Silent Hill 2

aka: Jijing Ling 2, SH2
Moby ID: 5870
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Description

The player is cast in the role of James Sunderland, an at first sight normal person who got confused, as anyone else would, when he received a letter from his wife asking him to come to Silent Hill, their special place. The only problem is that his wife died three years ago, and has kept the secrets surrounding her death. James decides to honor the letter's request, wondering if this is a sick joke or if there is more to this. As James reaches the outskirts of the town, he finds that the road is blocked, and parks at an abandoned restroom. Little does he realize that this is the first step forward into the mystery of Silent Hill and his own past.

Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror game. The gameplay is similar to that of the first installment. The player navigates James around the town of Silent Hill and collects weapons, health-restoring items, and objects needed to solve puzzles in an unlimited inventory. A radio alerts James when enemies are near. Like the protagonist of the first game, James is not very skillful in combat; he can fight with basic melee weapons or firearms with scarce ammunition. Most of the puzzles are logic-based and are often shaped like riddles, though there are a few simple inventory-based tasks as well.

While the basic concept is the same as in the previous entry, the game is set in a part of town that was unexplored in it, and the weapons and enemies are mostly new as well. Also new is the ability to change the standard "survival horror" (character-dependent) controls into the more widespread, 3D (camera-dependent) navigation. The difficulty level can be adjusted separately for combat and puzzles.

Spellings

  • サイレントヒル2 - Japanese spelling
  • 寂静岭2 - Simplified Chinese spelling
  • 사일런트 힐 2 - Korean spelling

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Credits (PlayStation 2 version)

109 People (82 developers, 27 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 90% (based on 34 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.3 out of 5 (based on 101 ratings with 6 reviews)

Survival Horror at its finest... at least, for now...

The Good
The good thing about this being my first Silent Hill game, I instantly come to terms with the controls, being a fan of the very similar Resident Evil series. With this, the weird-but-unique story kept things interesting, which constantly made you wonder what's going to happen next. This was complimented by its graphics (which, in some FMVs, seemed very realistic) and its great level design. There was little variety of weapons, but most give satisfying results - I myself just used the steel pipe and handgun, mostly because fighting a scary monster up close is better than picking him off at a distance.

The horror and suspense element, and the puzzle element too, was used in a way which was actually quite scary at some times. It was scary that much, I saved like every 10 minutes hoping not to die (I was on "Hard" action mode). The characters and enemy design are fine, the graphics are good, the story is great and the shock horror is just fantastic.

Another great feature I don't remember seeing in other games is the TWO difficulty options - in most games, you choose Easy, Normal or Hard (in some cases, Extreme) - but this game give you the option of choosing how hard the action will be, and how hard the puzzles will be. Thus, if your a genius, you could have "Hard puzzle" but with "Easy action". If you love killing monsters, you'll choose the opposite, but if you want a balance game of both, just put both on Normal. The game has little, but alas, still some, replay value. There are many endings (which I won't spoil), which include about 3 "nice" endings, 1 "bad" ending, and a quite funny "goofy" ending.

Plus, on top of all that - there are extra things to unlock once you have completed the game.

The Bad
What I didn't like the most was probably the voice acting. James', Marias' and Marys' voices were okay, but Eddies' and the other womans' voices could - and should of been - improved on. And apart from the low variety of weapons (mentioned above) made the game feel as if it lacked the right action. But then again, its survival-based, not action-based, but still; a cool magnum would be nice.

The Bottom Line
This game is probably one of the highlights of survival horror on the PlayStation 2 (and other consoles it were on), after the game Resident Evil 4 - but that's "horror-action", this is "horror-survival". I hear they brought out an improved version of this game, which includes an extra "goofy" ending. If you're a fan of the early Resident Evil titles (those released before Resident Evil 4), and love monsters, horror, or just puzzles this game is for you, especially if you like everything mentioned above. However, if you're going to buy this game, better off with the "special" platinum edition of this game (aka "Director's Cut"), or maybe even "The Silent Hill Collection" (which includes Silent Hill 2, 3 and 4).

