Silent Hill 2

[Spatial]

Possibly the best monster charcter from any game in the past few years IMO

Threatning, and indestructable

The Jason Vorhees of Computer Gaming

[wod]

ah the pyramid head, that **** me up when i came across it in the apartments

[Concept]

All versions of the Silent Hill series feature English voice acting.

Cheers for that - any idea on the in game text?

Silent Hill is pretty much in a similar situation to what the Biohazard series is, in that although the voices are English, in the Japanese version puzzles, letters and subs etc. are not.

[Chadruharazzeb]

I'd find being chased by Snoopy scarier than Wedge Face.

*SPOILER*


The battle with 2 Pyramid Head's is one of the weakest rucks ever, then to top it all off the stupid twat kills himself

#edit - if you are going to post major spoilers like this in future please post them using tiny/white font coloured text, thanks#

[Tom Salter]

Oh man Chadruharazzeb. That bit messed me up.

Can you remember the game show bit?! How freaky was that! When you are stood in the lift, and he asked you them questions in a voice that reminded me of how kiddie-fiddlers talk.

And I gotta admit, Eddie was one of the most deeply disturbing characters I've ever seen in a game. He looked weird to start off with, and slowly went from weird to insane. Hits you on so many levels.....

[Pain2k]

ah the bit where triangle head was raping the leg things, that was so screwy. The atmosphere of the game is not scary in a sence, its more that its disturbing and uncomfortable, i found myself strangely pulled towards wanting to play it and then when i was i felt like giving up and never coming back.

But seriously though, he is such a wally (main character whats his face), i mean, yes ok its your wife, but thats one seriously ****ed up town, if i was him id come back with a few friends and a few guns

Norris

[Computer Reprobate]

SH2.

It is a good game, and it definitely churns out the scares.

It comes under Psychological Horror. It's not a "boo" type of scare. It provides the type of horrors that scratch away at your brain and your own self-assurance.

Konami have managed to engulf the player in both outings, and they do need applauding for that. However, in the debate of which is better:

SH
SH2

I would have to go for SH.

Below is a review, I'll highlight all the text in a different font colour for those that can't be arsed to read it

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Silent Hill was the blockbuster hit that contended with Resident Evil for the title of ?best horror? on the PSX. Some might say it stepped out of the battle victorious, setting a new benchmark in psychological horror of its time. Never before had we seen or experienced such a tenebrous and chilling game - one that plays on the mind and your own self-being. Silent Hill 2 progresses onwards with the atmosphere and sheer terror of Silent Hill (SH) bringing the genre to an unbelievably ghastly height.

Silent Hill is a sleepy town situated along side a great lake, buried in areas of deep lush forestation - the perfect holiday resort. A likely and formidable mistake to make. The horrors embedded deep within the towns past, mysteries unsolved, a place almost entirely deserted of human life. That does not exclude foreign life of course.

Silent Hill 2 begins with an eerie FMV - James Sunderland (the unlikely hero of the instalment) receives a letter from his wife, it reads ?Silent Hill, our sanctuary of memories... I will be waiting for you there?. Problem being, she died three years previously.

The first most noticeable aspect in Silent Hill 2 is the gritty, yet beautiful graphics. Character models, as well as the locales and surrounding objects are astutely designed and carved onto your computer screen. The fog, this time is purposely included in the game, and not just to mask the draw point. It?s there to blind your view; making surprise attacks all the scarier, and building up a great sense of false pretence. The graphics convincingly do add to the atmosphere - blood smeared walls and grime ridden grated floors - all combining to create a dark dejected look not yet seen in any other game. Never before has a title looked so real, so disturbing and so, so horrifying.

The game-play begins in a cemetery, masked in dense fog, not really knowing where your heading ? in terms of actually seeing but also in not realising any foreseeable future for your character James Sunderland. James appears to be chasing a lost cause, a dead wife, and a distant memory. How can it all be possible? That?s the beauty of Silent Hill 2, it keeps you guessing throughout, questioning this and that, trying to conceive and plough out an answer for yourself.

A major problem in SH was the camera angles. They did shine in moments of cinematic brilliance; carefully placed viewpoints were used to maximise suspense. Though in parts this did alter the game play quite drastically. There was nothing more irritating than trying to fight an enemy, or being attacked from the blue by some foe, that is out of the shot. It caused frustration and added to the game an unnecessary toughness. Tedium could be the word to describe the affects.

