Silent Hill 2

[C']

Whilst I appreciate SH2's assets as an adventure, I simply didn't enjoy playing it, which I guess is what games are supposed to be about.

I realise that this makes me a complete pussy, but the general feeling that the game generated made me quite uneasy. I wanted to complete the game at least once just to find out what was happening, but at very few points did I actually have an enjoyable gaming experience in the process (I would actually hope that each door I tried would be locked so I didn't have to go into another unexplored room with unknown unspeakable nasties ).

After a week of playing, I finally got to the end to be treated to the most depressing ending sequence I have ever seen.

I agree that the game is exemplary in the way it creates an eerie and unsettling environment (as marcus said, the gallows scene is brilliantly done, and the drawn out section in the rowingboat is very effective.

From the sound of it, you need to see all endings to get the most out of it, and get the full story, so may take a return trip to Silent Hill very soon.

[Chadruharazzeb]

I think I must have had some sort of sensory depravation while I was playing it, cos frankly I found it as scary as pillows.

The first game creeped the hell out of me. The second BORED the hell out of me.

[mezzanine]

Silent Hill 2 is one of the very few console games you can describe as being truly (for want of a better word) 'mature' rather than just having adult content like GTA3. The first time I played it, I reached the water ending which I still think is the most appropriate

Fantastic game.

[JRMacumber]

I bought this when it first came out for the Xbox, played it a couple of hours, got piss scared during the apartments section, and then sold it. I said it was because it was boring and slow, but in reality it was because I was too much of a pussy to keep going.

BUT, this weekend I was out, and I saw that the local Gamestop had it for $20, so I picked it back up again, and I'm going to have reach down and find a pair so I can finish it.

Where's the Drill Sarge when ya need him...

[John Beaulieu]

sorry but Fatal Frame pisses all over Silent Hill 1 and 2 in terms of storyline, pacing and scaring the be'jesus out of ya

Fatal Frame is the first game to actually scare me for a long period of playing time - unlike other survival 'horror' titles which rely on shlock value to actually get the adrenal gland pumping

camps

[Tom Salter]

First got this game the other month, when Goblin were selling it for ?20. Missed out first time, but loved the original, and who can say no to that price.

I played it first, with the lights out and on the big screen in the front room. I havent been scared like this in a long time, even though the title is well over a year old. I just wanted to rush to get to the next save point so that I could turn the lights back on again! I hadn't been scared like that since the first RE back in '96.

And imo, the controls were pretty lame. But this didnt really matter, since its not like you ever really died because of the control's fault, unlike the Resi games. I felt that they needed to use them Sirens more, like they did in the first game, that **** me up no end!

[Sidez]

sorry but Fatal Frame pisses all over Silent Hill 1 and 2 in terms of storyline, pacing and scaring the be'jesus out of ya

Fatal Frame is the first game to actually scare me for a long period of playing time - unlike other survival 'horror' titles which rely on shlock value to actually get the adrenal gland pumping

camps

I want the Xbox version but can't afford it right now. I very much doubt it 'pisses' on SH though. Using the same analogy, it must be a bukkake, vomit, **** fest all over Biohazard.

[John Beaulieu]

in terms of setting you on edge i would say Fatal Frame is much better than SH2 -- and its use of sound is second to none with one of the most disturbing samples i have ever heard in a game

camps

[Tom Salter]

I forgot to mention that i never actually finished it. That boss at the end.....damn that freaked me out.

[Plisken]

I loved the intro music in the Xbox version. Leave it at the start/load screen for about 2 minutes, and you get a superb FMV with cut scenes fromt he game, playing to an amazing backing trask. You can get the song itself of kazaa, simply called 'theme' it's amazing, check it out.

[Spatial]

If its Laura's Theme then it is indeed a class song

Personally I loved Silent Hill 1 - even if the plot line was something of a mish mash of genres and ideas.

Silent Hill 2 was bang on the button too, but due to a greater number of factors.

Personally the whole Pyramid Head buisness is the thing that stands out for me as the most memorable theme. The guys just so damn obscure and scary its surprisingly enduring.

I can't hear metal scraping against metal without thinking of him/it

Mind you, number 3 has got me in two minds. If its anything like the first two games then it'll be good, but the prospect of playing a young girl in a twisted, grotesque, alternative dimension shopping mall with an Uzi for safety doesn't give me chills at all

[JRMacumber]

... but the prospect of playing a young girl in a twisted, grotesque, alternative dimension shopping mall with an Uzi for safety doesn't give me chills at all

Then obviously you've never been in a mall that's been transported to hell and infested with grotesque monstrosities.

[Square]

There's one just like that in LA. The Beverly Center, I think it'c called!

[Sdub]

I think the things that made both SH 1 and 2 great are the characters you meet... they seem to behave normaly and yet there is something very 'wrong' about them. Something you can't quite put your finger on - excellent.

With regards to the whole control system, I think it's adds to your character. In Biohazard you are a trained military expert with guns etc at your disposal, and your character knows how to use them. This is the same in many other games. In SH you are an ordinary person just like you or me that has stumbled upon this bizarre environment, so it is appropriate that fighting effectively with a range of weapons is challenging.

I also agree with C' as I was also hoping (praying) that each door I tried would be locked. I didn't want to look inside, and yet something compelled me and that is part of the beauty of these games. You look forward to their release, you go and buy them with your hard earned cash, and within 5 minutes of turning it on you are thinking 'God, why am I playing this game again?!' But thats part of what I love, and it shows that it really can '**** you up'.

I personaly thought that Silent Hill 1 was far more terrifying - the transition from normal world to Hell world was unlike anything I had seen before (or since) and reminded me of the film Event Horizon. But when I read this post and heard mention of the Gallows - God yeah I had completely forgotten about that. I'm getting shivers down my spine just thinking about it!

I played a demo of Fatal Frame, but I didn't get far in.. I couldn't really get to grips with the camera. But it looks promising.

[Sidez]

Imagine a PS3 remake of Silent Hill available on launch... That would reduce me to a gibbering wreck.