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Video Games: Silent Hill 2
Date: Wednesday, 07 January, 2009 :: 12:48
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Silent Hill 2
Brand: Konami TYO
List Price: USD $19.99
Price: USD $87.99
Product Group: videogames
Manufacturer: Konami
Studio: Konami
Features:
- Platform: PlayStation 2
- ESRB Rating: Mature (17 and older)
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Editorial Review:
Array
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Reviews:
Average Customer Review: 
Summary: Beautifully Atmospheric
Date: 2008-12-28 -
Comment: I played this game directly after I finished the first in the series. While it isn't as outright scary as the first game, it effects a nice sense of personal and psychological horror akin to movies like Session 9 or Jacob's Ladder (in fact, Jacob's Ladder was one of the inspirations for the series).
The game looks beautiful for its age, and the musical compositions are superb. The characters are well-written and acting for the most part, although sometimes the main character, James, was hard for me to take seriously. The monsters are also disturbing and well-designed. The town is rendered beautifully, despite a thick fog obscuring your vision for more than a few meters. Indoor environments are also very nicely done.
As for gameplay, the constant map checking can get fairly irritating. Controls are standard for survival horror, but will probably take getting used to if you're new to the genre since they are very clunky. In fact, this is the one place where the game (and survival horror in general) fall flat, but let's be honest, if you're playing Silent Hill you're either playing it for the scares or the storyline.
Total play time on your first play without a FAQ or guide will probably run you 8-10 hours. The three endings, bonus ending, joke ending, and (if you get the greatest hits version) UFO ending give the game replay value.
This game is one of my favorites out of my collection. I highly recommend it.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Summary: Great game, but lots of scratches
Date: 2008-11-29 -
Comment: Great game, but disc has a LOT of scratches. Doesn't affect game play, but story scenes are choppy and lock up. Kinda annoying, but for the price I would say it was worth it.
Summary: A truly horrifying materpeice.
Date: 2008-11-17 - 
Comment: Silent Hill 2 is, in my opinion, the best game out of the 6 silent hill's released to far. They have somehow managed to create a truly terrifying game without succumbing to cheap thrills, cliche storyline or anything of that nature. I'll split my review into pros, cons and middle ground, meaning it can be considered both a pro and a con.
PROS:
This game is truly terrifying. And there is no cut-off age to enjoy it. You may be too young, but you are never too old. All the music is absolutely gorgeous, and is also terrifying when needed to be. Akira Yamaoka, the guy who did the soundtrack for this game, truly knew the art of using both music and silence to stir your emotions to his whim. The sounds of the creaking buildings, never being able to see more than three feet in front of you, and just the looming anxiety that comes with exploring the incredibly beautiful, deserted town is too good to pass up.
The game deals with a lot of issues concerning the inner workings of the human psyche. The three characters, James, Angela and Eddie, all have some dark secret being kept from the player, and Silent Hill artfully reveals each characters sin when the player is ready to accept the truth. Which is where the beauty of the monsters in the game comes into effect.
The monsters in Silent Hill 2 are not just creative diarrhea, they are not some random, misplaced thing for you to take a swing at. Every monster in the game comes from the inner torment of the main character, James. While the symbolism behind the monsters isn't quite as apparent when you first start the game, their meaning becomes clear the more James discovers the darkness lurking in his own heart.
MIDDLE GROUND:
The gameplay is fairly simple. While you are given a choice of both combat and puzzle difficulty, the actual controls are fairly simple which could mean a good thing for less experienced gamers, or a complete bore for gamers looking for a challenge. There are no combos or matrix-like action, simply shooting or swinging at things.
The story is very complex. There are a lot of plot twists, metaphors and things "being said without being 'said'" type of things. I myself, having beaten the game for the first time had trouble understanding what exactly was going on throughout the game and can be considered a turn-off for some, but can also make the game just that much more intriguing.
The game does not produce the typical "haunted house" type thrills. Very rarely does a monster leap out at you (there is even one monster that stays perfectly still in the darkness until you approach it) or attempt to scare you in a conventional way. The game can be considered more of a "mind f**k" than a gore-fest. Those with a more mature sense of fear can come to appreciate the subtle terror the game produces, while others might simply find it a bore.
CONS:
The camera is AWFUL. While the obscure camera angles are designed to immerse the player, when you're trying to attack an enemy you can't see because the camera is giving you a birdseye view of the top of your head, it can be very annoying.
The actual tasks to be completed during the game do not differ from what is typical in Silent Hill games. That being, opening every single door until one opens, searching that room thoroughly and leaving to continue looking through all the other doors. And it can be very boring if you do not scare that easily and have learned to ignore the eerie music or silence and the anticipation of what could lie in that unlocked room.
Some of the tasks seem like pointless busywork. For example, in the hospital you must unlock a box that have a variety of different locks on it, you must search the hospital for keys and combinations, only to be rewarded with a strand of hair which you must use, along with a bent wire to fish a key out of the drain. Which, if this were reality, James could have easily taken hair from Maria (the female character who sometimes follows you around) and use hers. There are many other examples of this kind of pointless busy work throughout the game.
The game can sometimes be quite unclear as to where it wants you to go. It is easy to walk past a message or a map if you believe you're sure as to where you should be going. I spent a half hour my first time playing trying to reach a hotel I wasn't supposed to go to all because I walked past another map that instructed me as to where I was really supposed to be going.
TO CONCLUDE:
Overall I think the positive aspects of the game vastly outweigh the negative. This game is not for so much hardcore fans of blood-and-gore shooter games but for those with an appreciation for pure psychological terror. It can teach gamers that sometimes you need to stop, listen to the music, analyze the scenery, and appreciate the fear. You will not enjoy this game if you plan on burning through it as fast as you can. It is definitely worth owning because I think it marks the pinnacle of Team Silence's creative genius.
Summary: Fun to beat over and over again
Date: 2008-11-02 -
Comment: This was one of the first games I beat on the PS2. I found it a couple years ago at EB Games by shear luck. They didn't even have a manual or box for it, lol. Which resulted in getting a Xbox green case. Anyways, about the game. Silent Hill 2 has a great story. Theres different levels to put the difficulty of the monsters AND riddles. I've never seen a game where you could set game difficulty to medium and riddles to easy. Sure the graphics aren't kick a$$ perfect, but for PS2 its pretty good and once your into the game, its something you don't even notice.
One of the things that stuck out to me was the graphics and reality of this little girl in the game, she looks so real its kinda creepy lol.
Two pointers,
1. preserve ammo and use melly when you can.
2. there is an online FAQ for the game incase you get stuck and have no clue what to do.
I hoped I helped some and I hope you enjoy this game. By the way, best played at night with all lights off. :)
Summary: One of the best games ever
Date: 2008-10-12 -
Comment: Other people have written some pretty extensive reviews on just how great this game is. I'll keep my review short. This is one of the scariest and best games ever on any system to this date.
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Accessories:
PlayStation: The Official Magazine (1-year)
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Play
Tips & Tricks Magazine
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