SH2...Returning to town

Silent hill came out at the perfect time. It came out when nothing but crappy titles were coming out for the playstation. The only real title to claim throne to was the Resident Evil series which isn't exactly a walk in the park. But Silent Hill was something the WHOLE series wasn't....Afraid to take a chance. It was a deeply disturbing game that stayed in your mind forever. The storyline, which wasn't exactly straightforward but weird, but totally inconceivable. I could sum Silent Hill 1 in 1 word: Grotesque. And Silent Hill 2 isn't any different. But it is in a sense....it feels like the creators of the game didn't take the extra step further. Still, it makes for a hell of a ride. And it revolutionizes a new genre...OH MY GOD WHAT WAS THAT! Is that a genre? Didn't think so.

Tells the story of James Sunderland who lost his wife Mary to a tragic disease 3 years ago. Suddenly he recieves a letter addressed to him stating "James. I'm at our favorite spot. Waiting for you....Signed Mary." He knew she was dead, but somehow felt like she was alive and somewhere out there. So he set's out to Silent Hill. Little did he know that around every corner, and under every stone layed a terrible secret. And it was about to be revealed....

In the game, you meet a slew of characters all which enchance the storyline.
EDDIE: A fat man who seems to be the only sane person in the town. But inside, he's really hurting, and it's all gonna come out soon.
ANGELA: A little girl in the body of an adult, she looks for her mother while running away from her past and her abusive father.
LAURA: A young girl looking for the same person James is looking for, Mary. Claims she knew her, and has evidence to prove it!
MARIA:Captivating in everyway. She looks,smells, even talks like Mary. But inside she's not the same, and she's the leader in the game of Chess.

Graphics:
The town is as dark as ever. Fog still blurs your vision, even the line between fantasy and reality. This time the fog isn't there to hide the annoying popup, it's there to add to the overall atmosphere of the game which is byfar scary. The game's graphics are it's second high point, and if you do a little research you'll see that this is the best looking PS2 title yet.Even with the grain, which is used to give the movie a 8mm film like quality, it's still eyecandy. The lighting is beautiful thanks to your handy dandy flashlight which casts awesome looking shadows that no other system could handle well. The fog raps and revolves around you, it follows you, calls for you. The FMV, which is the game's shining star stands out! One word: AWE! On the back of the box it says "real to life FMV" and they aren't lying. The movement is fluid, never robotic like. Eyes, emotions,lips everything is just so damn perfect. The Emotion Engine really kicks in with this game, which is really the only game to take full effect of this. Even those who said the PS2 couldn't do good textures were dead wrong...I could feel the grime on the walls.

Sound:
Sound is definetly this game's high point because in a game like this, you need it. You need to hear things coming from each direction because that's what scares you. This game uses a thing called S-Force which uses your 2 main television speakers and makes it seem like there surround sound. It's really nice and has to been 'heard' to be believed. Voice acting is a plus, because no other game has this kind of voice acting. Resident Evil pales in comparison to this game. Thank god, finally someone in the world hires decent voice acters for an above average game. There isn't any really music to the game, only when a certain scene happens. But it doesn't take away from this game because silence is what really makes this game fear inducing.

Control: Control is basically the same as the first. Except this time you have the option to change it to 2-d (Which is considered Mario like). I never had a real problem with this control but some people complain that it's to clumsy. People like tight control and this is somewhat loose. A little like Resident Evil, just loser. Move with analog, run with square, take aim with r2 whether it be a stick or a gun. It's all there, and nothing that really causes you to die in a game.

Gameplay: Gameplay can really be a drag no matter what way you look at it. It's the same find the key, open the door and solve the puzzle type thing that's been going on in this survival horror genre for a while. The only thing that saves it for being repetitive is the constant cut scenes and the feeling of wanting more. I never really got bored. It could be a little tighter, or could even have some more sub-plots or extra things to do but we have to work with what we have.

Storyline: The storyline in my opinion is a step below the first game. It's not bad mind you, but the overall Love story is kinda watered down. Silent Hill 1 had an in your face, what the hell just happened there story. This game on the other hand, is more like damn I feel bad for him, whoa wasn't that weird type story. It's not bad in anyway, and actually adds a sad feeling to the game. But the more fan based silent hillers might feel disappointed.

Replayability: It's almost on the same level as the first game but not as much weapons are given to you. From what I see, you get the option to turn off the grain filter that covers the screen to lend that eerie feeling and turn it into a sharper looking game, or something about bullets and the amount you have. I never understood that....But I plan to play at least 3 more times to attain the 4 different endings the game has. From what I hear, they are all good endings and that alone should add replayability.

Most asked questions:
Do You need to play the first game to play this game? Nope. This game could stand alone all by itself. The game has no comparison to the first game except the town itself. And the fog of course...hehe.

Is It scary?
Not as much as the first game. But the power of the PS2 lends itself to the atmosphere of the game which can make you feel unsettled. Play it with the lights out and you might get a little spooked, but the original still holds the throne for the "most scariest game ever created"!

Overall: Silent Hill 2 is the latest effort from Konami to scare the hell out of it's consumers. It works too. Everything in the first game, and then some. But in the end, I felt the overall feel was all flash and no show. No matter what though, silent hill 2 isn't a game to take lightly, and it's definetly the better choice of the past 2 years. Happy trails....