"Survival-horror. A combination of an adventure
game, tied in with the hybrid of a puzzle/FPS. Most games in the genre, have
never been highly successful and only a handful have made it to the next
level."
Scared silly
The first game I played that could be tied to the genre was Splatterhouse
for the Turbo Grafx 16. Other games since then have come and gone, with
only a few worth mentioning. Everyone is familiar with the Resident Evil
series; which now is going to become a major motion picture. Probably my
favorite in the genre was Parasite Eve made by Square. The
original Silent Hill was mildly successful on the Playstation, and
the sequel was also a hit for the PS2.
Konami wanted to dovetail off of the success of the PS2 version
and port it to the more powerful XBOX. Adding a few "bonuses"
for the port, I was excited to see the first survival-horror game to enter the
slot of Big Green.
For those not totally familiar with games in this genre; a survival-horror game
is a combination of different types of games. For the most part, the games views
are done in a 3/4 to first person view format. Trying to capture realism, most
functions are fairly ordinary and not "super powered". Along your
journey, they are multiple puzzles and riddles to solve; along with slight
interaction with your environment. The overall purpose of these games is to work
your brain to the max. This can be done through puzzles and riddles; but also
through fear itself.
Shush!
The storyline picks up where the original left off. Here is a brief
synopsis of the past occurrences. Our main character, James Sunderland,
receives a letter from wife who has been dead for three years. In the letter she
asks to meet him at a special location within the town of Silent Hill. Silent
Hill is more of a ghost town, with zombies lurking around every corner, with a
fog that nearly sucks the life out of you.
If you have played these types of games, the gameplay will come naturally to
you. If you could take the puzzle-factor from Myst and combine it with
the creepiness of Resident Evil you would have a good idea of what SH2
is all about. Before you tackle the game, prepare yourself for some frustration.
Although somewhat linear, the clues for the puzzles are few and far between.
Many times you will find yourself walking around trying to open locked doors;
just to find out you have to "trigger" an event that you have no clue
about.
Controlling our hopeless character can be quite a challenge. I personally found
the controls to be somewhat sloppy and very slippery. After about 30 minutes
into the game, the controls do ease up a bit, but you never feel a
personal "bond" between you and the character. Since the game is 99%
linear; you simply have to run around and finding clues. Once you acquire a
flashlight (it's actually a flash-pin) you can turn it on and off
using the white jellybean button (a la Halo). Pressing "Y" will
bring up your map (after you find one for each area) and your right
trigger is used to fire or swing your weapon. The right analog controller
controls your view and by holding in the left trigger you can look around.
Along your journey searching for clues, you can find certain items that are
event triggered and you can also find a variety of weapons. Weapons include
anything from a meat cleaver to a shotgun. Most weapon use is fairly standard
and some have some nice effects (especially the cleaver). However, most
of the times I was totally unimpressed with the quality of the weapon effects. A
good example of this is the use of the 2X4. While the animation is respectable,
the effects are horrible. If you swing next to a stationary item it clips and
swings through it. With today’s technology, I want the board to stop or
at least make a sound like I'm hitting something.
One of the XBOX exclusive bonuses, is the added Born From a Wish
scenario. In this scenario you get to play as Maria. Maria is a character you
meet up with in Silent Hill, and the "mission" runs parallel with the
main storyline. It's a good deal creepier than the main mission, and should give
XBOX owners and Silent Hill fans about four hours worth of extra
game time.
To be fair about the gameplay; it is one that experienced survival-horror fans
will appreciate; but for those who would rather move along a bit quicker, the
game will dry up quicker than gas in a fire. I found that for the most part the
exploratory and puzzles to be ingenious and addictive. The control, however, was
shady to say the least. With a sloppy learning curve, the obscure camera angles
plagued the game from start to finish. It seemed that Konami was trying
too hard to make this more like an interactive movie, and lost focus of making
it a gamers game.
Four legged promiscuous zombies
Where Silent Hill 2 takes a serious beating is in the visual and audio
category. The main reason for the negativity lies simply within the
inconsistencies throughout the game. At one point the game looks like a 16-bit
3D platformer with 256-bit effects (such as fog). At other times, the
close-ups are ultra-realistic with lame-o backgrounds.
