A new kind of horror..... (Silent Hill 2 (PS2))

Member Name: Iclements

Product:	Silent Hill 2 (PS2)
Date:	25/10/01 (185 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Masterful plot, Amazing sound, Unbeatable atmosphere

Disadvantages: Same game mechanics as Resident Evil, Slow start, May be too intense for some

Games which try and scare you are a funny old bunch, anyone who can think back far enough to the early days of the Atari ST, Amiga, and P.C will remember a tide of ill-advised FMV 'horror' games which were only disturbing because of their low production values and terrible acting.

We want to be scared because it's a sensation we rarely have to endure in modern life, but we want to be scared in SAFE circumstances - it's no good sampling fear if you know it'll probably end in injury or a bad outcome, that's where videogames come in, we can live vicariously through them.

That is, to be precise, where Silent Hill 2 comes in.

This game offers up a totally different kind of fright to the Resident Evil series, whereas RE was content with the gaming equivalent of jumping out at you at unexpecting moments and shouting 'BOO!', Silent Hill 2 goes for the more psychological, than visceral, approach. Make no mistake, if you love Resident Evil then it's quite possible you won't like Silent Hill 2, true - the controls and combat are more or less the same, but you can't sit back and just wait for the game to throw something frightening at you, it isn't like that.

SH2 doesn't so much take the approach of terrifying monsters and outlandish scenarios ( although both of these do exist to an extent in the game ), but rather focusses on the evil which exists in each and every one of us, and slowly draws it out by showing that every character in the game has a guilty secret, and it is that guilt and sin which has drawn them to the town.

The story begins with James Sanderland recieving a letter from his wife Mary asking him to meet her in Silent Hill, nothing strange about that you might think - the problem is Mary died three years ago. Not believing that his wife could still be alive, but having nothing else important in his life anymore, James travels to Silent Hill to find out the truth, a
nd this is where the game picks up.

All the trademarks of Silent Hill are here, most notably the dense fog. Keen to exploit the extra power of the Playstation2, however, Konami have now made it as close to a real fog as you could expect to see on a home console. It twists and swirls around you, abates and intensifies, and the atmosphere this effect alone generates is unsurpassed.

Another of the new visual touches you will first notice is what has been referred to as the 'white noise' effect of the graphics, like the visuals of films such as 'Blair Witch Project' SH2 adds a deliberate graininess to it's graphics, making the game seem as though it could be someone's half-remembered memory. Although this effect might be off-putting to some at first it quickly becomes evident just how effective it is, both the fog and the 'graininess' serve to make you feel disorientated and unsettled, confounding your expectations.

Indeed, much of the game is like this, nothing is quite as it seems. When you finally enter the town and begin to meet those who have remained, you struggle to find some meaning or reason to their actions. Your character himself tries to relate to them, thinking his personality far removed from these troubled individuals, but as the game progresses you learn that James is far from free of his own personal demons.

Tension-building aids such as the radio from the first game, which builds to a crackling pitch whenever a monster is near, and the flashlight, make a welcome return. Most of the game is played out in a near-darkness, so the flashlight is just as important as before, but, again, the developers have used the extra power at their disposal to enhance the reflections and shadows caused by the flashlight's beam - adding an eerie, haunted house quality to every new area which you explore. Weapons are mostly the same as in the first game, a few close-combat items such as a lea
d-pipe, wooden plank, and other ranged weapons like a pistol, shotgun, and hunting rifle.

Combat itself is, as I mentioned, very similar to Resident Evil. The shoulder buttons of the Dualshock are used to ready your character in a fighting stance, and, with one of these still held down, the X button delivers a shot/hit. James is not a marksman like the STARS members of Resident Evil however, so his range and aim with the pistol and shotgun is limited, some have complained of this being an oversight but I think it adds to the feeling of controlling an ordinary man in an extraordinary situation.

Other controls, such as the X button as a general action/examine button, the square button for running, Start button to access your inventory/memo screen, and Triangle button to bring up the in-game map could all have been lifted straight from Resident Evil. Although, as in the first game, when you reached a locked/broken door or impassible area, it is marked on your map in red marker pen, thankfully reducing time spent wandering aimlessly to a bear minimum.

Which brings us finally to sound, the killing blow of Silent Hill 2. If you can, play this game on a good sound system, with a number of speakers, and the effect on your nerves will be immense. Every room has it's own signature sound, from the loud grinding of what sounds like industrial machinery to quietly whispered voices. The movements of creatures, heard but never seen, are also much in evidence, adding again to the 'Blair-Witch' feel of the game, playing on your imagination with what seems to be a minimum of 'actual' frights.

So there it is, a lengthy review which, I feel, loosely describes a masterpiece of gaming design. Make no mistake, this game is not for everyone however, some may find it too extreme, even upsetting, while others would rubbish it's lack of combat over Resident Evil, discounting the psycholgical build-up and preferring to go for
all-out adrenaline induced thrills.

I think the best way to put it is this - do you prefer to read a good book, losing yourself in the characters and their situations, working with the author to create his chosen atmosphere? Or would you rather go for an all-out action flick, with plenty of explosions, thrills, but the bare bones of a plot and dialogue which, at times, only exists to fill the spaces between scenes?

If you are the first category, buy this game. If not, you should probably stay away.

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