Silent Hill 2, our sanctuary of memories...I will be waiting for you there.

2.5 weeks until RE
If you know me well, want to know to me, don't know me, don't care to know me, or even if you would rather kill yourself than know me, you'd know that I am very excited about RE for GC.(longest sentence ever) So, after finishing RE for PS, I decided that I would shift gears and finally get around to playing the game I'd heard so much about. Naturally though, you can't review a survival horror game without mentioning the words "resident evil", but this game seemed to hold it's own pretty well. I figured that once Resident Evil would come out, I should have something similar to compare it to. So, since I found it around for only $35, I figured I'd give it a whirl. After all, I played the last Silent Hill game, and greatly enjoyed it.

And, naturally, thinking of the original Silent Hill game brings in a nice story. I can recall a friend and I heading out to the Video One(rental store) literally every friday night to catch a game. We would then head out to the local store, pick up some candy and a 2-liter(high caffine of course) and we would be set for a near all nighter week after week. Well, one week we decided that we would rent up the then new surival/horror game, Silent Hill. And to tell you the truth, at some points the game was flat out disturbing to us. The school changing from a happy place to a dark hellish nightmare hit hard on us two school kids. But, more than anything, our sheer stupidy played a big factor into our disturbances. I subtlely remember a riddle in the original where you had to type some words on a keyboard to get by. We began typing names that we had seen in blood throughout the game, then some words we had on notebook paper around, and eventually a whole bunch of obsinaties and curse words, just for our delight. But, after about an hour, 4 or 5 "controller throws", and 2 liters of highly sugar filled liquid, it got really old. The moral of this most random story: If you're a dumb little kid playing a video game, find an online guidebook. Now, for all of you who didn't already click the "back button", we'll continue.

Storyline: 8/10-James, can we send you to rehab?
Obviously, the first thing that you notice in a survival/horror game is the usually corney story line. This game is no different. You are once again James Sutherland, the hero from the original tale, who is currently having some problems in his life. You see, James' wife died about three years ago from a horrible disease, and even after all this time, he still can't pull it together. But, one day, the nut recieves a letter signed by his "dead" wife Mary, pleading him to come back to Silent Hill.

"Silent Hill, our sanctuary of memories...I will be waiting for you there.", the letter reads.

So, naturally, James lets his emotions "trump" the little wits that he has left, and he decides to set out for a journey "on the town". Now, I hate to make fun a video game for it's storyline, but this is worth it. Let's disect this for a second. First, he gets a letter from his wife, of who he knows has been dead for three years, and then follows the request. Has this fellow been puffin the magic dragon to speak, or does he just really need to get a life? Either way, some might be able to feel James' pain. You lose a loved one, you want that loved one back. So, he decides to just head back into the town where he almost lost his life many times. Either way, he perserveres, and find himself straight in the middle of messed up town. You then begin in a cemetery, where the fog is so dense, the visability range is about 3 feet. Do you think you're in trouble? You damn right you are. Throughout the course of your mission, you will meet some insane characters, find some big time weapons, and meet/destroy some disturbing enemies. Once you find the Hill, the silence will fade away...

The Man That Created The Flashlight Is A Genious!
One thing that you will notice right from the get go is that you have to play this game under difficult visual conditions. First off, when you're outside, fog literally covers the land. I have seen fog before in games, but this fog makes all the rest look like smoke out of a cigarette. While inside buildings and areas, it is also very dark and difficult to see. So, James has equipt himself with a nice chest-attachable flashlight. This automatic flashlight is basically your only means of sight in your mission. Wherever the little cylinder of brightness ends, so too does your sight. But, this affect adds to the overall mood of the game. The eerie fog gives the area a great mystique, and the darkness gives you a "who knows what will come out" feeling. While this lighting is a litter different than that of Resident Evil, it works.

The Radio Emits The Sounds Of Horror
Back again from the original, is that messed up radio that calls to you when a monster is present. Essentially, when you come into an area, you will begin hearing a strange static sound on your radio. Whether you see it or not, this means trouble. When you hear your radio going off, you better lock and load now because a monster is very near. This feature also works very good with the afformentioned fog, because even though you can't see em coming, you can sure hear them coming. Off the note, the sound of the clicking radio is very annoying, making you wish that you could shoot at it.

Mapping: A Great Feature
Another sweet feature that runs in the same catagory as the radio, and the flashlight is the wonderful map. You see, Silent Hill is a big town, and you will cover much ground in your journey. And just because of that, this map would be helpful. But, along with that, this map stops backtracking altogether. Once you have visited a room, the map will clearly mark that. If a door can't be unlocked, it will be marked on the map. If you've solved a puzzle, you'll be able to see it on the map. Essentially everything you need but a bathroom is on this map. Even better though is the quick map button, which will enable you to just hit triangle to bring up the map. Overall these three features are little things, but they combine to be a big help throughout your mission.

Cameras: Change Is Good!
Silent Hill 2 has undergone some major improvements with it's camera system. Instead of the fixed cameras that plaque most games of this sort, Konami has implemented a revolving camera that can turn as you move. This means that long corridors are no longer a problem to navigate, and players are not attacked by offscreen enemies. This is also very easily udjusted. Basically you can hit the L2 button to change the camera angles totally, and then once you've done that you can adjust them with the Right Analog button. This camera system is great, but not without flaw. In situations where you are attacked from above, this thing will give you no help whatsoever. You'll just have to attack those hanging freaks blindly. Overall though, good work Konami.

