Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams

"Stay Away From Foggy Resort Towns"

Crazy. And that's how this game goes. Having not been familiar with the Silent Hill series until playing this game I was really surprised how in depth this game goes with the main character and just how crazy and CREEPY this game gets! Silent Hill is more or less on the same field as the early Resident Evil games, but Silent Hill is much more than solving puzzles and shooting zombies. A lot of this game is focused on just why you are at this deserted town to find just who or what is behind all of the madness and supernatural suffering that you encounter.

Story

James Sunderland is stopped at the edge of Silent Hill and still wondering what he is doing as he decides to continue to venture into the town to respond to an invitation from his wife. The only problem is that the town has a history, a terrible history, and James is caught between figments of his own imagination and the horrors of the dark and mysterious town as he continues the search for his wife. He meets four other characters along the way that have their own past to deal with and as James becomes enveloped by the strange world of Silent Hill nothing in the plot of this game is what it truly is until you reach the conclusive and surprising end. Silent Hill allows you to explore the story of the strange town itself to understand what is going on and the actions of the other characters will leave you with an excellent driving force to take that next step into the unknown. This game explores a lot of concepts and it boasts multiple endings so you have plenty of reason to go back and play through again. This would make one heck of a movie plot.

Game Play

The camera angles are as I like it in these creepy games. Silent Hill 2 is set in the third person and the camera is angled in different areas as you move from place to place. A radio you pick up will alert you to incoming mannequins (man I don't know what else to call them) and these things will move and shake like nothing I have ever known. There are a good many points that are just plain creepy and the movements of the enemies in the game as they slither around will catch you in a scare. Of course, nothing stands out so scary as the licker in Resident Evil 2, but Silent Hill 2 boasts much more scary creatures that will make you run in fright especially in the form of Pyramid Head. The introduction of Pyramid Head is one that is very memorable and you are dead meat if you stick around to see if it he can see out of that gigantic thing. You can pick up only a few weapons from guns to a nail board, but as the game focuses more on exploration and puzzle solving you will not have to worry about fending off wave after wave of menacing half torsos. Items you collect and choices you make with the game play depend on the type of ending you will get so the harder the puzzle you solve and closer inspection you make the better chance you will have of getting a positive ending. From the settings you get to explore to the fights and run-ins with Pyramid Head, the game play gives you great fright for the night.



Graphics/Sound

Silent Hill 2 uses the effects of fog and abandoned cars and buildings to pull off an eerie feeling of isolation and desolation. Small effects like the static on the radio or the slithering of the mannequins will make you want to turn around and run back the other instead of pushing forward. Silent Hill 2 has a lot of cut scene videos to help move the plot along and the music helps to establish a mood to the game as well. The game has a great introduction music video if you let it run by itself when first starting. Despite the game being a horror game, gore is not that major a factor in this game. Silent Hill 2 is more of a mind horror game than it is a physical slash and hack game so this game proves that you do not need a lot of graphic violence, just some scary looking things from the land down under to make an excellent horror game. And to hear that huge blade of Pyramid Head's dragging the floor behind me is all I need to get scared.

Replay Value

Silent Hill 2 has adequate game time and an excellent story driver to keep your interest. The game is mostly linear in what you do during the game, but the alternate endings will have you going back to replay and do a better job of puzzle solving and item hunting to see all of the different endings. You also get an extra story game as Maria, which does not contribute much to the plot, but is interesting nonetheless.

Final Recommendation 9/10

Silent Hill 2 is crazy, creepy, scary, and downright awesome. A game that has a great story line to it like Silent Hill 2 helps to make the game play flow smoothly and in the end (or alternate end) you come away with a memorable game. Silent Hill 2 is worth the hunt to find and this review comes from playing on the Xbox only so I cannot tell you how well it is on the 360. As an introduction to the Silent Hill series, I highly recommend this one first as the games are not related to each other and Silent Hill 2 has the best plot of them all so far.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/26/08

Game Release: Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams (Platinum Hits) (US, 2001)