To our most welcomed content this has been solved. There are fixed camera positions, however this time placed in only the necessary areas. If an enemy is attacking you, you can be sure to use the L2 and R3 buttons and watch as the camera sweeps round to the focal point. Even in tight corridors the camera rolls off the walls in a most elegant fashion.

The controls are the same as in its predecessor, with attack/shoot being accomplished via holding R2 and pressing X. Square is used to run, and circle determines whether you want your flashlight on or off (We strongly advise you have it on). The controls are however very jagged in areas, Sunderland?s movement is often clumsy and running in the right direction seems a difficult task at times. This is a major problem when trying to battle a huge monster with a steal cone as a head, the fact that the brute is almost impenetrable makes it hard enough singly, let alone difficulty being added with lumpish, bungling movement. This in conclusion spoils the game at the best of times.

The astuteness of the Konami team comes into play with the slight touches; as stated above you can determine whether your flashlight is on or off. As stupid as it may sound it can often be a good idea to switch this off, as the brightness attracts foes. Also sound and other actions do attract attention so watch where you step. Saving ammo can be quite important, if possible use your short range weapons (Steel pipe, knife etc.) as much as possible with the more feeble enemies, saving ammo will play a big part in your progression. Once again you have a radio, which crackles with white noise when a ghoul is near, yes this does prevent surprise attacks, but it does build up a sense of expectance. And not knowing where it?s coming from, or what in-fact it actually is, is much scarier.

Overall, in comparison to other titles around it is totally different, though when set-aside with its predecessor it all seems a bit ?samey?. It has amazing graphics, sound and would still scare the contents out of any resistant bowel, but it?s just not quite as compelling as the original and doesn?t have the same overwhelming effect.

7/10

Source: www.game-wise.co.uk

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I know that a lot of people will disagree with what I have to say. Especially the score. But that's my personal, honest opinion on the game.

It is good, it is flawed, and it is second when juxtaposed with its predecessor.

[Concept]

***Spoilers a-plenty*** (again)

characters I've ever seen in a game. He looked weird to start off with, and slowly went from weird to insane. Hits you on so many levels.....

Eddie is a deep character. Specifically, I think he is constantly running away from his own guilt and self-loathing. For example, in the bowling alley, Laura has a 'word' in his ear and asks for him to say sorry for what he has done. She gives him the chance of self-redemption but he passes it up. In other words the girl is testing him and after finding her answer decides to move on. This is because Laura is the town.

It's no coincidence that after she's got what she wants from Eddie, Laura rolls a bowling ball in his direction. It represents the town's actions on a metaphoric level, because what is a bowling ball used for? To knock down pins of course, and each of the game's characters are little more than just that.

The town wants to corrupt Eddie through Laura and also encourage his self-hate through how he views himself. That pizza in the bowling alley is given to help Eddie self-indulge himself and draw on a vice to make him feel better while mulling over what he's running from. For example, later on when James confronts Eddie in the freezer, all those bodies hanging around represent how he hates his body, how he is an outsider to himself, how he is cold and dead on the inside...

Those carcasses are there to remind Eddie of what he has become; the guy's running from himself and he does this by fighting James and not himself.

Sato-San (Silent Hill 2's CGI/character designer) said as much in the making of DVD when he commented how Eddie's eyes fluctuate away from one another. Even Eddie's body shows how certain parts are desperately trying to get away from one another inside him.

Another scene which is evidence of this is when Eddie pukes up in the toilet. It's almost as if he's trying to eject or run from the sickness which is spreading in him. Again, it's no coincidence that the first time Jame's see Eddie, there happens to be a dead body lying half within a fridge.

It's almost a prediction of what is to become of Eddie because he dies in an oversized freezer, and yet at that point, that particular freezer is to small for the body. There is still a chance to save Eddie at that point because he hasn't met Laura yet.

But Laura's manipulation doesn't stop at Eddie. She even manages to persuade James to go into that room at the hospital. Come to think of it she's the one who leads James. In the apartments for example, Laura kicks the key away from James so he'll explore more of the building. She even leads Maria and James into the hospital, and then when Maria dies, she leads James back out into the darkness...

Laura is also angry at James when he finally realises his wife is dead and just why in the hotel room at the end. At this point, the town is angry at James because it knows its game has come to an end. James has given up on trying to find his wife because he now remembers what has become of her, and consequently the town is running out of cards to play.