Items/Monsters
Also featured in this game are some great weapons and monsters. On the weapons side, you begin essentially naked, and work your way up to the "big dogs". Early on, you will find an interesting block of wood with some nails on the end of it. This is your main weapon throughout the game. Sure, it is kind of gross wacking some zombie dogs with a nail-stick(as I like to call it), but it gets the job done. Later on, you will also equip yourself with a handgun, and a shotgun. These guns kind of run low on ammo, but are pretty cool when you get a chance to use them. On the monsters side, I can tell you that you'll battle many disturbed beings. You got your zombies, possessed little kids, demon dogs, everything. I won't give away the details here, just because they're fun to find out for yourself, but the selection is good.

Puzzles: A Key To The Game
I know this gameplay section is getting a little on the long side, but bear with me.(take me to the blood and gore...NOW!) Puzzles play a huge part in this game. Basically, your entire playing experience will revolve around them. Most of these puzzles are pretty basic, and seen before, but they work nice. Find a key, assemble a pattern, look for notes, ect. I won't give away any major details to these puzzles, but I will tell you that you'll encounter many. Of course, these puzzles aren't too easy or too hard. I spent my time playing on normal, and found all of these puzzles to be pretty plausable. Although, if you're a couple grapes short of a fruit basket, the easy level might suit you a little better.(you know who you are)


Graphics: 10/10-This puts the "ing" in "disturbing
Finally, the Pav has made into the aspects of the game! And, we'll start without any way to tie this together! Although not perfect, the developers at Konami certainly seemed to posess some sort of black magic to fit all of those textures, voice acting, CG scenes, and pure awewsomeness(if that's a word) into a PS2 game. Many have said that the PS2 can't do varied textures. Yeah right...just take one look at this game and you'll see the incredibly varied but realistic textures implemented into the game.(yeah...you liers!) Along with some great textures, you'll also see some great character animation. The enemies are scary, the nuts look like nuts, and James looks like a James! Also, the atmosphere certainly is a big part of the title.(duh!) The town of Silent Hill is awash in thick fog to add eeriness, instead of just covering up draw-in like most games. All of the areas of Silent Hill 2 have a great sense of color (usually blood red), and stains and garbage are everywhere to give it a very grubby look. Overall, the graphics truly make this game one of the most distubing games ever released on any system. Period.

Audio: 9/10-So freakie, it's scary!(no pun intended)
The audio in this game is about as good as you'll see on any suvival horror game. Between the moans and groans(in a non sexual way of course), the thuds and nuds, and the splats and blats, you have a truly disturbing game. Of course, you'll more than likely hear a couple of screams, or atleast some jumping out of yourself, but that's expected too. Also, the voice acting is actually decent here. The people that read these lines actually seem as if they've read the words before hand. When you get really lucky, you may even hear some emphasis out of their mouths!(but, let's not get out of control) Also, even though there is no in game soundtrack, the background music still gets the job done right. It's that kind of pretty silent, eerie, slow moving music that we've all come to know and love. Basically, people that liked the audios of RE will feel right at home in this new style survival/horror game.

Controls: 7/10-Are we tired yet?
Basically, if you're used to the control style of RE, you'll get into this scheme pretty easily as well. Basically, you'll still face the problem of having to move all the way around to attack at some points, and aim may be difficult now and again, but overall, it's not too shabby. Essentially, if you think that you're good with the X button, you won't have many problems either. Open the door with the X button, observe things with the X button, attack things with the X button, order a 2 liter of Mt. Dew with the X button.(Wait, that's my throat/brain talking) Oh, the only difference is that you must aim with the R1 button before shooting with the X button. Of course, unless you're an idiot, you'll realize that you walk with the old left analog stick. Also, you can use triangle to get your map out, and the the L2/R3 buttons to adjust the camera. More importantly though, the scheme is good, and it works. It doesn't take long to learn, and it's responsive. End of story.

End Of Story: Tricked Ya
Actually, that wasn't the end of the story, but this is.(trick of the day) Just as in the original, this game has multiple endings. But, unlike the first one, it's easier to get a good one in this version. I've seen 2 of the endings, one I liked, one I didn't, but it was all good. One thing that you will realize at the end of this game is that all that story crap in the beginning was pointless. They go back and start/finish everything for you, and you wonder why you wasted your time watching all that movie footage at the beginning. But, of course, these multiple endings do add a little replay value onto an already good game, and it was welcome in the house of the Pav.

Overall: Bang
With a now cheaper price, this game becomes an instant must own. And if you still don't want to fork over the cash to buy it, you should atleast rent it. And if you don't want to do that, you just wasted a lot of time reading this. Oh well, Pav enjoyed this game greatly. The mood is nice, the graphics are good, the memories are priceless. Although this game may not be for the younger children, this is a must play for any adult. It may scare you, it may not, but either way, it will give you some major enjoyment. Shifting gears, I can not wait for RE for GC which is only about 2 weeks away! Tommarow I may have a MP and after that I'll write about consoles. Thanks for reading this boat of a review,
-Pav