Review/discussion of Silent Hill 2

As some of you may or may not know the Silent Hill series is in the toilet right now. I wanted to take the time to remind everyone that this franchise used to be truly something special, especially Silent Hill 2. It's one of my favorite games of all time and I wanted to post my first ever game review on here so you could hear my opinion on it. This thread is for discussion of Silent Hill 2 specifically (unlike the SH series thread). With that said, enjoy my review!

Introduction

I'm going to be reviewing one of my favorite games of all time, Silent Hill 2. As many of you may or may not know I'm a huge fan of the Resident Evil franchise and have been since I was really young. I was practically raised on them along with other various PS1 classics. I felt the need to put that out there because I can admit that Silent Hill 2 is an all-around more creative, ambitious, has a more engaging story, and all-around more terrifying than any entry in the Resident Evil series. This game too also shaped my childhood as a gamer, but in a bad way. It was the very first game my family bought back when we first got our PS2. Keep in mind I was like seven years old at the time. I remember getting nightmares just watching my mom play it. Luckily I got The Simpson's Road Rage a week or so later to help me recover. I eventually got around to playing it all the way through recently through the Silent Hill HD Collection which also featured Silent Hill 3. I DO NOT recommend buying this collection if you want to experience the game the way it was intended to be played. There are many creative changes and technical issues that plague this collection and it's not worth shelling your money out for it. Buy the original. Anyway I'm going to go into broad detail on why this game is so brilliant over a decade after its release and how it stands as one of (if not the greatest) the best survival horror games of all time. Also, this review is going to be spoiler-free that way you can experience the game yourself.

First I'm going to start by giving a quick breakdown of the plot. You don't have to have any knowledge of the original game in order to fully enjoy this game. They are in no way related except the fact that the setting takes place in the town of Silent Hill in both games. The story begins with protagonist James Sunderland staring into a mirror in a decrepit bathroom. He appears as if he's trying to prepare himself for what's to come. He lets out a sigh and steps outside. James has been led to Silent Hill solely through a letter he received from his wife Mary. This wouldn't be unusual if it wasn't for the fact that James states she passed away of an illness three years ago. James is bewildered by this letter. It states that she is "waiting for you in our special place". James and Mary had vacationed in the town prior to her death and shared many fond memories there and James isn't quite sure what the special place is. Confused, he aimlessly wanders into the town in search of this special place and his wife. This game takes many psychological twists and relies heavily on symbolism. Often during the game you'll wonder things like "why am I fighting a monster that has legs for its arms and looks like a mannequin?” It won't make much sense during your first play through but once you complete the game and start to analyze certain things you'd be surprised how much subtlety there is with the game's imagery. The story is easily the game's strongest point and wanting to know if Mary is really alive or if James has completely lost it is just one of the many reasons you'll want to keep playing.

The gameplay is actually pretty dated. It plays just like a survival horror game from 2001 would play. Tank controls and odd camera angles are just two blatant examples of that. Luckily you can change the controls to "2D" which allows you to move more like you would in a hack-and-slash game such as God of War or Devil May Cry. Gameplay obviously isn't the game's strongest point and really is the only negative to this otherwise near-perfect game. If you can just accept it for what it is than it's much more bearable.

The presentation and setting is downright eerie. You'll spend the game wandering around the foggy town not knowing where to go until stumbling upon a clue that will usually lead to a string of clues that will lead to the game's "dungeon". You'll explore various locations such as an apartment complex, a hospital, a prison, and a hotel. The atmosphere in this game can best be described as foreboding and oppressive. You'll often find yourself feeling really uncomfortable playing this, which is a feat for a video game. Everywhere you visit just feels void of all life and is quite depressing at times. You really get a sense of loneliness and helplessness much like what James is actually feeling.

The biggest reason for the game's scare factor is both its visual presentation but also, if not more, is indebted to the game's sound design. If you were to play this game muted it wouldn't be nearly as horrifying. Akira Yamaoka crafted an excellent score that really gives this game character. From the hopeful opening theme to the loud industrial banging sounds heard, the sound really hits deep for the player. Often, there will be no sound whatsoever besides the sound of James' footsteps. This is extremely unsettling as you are constantly waiting for something to pop out. That's what makes the early Silent Hill titles scarier than the Resident Evil series as a whole; it doesn't solely rely on jump scares to frighten the player. It's the subtle things like a doorknob rattling as you walk by a door to the sound of whispering or footsteps. This game really messes with your psyche. It's less about visceral bloody horror and more about what you can't see as your mind tries to figure out what's around that corner or where that sound is coming from. Graphically, it really doesn't look that bad for a PS2 game. You really won't be focusing much on the graphics though with a game like this because often you find yourself struggling just to see. Also worth mentioning is the voice acting. The early Resident Evil games are notorious for their laughable voice acting; Silent Hill 2 goes out of its way to distinguish itself from them. Each character sounds like a living breathing person. They don't sound like high-paid voice actors as much as they do regular people with distinct personalities. The voices also sound a bit... off if that makes any sense. It adds to the surreal nature of the game so it's a positive.

Conclusion

I could really go on and on about this game for hours on end, especially if I allowed myself to post spoilers. There really aren't any games released nowadays that can inflict such fear in a player besides the occasional glimpses of hope for the survival horror genre such as games like Dead Space or Amnesia: The Dark Descent. I can't think of any other game out there that gives off such a cryptic and chilling vibe to the extent that this game delivers. It's not only one of the best games in the survival horror genre, but also one of the best games of all time. If you've never played this game before do yourself a favor and stop reading this review and get it as soon as possible. It's an emotionally and mentally draining experience that will leave you in awe just thinking about it long after the credits roll. An absolute must-play.

good review and i agree silent hill 2 is a great game and a true gem. Its a very iconic game also.