It's one trump card before this point was that Laura has a letter from his wife tempting James, yet now that he remembers, this temptation is useless. This is why Laura is mad at him... Not because he killed his wife, but because it can't use her memory against him any longer.

In another twist, this is why Maria loses her form and control... As we all know, like Laura she was made by the town. In fact, I very much believe that Laura is a projection Maria has made of herself as a child to help re-compensate for her lack of a past. This is most evident when she re-discovers James in the hospital, and asks if he has found Laura yet. Maria says she wants to protect Laura as much as she can and yet doesn't know why. The simple reason is Laura is a part of the town and consequently a part of herself. She is being manipulated into wanting to protect and save apart of a past she never knew or even could know.

For anyone who thinks this is far fetched, remember: Silent Hill played the same game, but to a much more elaborate extent. Alessa/Cheryl created Silent Hill in it's demonic form, and it was a teenager's projection of her insufferable life as a child after she was burnt almost to death. These projections onto the surface of Silent Hill are her tormented abstract dreams, which Dahlia Gillespie used for other purposes, hence the reason Silent Hill is still in that form when James goes back.

The town in the first game was youthful energy being trapped and used for sinister purposes, and yet rather ironically, the reverse could be said in Silent Hill 2.

In actual fact, the place reverts to using an ingrained sense of childhood influence in order to manipulate characters external to it for its own gain.

[Garibaldi Biscuit]

*Brain melts*

Certainly a lot more going on in this game than I realised, thanks for the remarkably detailed insights Concept, I'll be mulling over those for a while.

[Concept]

***More spoilers***














A few other things I missed...

When Eddie is sicking up next to the toilet to try and get whatever is inside him out, such action represents a willingness on his part to try and change or get better. However, in contrast the pizza shows that Eddie is accepting his fate... He is ingesting what the town is giving him. There is no more resistence in him, hence the reason he doesn't want to say apologise for his past mistakes.

For example, when asked about the body in the fridge by James, he say's "I didn't do it". He's either a) telling the truth or b) in denial. However in the prison, we get to see the top half of such a body, the action of his action... There is no concealment for the dead person who has had their head shot to pieces. And Eddie's response? "Killin a person ain't no big deal".

There is no denial at this point. He's fully accepted what the town has in store for him, explaining his delight when telling Jame's that the town "called" them.

Except, unlike Eddie, James' "calling" isn't disgust, but instead fear. Laura accentuates his vulnerability when they communicate by her positioning and expressions. For example, the first time they both meet she stands on his hand, the second time she's sat high on a wall looking down... The next time in the hospital she's protected and enclosed in via a collection of rusted beds, and by the end is beating on his chest in the hotel room out of frustration. In other words, her attitude is always of the aggressive and powerful one; a person who is protected, in control and never scared.

In many ways she is the opposite of James who is fearful and considerate when it comes to communication with the other characters. What highlights this and the fact she is a part of the town is when at the hospital, James comments that he's surprised she hasn't got a scratch on her.

The girl's reply... A baffled "Why would I?".

She's bemused because why would the town actively hurt itself? It wouldn't. Also, James gets pricked by a child's teddy on one of the upper halls of the hospital when searching for an item... However when he discovers Laura later on in a downfloor room, she just so happens to be surrounded by such Teddys...

These most probably represent that James has to be wary of getting pricked by her too.

Before this however, Maria gets sick in the hosptial and claims she can't continue. This is probably because she is scared she is meeting up with her other half, even if consciously she doesn't know it. The town only wants to use these two elements alone to manipulate James, as leaving a sick woman to fend for her self and the need to search for a lost child, creates an uncomfortable duality in James' mind.

Remember, his own wife died in bed as a sick invalid, and he killed her still in it. However, searching for Laura is a sign of the unknown, a purpose and an immediate goal of the future. It's his way out of another experience of bed-ridden hell.

So... The town is constantly using Maria and Laura as bats. James is simply the ball in between.

One area I would say Silent Hill 2 does fall on is that most (if not all) of these elements are portrayed in non-interactive portions of the game. Whereas, the first game represented such themes through portions of active gameplay. Such as when Cheryl can be seen crying out to Harry on the large screen in the mall, or when you have to walk through that solitary classroom with the single desk near the end... Or the fantastic opening ten minutes which could quite easily have been reproduced as a cutscene.

