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.