I have SH2 on Ps2. I've tried to play it a couple times, was pretty messed up, oh and the disc disallows me from even really playing it, too scratched or something. Soooo, I may need to get another copy. It's definately a freaky game though.


Don't remember which one I played before, but it's better than that one. Did SH2 really deserve it's own thread?

Spike991 wrote:

Did SH2 really deserve it's own thread?

Yes lol.

Bub537 wrote:

Spike991 wrote:

Did SH2 really deserve it's own thread?

Yes lol.

Fuckkkkk...

i wonder if they ever remake this game considering they remade the first.

JamTyrantH wrote:

i wonder if they ever remake this game considering they remade the first.

When did they remake the first SH?

Spike991 wrote:

JamTyrantH wrote:

i wonder if they ever remake this game considering they remade the first.

When did they remake the first SH?

shattered memories was the remake of the 1st.

JamTyrantH wrote:

Spike991 wrote:

JamTyrantH wrote:

i wonder if they ever remake this game considering they remade the first.

When did they remake the first SH?

shattered memories was the remake of the 1st.

Hmmm, I probably won't get too into the SH series. If I have the chance I may end up sitting down to play through SH2, though my copy won't play right...guess it's too scratched or dirty. And I lost my damn Ps2 mem card. WTF.

Silent Hill 2 is an amazing game. The plot is so deep and emotional. Currently, it stand as my favorite video game of all time, and it's been like that for a while. (Ever since the first time I beat it), which was probably about 3 years ago. Yeah, I got the game late.

Industrial Ridden wrote:

Silent Hill 2 is an amazing game. The plot is so deep and emotional. Currently, it stand as my favorite video game of all time, and it's been like that for a while. (Ever since the first time I beat it), which was probably about 3 years ago. Yeah, I got the game late.

You're not as late as me, I just started playing the series this year.

If anyone reading this is considering getting this game, try to get the PS2 version if possible. On my second play-through on the HD collection I got a glitch that makes it difficult, maybe even impossible to beat, so I need to restart and hope the glitch doesn't happen again :/

Though I never considered SH to be scary(it's creepy by my standards) it's definitely a great game.

37 Narwhals wrote:

Industrial Ridden wrote:

Silent Hill 2 is an amazing game. The plot is so deep and emotional. Currently, it stand as my favorite video game of all time, and it's been like that for a while. (Ever since the first time I beat it), which was probably about 3 years ago. Yeah, I got the game late.

You're not as late as me, I just started playing the series this year.

If anyone reading this is considering getting this game, try to get the PS2 version if possible. On my second play-through on the HD collection I got a glitch that makes it difficult, maybe even impossible to beat, so I need to restart and hope the glitch doesn't happen again :/

I don't have the HD collection. I see it as a disgrace. Especially the new voice actors. I understand that you can change to have original voices, but based on what I've heard in SH3, you can't! I have SH2, SH3, SH4, and SH:0 on PS2 and SH8 on PS3. The only one I haven't beaten is Origins.

Best story by far, but the least scary and the easiest.

RaviorStygian wrote:

Best story by far, but the least scary and the easiest.

I can agree on it being the easiest, but the least scary? C'mon, that's like the most disturbing, terrifying, most fucked up horror game of all time XD Well, that's just your opinion I guess. Everybody has different senses of fear, kinda like how people have different senses of humor. I found SH2 to be the most scariest of the series.

Industrial Ridden wrote:

I understand that you can change to have original voices, but based on what I've heard in SH3, you can't!

The reason why there is no option for the old voices in SH3 is that they needed a permission from the original voice cast to use them again but Heather Morris, the voice of Heather, couldn't be contacted and they just had to go without the original voice track.

Mass Distraction wrote:

Industrial Ridden wrote:

I understand that you can change to have original voices, but based on what I've heard in SH3, you can't!

The reason why there is no option for the old voices in SH3 is that they needed a permission from the original voice cast to use them again but Heather Morris, the voice of Heather, couldn't be contacted and they just had to go without the original voice track.

THAT I did not know. I don't even like the new voice actors.

Industrial Ridden wrote:

Mass Distraction wrote:

Industrial Ridden wrote:

I understand that you can change to have original voices, but based on what I've heard in SH3, you can't!

The reason why there is no option for the old voices in SH3 is that they needed a permission from the original voice cast to use them again but Heather Morris, the voice of Heather, couldn't be contacted and they just had to go without the original voice track.

THAT I did not know. I don't even like the new voice actors.

They almost left the original track out of SH2 too because there were some complications with Guy Cihi and some other actors but they came to an agreement and the original track was added. The reason they remade the voices in the first place was because it didn't seem like they could use the original voices again.

Mass Distraction wrote:

Industrial Ridden wrote:

Mass Distraction wrote:

Industrial Ridden wrote:

I understand that you can change to have original voices, but based on what I've heard in SH3, you can't!

The reason why there is no option for the old voices in SH3 is that they needed a permission from the original voice cast to use them again but Heather Morris, the voice of Heather, couldn't be contacted and they just had to go without the original voice track.

THAT I did not know. I don't even like the new voice actors.

They almost left the original track out of SH2 too because there were some complications with Guy Cihi and some other actors but they came to an agreement and the original track was added. The reason they remade the voices in the first place was because it didn't seem like they could use the original voices again.

Well atleast SH2 still had them. It IS my favorite game of all time after all

I've got a copy of SH2. I got this one because I've heard it's the best, and they had a bunch of copies at Entertainmart. Now unfortunately...my disc is messed up, and I can't even reallyl play it.

In that little intro, where that chick is talking through the screen, it lags and skips and gets stuck, I wasn't sure if SH was trying to be creepy or if my disc wasn't playing right. I guess it's the latter.

I do want to go through it though.