I was thoroughly unimpressed and impressed at the same time. Ambient effects
were truly top-notch, and the fog was simply amazing. While roaming the streets
of Silent Hill, or traversing on the outskirts, the main character was total
garbage. The animations looked 86'ed and the detail on James was
retro-Nintendo. The streets, ambient effects and even the buildings, however,
looked top-notch and next generation. The roaming zombies were a bit more
detailed, but still left you wanting more.
Once in closed quarters the graphics went to a new level. Close-ups of James
were brilliant, along with the amazing water effects. Although the physics were
fairly average, water effects and lighting were awesome. Stepping through the
water would produce physically realistic ripples, and your
"flashlight" broke apart the dreariness around you. To be honest, I
was shocked at how good things really looked for the most part within the halls
of buildings. But at the same time, other details were either forgotten or
overlooked. For example: In the first apartment building you explore, there
are bars that block a hallway. The bars are two dimensional and flat; even
though everything around you is in brilliant 3D.
Details like this, made me question the integrity of Konami. As with most
games like this, camera angles have always been an issue with the continuity of
the game. The camera would either not move enough or spin wildly out of control
if you were in a tight closet. They were still livable, but still could have
used a serious overhaul.
Another XBOX exclusive, is the use of the "noise filter". In
the options you have the ability to turn the filter on or off. Turning the
filter on will filter (duh!) out the pixelation. The graininess was
intentional and done to add to the "aura" of the game. However, I
found it more annoying than effective and recommend turning the filter on.
Probably the most important factor with survival-horror games is the sound and
ambience that it produces. The visuals were fairly well done when it comes to
spooky; yet the audio is far from average and really downright horrible. The
first thing that triggered my pet-peeve meter is the sound of James as he
walked. The constant "flapping" as he walked was truly disgusting. The
footsteps sounded nearly identical no matter what or where he was walking.
Whether it be dirt, wood or pavement; the footsteps changed very little. And it
wasn't even a realistic sound.
Even before you get a chance to experience the terrible footsteps; just wait
until you hear the voice acting. This has to be the worst voice acting to
ever hit a video game. The best analogy I can give is if you can imagine Captain
Kirk playing a lead role in The Young and the Restless. Once you get
past the silly voice acting, and the horrible walking sound most of the sound does
improve.
When I said improve, I didn't mean IMPROVE, but it just didn't get any
worse. Sound effects were tinny and even though the surround-sound helped, I
couldn't help but get a feeling of an older gaming console. As original as the
zombies were, some of their effects were more annoying than scary. If you fail
to kill a zombie the first go, it will scamper around making a horrible
screeching noise that sounds more like nails on a chalkboard than a zombie in
pain. Also, the placement of sound was all but retarded. Stupid little
bugs would make more noise than a clan of zombies.
The soundtrack is equally as mundane. I rarely clenched my controller in fear,
and never jumped from the suspense a horror soundtrack should produce. The
effect of making me scared was never achieved from an audio perspective; even
though there were times the sound effects and soundtrack worked in unison
to bring some nice ambient effects. These times were far and few between; and
most of the better effects weren't heard until well into the game (eight
hours plus).
Lastly, the quirky radio plays a vital role within the game. You are equipped
with a perplexing radio that goes off when bad guys are near. The ability to
interpret the sounds is crucial into knowing the placement of the zombie hordes.
I found the effect uninspiring and almost distasteful. I see the effect they
were going for, but ended up being more of an annoyance than a clincher.
66 Says:
I had mixed emotions with the game. On one hand I like the suspense and riddles
that needed solving throughout the game. I also enjoyed some spectacular
graphics and amazing effects. On the other hand, the lack of exploration (linear
gameplay) and terrible sound effects really plagued the game. I also was not
keen on the control and shady camera angles.
For those who loved the first, or are well versed in the genre; you will have a
fulfilling experience. Others who are new to the genre will easily become
frustrated for lack of character. For every instance that I was impressed
another instance would occur making me unimpressed. I came so close to
recommending this game, that it's not funny. With easily 20 hours of game time,
the game definitely goes the distance.
My final annoyance in the game is the lack of a real "health meter".
With no onscreen visuals giving you signs of damage and health; you are required
to go to the options menu and check the status screen. An on-board meter could
really help in knowing how much damage you have taken, and also the effects of
health drinks on your status.
Overall this is a good port with enough extras to make it worthwhile for XBOX
owners. A rental wouldn't do it justice, simply because it takes anywhere from
20-30 hours to complete from start to finish. However, I can't recommend
purchasing this game unless you are a die-hard fan of the series or genre.
5.9