PlayStation 2 · by Reborn_Demon (127) · 2006

A masterpiece and a benchmark for smart, psychological horror.

The Good
In my restless dreams...

Today, I would like you do to something for me. If you have the chance, please go to your local Gamestop/EB Games/GAME store and have a look at the selection of games on offer. If you notice an endless slew of corridor shooters, Halo clones or poorly developed "casual" games then it doesn't surprise me whatsoever. The video game industry is different now. The video game industry has mass market appeal wherein if everything is bigger, bolder and better then it is a guaranteed seller. Take Modern Warfare for example, quite possibly the most popular series of the last few years yet totally bereft of creativity. That isn't to say it is impossible to find an inventive, quality game, it's just harder than say 10 years ago where the shelf was full of them because that is all developers had.

The story of Silent Hill 2, the conceptual design behind it and the execution of the marketing promotions stands as a testament to a time that modern gamers and kids born after 1995 couldn't possibly begin to understand or appreciate.

Silent Hill 2 was comprised of a team of men that were so irrepressibly talented and that displayed such genius in the subtleties surrounding the game design that any awards they received for the game were well deserved. Masahiro Ito sat for hours in front of his mirror, studying his own facial expressions in hundreds of positions to get the perfect set of expressions for his characters. Akira Yamaoka retreated to his home for 3 days merely to compose the games iconic theme song and Hiroyuki Owaku employed actual psychological phenomena such as the division between Eros and Thanatos when writing the scenario.

These men didn't simply rely on motion capture, a stock horror storyline with a simple twist and a thumping electronic soundtrack to rely on scaring the player while they played the game. The level of immersion, the way the characters moved, the sound design, the believability and ambiguity of the storyline were all paramount concerns. In other words, virtually every single stylistic element of Silent Hill was polished to an incandescent sheen in the same space of time it takes developers now to roll out another Halo clone or casual game collection.

The level of commitment the team displayed while developing the game is not immediately evident, which is a shame. The labours of love are something that need to be allowed to soak in to appreciate. When you begin to notice subtle environmental hints like gunshots in a wall or subtle changes in a characters intonation that you might have missed several times before the layers begin to pile up and you feel how much of a grand work that Silent Hill 2 is.

Being so isolated, so alone in a totally alien place is the fundamental driving force behind the fear generated by Silent Hill 2. From the long walk at the start to the dark, quiet buildings that dot the foggy town you are always alone and no one is there to help you. You cannot call a helicopter or a buddy in a jeep, there is no one left to call. James is thoroughly alone in this horrible place, yet he is also accompanied by a ghost, or is she really who she looks like? Is it all in James' tormented mind?

Controlling James is very familiar, R2 readies your weapon and X fires it. Your inventory is basically lifted straight from Silent Hill and the line up of weapons is very similar. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the way James controls but the combat can be a bit hit and miss.

One genius feature introduced in Silent Hill 2 was the prompt to decide the level of difficulty when solving puzzles as well as general gameplay. The variety provided by this mechanic requires a level of familiarity with the puzzles on previous difficulties and when playing on hard the cryptic and baffling clues provided by the game require some real thinking, that is if you haven't played the game before.

The general flow of the game, gentle prompting from location to location and genius design of the "dungeon" areas eliminate any wandering you might encounter through the vast, intimidating streets of Silent Hill. The actual map isn't at all big, however the brilliant use of volumetric fog and the inclusion of optionally explorable alleyways and side streets lend to the town feeling much more massive than the map alludes to. You feel so tiny and fragile, helpless and alone. It's one of the most effective devices at eliciting fear in a player I have experienced since the Camera Obscura in Fatal Frame.

I wanted to mention Akira Yamaoka. I am a devout fan of this musical genius' work. He has this innate ability to stir emotions in you through his music. I'm not simply saying his music makes you feel frightened, sad or happy. I'm talking about something deeper. His music makes you feel the basest versions of these emotions, something in Akira's music has the power to burrow into you and force the most profound depression, anxiety or contentment from you. Every chilling, otherworldy sound effect that is uttered from the aberrations that stalk the streets and every single foot step has been meticulously recorded and filtered to augment James' dire situation. Take time to appreciate Akira's work as it is one of the highlights of the entire experience.

