun, etc. The is one very unique weapon though, but I'm not spoiling that.

 

Besides all the exploring and fighting, there are the puzzles. Most of them aren't your run-of-the-mill RE-style puzzles that don't require any thinking, rather, hints to the puzzles are hidden in books, poems, riddles and the like, and you really have to pick your brain to figure them out. The riddle difficulty can be selected before starting a new game, so while

the puzzles themselves stay the same, the solutions can get ridiculously hard sometimes.

 

The inventory itself is unlimited. James' health is represented by a small picture of the current gameplay screen. As James takes damage, the screen changes color and distortion lines start to appear in it. Finding important items has been made easier by having James automatically look at interesting items.

 

 

Music and sound effects

Simply excellent. Silent Hill 2 has a soundtrack that really makes your skin crawl. Akira Yamaoka, who was basically in charge of all the music and sound effects (and the lead producer at that), created some really chilling musiic and ambience for this game. He said it best: "Silence is also a sound". The soundtrack has many memorable tracks, although silence is what follows you almost anywhere you go. Do grab the soundtrack and pay extra attention to the tracks 'Theme of Laura' and 'Promise'.

 

The Enemies

I have to dedicate a small section for them, since they play a more integral part in the game than actually meets the eye.

The pseudo antagonist of the game is a being called The Pyramid Head. The monstrosity appears every so often to harass James or to just 'be there'. His head is covered by a red, sharp, pyramid-shaped object and he drags a massive blade wherever he goes. Due to this, he is very slow and swings the blade slowly. He also carries a spear at one point in the game.

 

The other enemies are also important in the disturing town of Silent Hill. They are always disfigured in someway. Bosses also tie to the storyline very neatly, but I won't spoil anything.

 

 

AI, difficulty and controls

The AI of the monsters is quite basic, but with a few twists. They react to light and sounds, so it's quite possible that they don't notice anything if you're careful where you step and don't use the pocketlight.

 

There quite a number of difficulty levels to choose from, both for the game and the puzzles. Silent Hill 2 is by no means a hard game on the easiest difficulty level, but harder settings provide more than adequate challenge, and you'll soon find yourself with no ammo against the dreaded Pyramid Head. Yes, he's no joke up close and personal.

 

I was more than happy to see that Konami finally implemented to option to choose between 2D (subjective) and 3D (objective) movement. This makes playing a whole lot easier to people who suck at RE because of the 3D movement (like me). When using 3D movement, L1 and R1 buttons serve as the sidestep buttons. the right analog stick turns James' head and his pocketlight respectively. The R2 button is the lock-on button. Since all buttons are analog, you can make two types of attacks with melee weapons. Overall, the controls work just like they're supposed to work.

 

Final Thoughts

I don't know about you guys, but I found Silent Hill 2 to be a scary game. It resorts to outright scare tactics very rarely, unlike the RE games. What makes the game so scary is the overall atmosphere while playing. The scenery is quite gruesome at times and the soundtrack and effects only complement that. The game offers multiple endings, a hidden puzzle difficulty level, new weapons, items and such. It takes a few playthroughs and some diligent reading to completely understand the storyline, and more importantly, the whole mystery that surrounds the town of Silent Hill. Each game in this series not only deals with their own personal storyline, but also reveals more about the true nature of Silent Hill and it's history. Silent Hill 2 is a extremely well-made sequel.

 

* / For those who must know, the Restless Dreams / Director's Cut version of this game features an extra scenario, which deals with Maria's endeavours prior to meeting James. This version also has slight graphic upgrades, a fifth ending, new cutscenes and items. To my knowledge, Restless Dreams does not have the second extra DVD. /*

 

Pros:

 

+ Storyline

+ Graphics

+ music and sound effects

+ 2D movement

+ Pyramid Head

+ True to the things set by the original Silent Hill.

 

Cons:

 

- Some puzzles are the regular type of "Go find a key so you can get this door open."

- The maze part of the game (a minor gripe though).

- The town has lots of places, but most of them are locked for good.

 

Story: 8

Graphics: 9.5

Gameplay: 8.5

Music/sound effects: 10

Difficulty: 8

Feel: 10

 

Total: 9

[Weirdy]

I really liked the first one, I oughta try this one out some day

[Lucandrake]

This one rocks!! Pyramid head still haunts my nightmares from time to time.

[Darken]

This is the best one Finsh it once.... ofcourse after geting some heatr attacks

[Agozer]

To me, Silent Hill 3 is still best out of the four. That reminds me, need to review that too.

[L.S.D]

Is Silent Hill 3 the one with the girls?

I thought that sucks. But I think I'll try this one.

 

Good review, Agozer.

[Agozer]

Is Silent Hill 3 the one with the girls?

Girls, plural? More like a girl.

[L.S.D]

Yeah, a girl.

[Wizard]

Heather makes me hot.

[OverlordMondo]

Mmm, demon fetus babes.

[suvo]

very nice review agozer. if only i had this one and number 3. if i can pick it up cheap then i will buy for sure.