Most of the themes in Silent Hill 2 are presented through rather conventional means in comparison.

Hopefully, Silent Hill 3 can blur the best bits of both games. There's already an example that Team Silent have learnt from their mistakes in this regard.... The screenshots showing pulsating blood flowing through the walls during certain parts of the gameplay for instance. If Heather's family lineage was to be connected to the town, this would make perfect sense...

[Adam]

That's some cool stuff, wish I was told what some of those things ment while playing the game though

[Spatial]

***More spoilers***

















In many ways she is the opposite of James who is fearful and considerate when it comes to communication with the other characters. What highlights this and the fact she is a part of the town is when at the hospital, James comments that he's surprised she hasn't got a scratch on her.

The girl's reply... A baffled "Why would I?".

What I'd forgotten is how deep this game is, and how open to interpretation it is - a masterpiece on the part of the games designers.

More Spoliers - highlight the gaps to reveal missing text

The other theory is that each charcter has been drawn to the town for different reasons.

Many theorise that each person who is drawn to the town in Silent Hill 2 have different visions and see the town and its monsters in different ways

James sees Hospital paraphanalia and the zombie nurses etc. This is all linked in with his wife and a disturbed twist on the the time he spent with her in hospital

Eddie sees lots of people mocking him and laughing at him. This might explain why he finds it so easy to kill. He sees the inhabitants of the town as people who deserve it for being so cruel to him

Angela sees her father who was cruel to her ( and I think its insinuated that he abused her ), along with various items tied in to her time spent in a mental instituatuion

Maria we all know was `born from a wish` by James and therefore is part of him - she sees what he does

Laura is different. Unlike the above she is too young to have been corrupted. She does not yet suffer guilt or has never experienced any severe emotional trauma or pain. She therefore sees nothing in the town. To her it is as it should be, or possibly just empty ( save for James, Eddie etc ). She may have simply been drawn to the town due to her link with James' wife.

There's nothing to say that this is right mind you, and thats the sheer beauty of it all. Team Silent have created a game that players can muse over and dicuss long after they've finished playing it. Everyone will have their own ideas and theories as to the whys and wherefores.

[Geoff D]

Silent Hill is pretty much in a similar situation to what the Biohazard series is, in that although the voices are English, in the Japanese version puzzles, letters and subs etc. are not.

Cheers fella

[Treble]

A deep and involving game, but one where the story and atmosphere easily supersede the actual gameplay. Good, but flawed.

[Smitty]

Well i'd second that Treble.

SH2 is very good. But it's not a game which involves you very much in the playing of it.

It's all about the story, atmosphere and presentation.

All of which are excellent. The locations, music (dear God the music), sounds and design are all brilliant, and very memorable. The voice-acting is also superb.

It goes without saying that SH2 is deeply disturbing. I played through it with a mate (i'm not sure i could have done it alone) and every few minutes we would both say (with his hushed voices) ''this is some ****ed-up ****''.

SH2 is very scary, imo.

It's the attention to detail in this picture of madness that's impressive. The filth in the rooms. Things scattered here and there. A4 lined paper with bloody handprints on it. Bloody scrawls on walls. Fragments of glass, glittering. There's so much.

Then we have the design of the...inhabitants of Silent Hill. Truly sick, some of the stuff. The way they walk, shivering or spasming. Some of the designs (like so much in the game) will make you say ''WTF!?''.

The sounds in the game have received lots of attention.

There are a whole plethora of scratches, sighs, moans, electronic blips, hair-rising strings and synths. And, amazingly, most of the huge number of different sounds you hear are never repeated. Most of them are unique to location. The same goes with the games music.

If you can call it music that is. I suppose it's actually hard to say where the sounds end and the music begins. The distinction is limited. But certainly the effect is huge. You are kept on your toes almost continually throughout the game.

The only respite from the onslaught are cutscenes and the like. When i say ''onslaught'' i mean the game's relentlessy terrifying atmosphere.

Never before have i played a game so successful in creating an atmosphere, a place, a feeling. A horrible place, though.

It's beautiful in that sense, and you can see a lot of work went into it. The coding is solid and there few or no glitches that i could see.

The lighting engine is impressive, and well used. There are some nice textures and the like. Visually, very distinctive.

Anyway. If you can bear it, i recommend Silent Hill 2 as an arresting video game experience.

Oh and Pyramid Head ***** me up.