The Bad
With so much effort into presenting a believable environment with believable characters it is a shame that James seems to run in a spastic sort of way, flailing his arms as he blocky feet pound the pavement. Everyone else animates fine, there is just something odd about the way James runs and walks with an almost cocky self assurance.

Some environmental details that were not intended on being the focal point of a room lack textural detail and look slightly cheap. It's noticeable in things like bed frames, shop fronts or signs. You're not going to notice it a lot as you'll have other things on your mind, but it's definitely there.

Combat is a little hit and miss. Camera angles occasional work to your disadvantage as you'll have to judge the depth between you and an enemy on the fly and often the enemy will come off better. It happens with bosses as well, I've been in situations where boss fights should have been shorter but I simply kept missing shots or melee weapon swings because of the way the camera angle was designed.

The Bottom Line
Silent Hill 2 is a profoundly moving game, full of subtlety and psychological nuance that is missing in a modern video game market bereft of creativity.

The sheer level of dedication displayed by a team composed of genius level designers, scenario writers and art directors shines through an almost faultless veneer of graphical competency. Each face has been exhaustingly designed, each character has been built from a foundation of typical human flaws, each location is packed with subtle detail and tense atmosphere and each chilling encounter leaves you out of breath and with chills running down your spine.

What few faults there are make no difference to your enjoyment of and immersion in the games twisted reality. Silent Hill 2 is like nothing ever made nor will any game ever transcend how visceral and terrifying it is no matter how closely they ape the style.

PlayStation 2 · by AkibaTechno (238) · 2010

Terrifying visuals, eerie sounds and sexual depravity – you’re in for a treat.

The Good
Silent Hill 2 exceeds its predecessor in all departments, so being a Silent Hill fan I thoroughly enjoyed everything about the sequel. Let’s start with the visuals. This game is visually stunning, bringing the power of the PS2 to the max, and holding up outstandingly even to today’s standards. The high point of the visual looks are really the creatures in the game, with much more individual detail to them than the ones on the previous game – an example of this is the now iconic Pyramid Head, which has become the series mascot of sorts. Regarding the soundtrack, I’d say Akira Yamaoka really outdid himself with this game. Surpassing the original soundtrack is already saying a lot, but the tunes in Silent Hill 2 are really some of the most beautifully horrifying ever, and it shows. The sound blends perfectly with the visuals, creating an atmosphere of everlasting tension, which is one of Silent Hill 2’s most pervasive elements. The gameplay is really where this game and the previous one differ the most – Henry (Silent Hill 2’s protagonist) is much more easily controllable than Harry from the first game. Controls are simply more fluid, and a very welcome addition. And of course, there’s the highly intelligent plot, filled with suspense and surprising plot twists which will stay with you long after you finish the game. There is also a great deal of sexual innuendo throughout, which is unusual for video games, but fits Silent Hill 2 perfectly.

The Bad
There really isn’t anything I didn’t like about this game. It is an absolute masterpiece. If I were to be extremely picky and point any fault at all, it would be the somewhat diminishing returns the game has – after you finish it the first time, subsequent playthroughs simply won’t be as intense. Still, I find myself replaying the game over the years, so I guess it really is a minor thing.

The Bottom Line
Silent Hill 2 can be best described as a venture into the human psyche, addressing delicate themes such as fear, guilt, frustration, obsession, and sex. 13 years since its release, and no other horror game has come out that could even begin to compare. A must-play for sure.

PlayStation 2 · by Rik Hideto (473497) · 2014

[ View all 6 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Silent Hill 2 appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Demake

In September 2008 the game was "demade" for the TIGSource Bootleg Demakes competition as Soundless Mountain II.

Awards

  • GameSpy
    • 2001 – Best Movie Trailer of the Year

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by MAT.

Additional contributors: Trixter, Unicorn Lynx, phlux, Sciere, Zeppin, DreinIX, Patrick Bregger, Rik Hideto, FatherJack.

Game added February 26, 2002. Last modified February 12, 2024.