Silent Hill 2

"Film Noire in a Game"

Silent Hill 2 does to disturbing what the original does for Horror. In SH2 you play the role of James Sunderland, an emotionally shattered shell of a man who travels to Silent Hill after having received a letter from his dead wife. After stopping at a rest stop on the outskirts of the town, James descends into the darkness of his own psyche to battle the demons therein.

Gameplay:
This plays very similar to what you would expect from a survival adventure game with a slightly different, though equally enjoyable combat system. The interface is nothing to brag about, though it might be a bit awkward if trying to play through the keyboard. I used a Thrustmaster Dual Power gamepad that resembles the standard PSX gamepad complete with force feedback and analog sticks and was pleased with the response and familiarity.
Yet, what makes a game a Silent Hill game is the environment you play in. This game obviously takes place entirely within the confines of Silent Hill, both the actual and surreal. Upon entering the city, your first impression is the lack of residents. In fact throughout your quest you'll only come across a handful of the living who will either help or hurt your cause. That is part of the charm to this game. Konami knows that the best way to scare someone is to make their imagination do the work, and this game has that in spades. Whether it's day or night, blanketing fog or enveloping blackness will shrink your sphere of awareness to a bubble. Add to this the developers decision to use uncomfortable camera angles and you'll be trying to peer around the edge of your monitor to save your skin.
Beyond the physical approach of trying to discomfort the player, the storyline adds a tangible psychological knife to cut into your comfort zone. In the original Silent Hill, the horror was surreal blood and gore, devils and cults. In this edition, the evil is human nature. You'll come across sociopathic murderers, abused children, and suicidal personas to further enhance the feeling of 'wrongness' that this game exudes. And that, my friends, is a good thing.

Graphics:
The motion capture in this game is great, and for being two years old, it has a spectacular lighting engine, which is of utmost importance since you'll spend most of your game with only a flashlight to cling on to. You even have the option to turn on the original noise filter from the console versions to add a little bit of that old-time horror feel to it should you feel nostalgic. The textures are extremely well done considering it's a console port made for TVs and the effort put into just creating something that looks evil is outstanding. However, if you've played the original, it will look very familiar since it had already hit the evil-nail on the head.

Sound:
This is the one aspect that transforms the darkness into something scary. As stated earlier with the blinding camera angles, you'll often hear something before you can see it. Heck, sometimes, there's nothing to see. Whether it's a whisper in your ear as you enter a room, or the thud-thump and the ensuing radio crackle of a monster lurking around the corner, you'll find your stomach leaping into your throat on more than a single occasion. The game even supports hi-fi 5.1+ Dolby surround if you have the setup, though I prefer high quality enclosed headphones for the ultimate in personal torture.

Overall:
Whether or not you've played the first Silent Hill, this game is a must buy. With six endings and a mini-scenario to explore the background of a character, it provides more than enough content should you want a replay. This is the kind of game you want to play late at night, in the dark, to truly experience the thrills that it has in store for you. Even if you're not one to get scared, you'll find it disturbing enough to suit your fancy.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/05/04