Silent Hill 2

I'm one of those guys who likes scary games. Resident Evil. Eternal Darkness. But one game series I've always respected as the utmost scariest has been Silent Hill. No other game series has been as scary, disturbing, or generally freaky. Resident Evil quickly turns into a zombie massacre. Eternal Darkness gets cheesy fast. But, Silent Hill remains as something like a mix of traditional Japanese horror flicks and just plain out wierdness.

In Silent Hill 2 for the PS2 and PC, it takes you back to the small town of Silent Hill. Going through the town covered in a thick blanket of fog, you play as James Sunderland, a man who recently recieved a letter from his dead wife. Trying to find her like some sort of idiot, he travels to Silent Hill, where he discovers freaky, disturbing, meaningless things that are the horrors of Silent Hill.



The game is very long and complex, typical of the series. You go from "Level" to "Level" completing various puzzles and beating/shooting various things as you make your way through the town looking for your dead wife. Apparently, James isn't very bright, and is convinced that she should be alive for some stupid reason. Dumbass. However, to not spoil the story, I do have to say that the game progresses well and doesn't leave you at a "Dead zone" story-wise, so you'll never feel like it's a "Get from point A to point B" game.

The original Silent Hill wasn't as scary due to the graphics and general presentation. Konami did their best with the PS1's hardware, but there wasn't much you really COULD do. With the PS2 version, it's a whole different story. Strange lighting effects, fog all over the place, and dark monsters crawling toward you all make up the great graphical update from the previous version. Frankly, it's almost like watching a real, honest to god horror film. And that's a good thing.



However, one thing was notoriously not fixed, and that was the controls. The controls are sometimes just a pain in the ass. On the PC and the PS2, they use the same old Resident Evil style camera that forces you into positions where you can't see 360 degrees around you, and you definately feel that. For example, if you're in a hallway, you usually are forced to see up one direction of the hallway, blind to anything behind you. So something could easily sneak up behind you. Great.

Looking for a scary game? This is probably your best choice for the PS2, excluding the other sequels to it. It's scary, well done, and basically like one big interactive horror movie. However, if you're looking for something with more action akin to the Resident Evil
series, I'd recommend staying away from this series, as you'll find it slower than s***. If it weren't for the controls....

4 star(s) out of 5

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