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Immersive and unsettling...gotta love it.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 40 / 42
Date: January 09, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Most video games, especially those of the action/adventure genre, have you playing as some larger than life character. Some sort of secret-agent-ninja-commando-death-squad-special-forces-assassin type thing. Not Silent Hill 2. In this one, you are James Sunderland, an average person without special skills or training.

And you know what? It's a really welcome change from the norm, and it really helps the atmosphere of the game to not have that kind of action-movie nonsense infiltrating what it supposed to be a horror experience.

It begins with our protaganist inside a rest-stop on the outskirts of Silent Hill. He's contemplating the letter that he just received from Mary, his wife who he'd thought was dead for the past three years. He must venture into Silent Hill to get the answers behind that letter.

Not a bad opening storyline, and games like this rely most heavily upon story. Actually, calling this one a "game" is perhaps a bit of a misnomer--it feels more like an interactive experience. You *experience* Silent Hill 2 more than play it.

But, the gameplay aspect is there as well, in the form of monster battles and puzzles. One of the greatest things about this title is that it allows you to vary the difficulty of either of these aspects. You can set the puzzles from ultra-easy to ultra hard, and you can set the monster battles in the same way, or even set it so that you won't get attacked at all--just enjoy the atmosphere and storyline. You can really customize the game to your tastes this way.

The atmosphere is great. I like to play it at night, or on a gloomy winter day, with all of the lights off. Just make sure that nobody can sneak up on you, or you'll likely have a heart attack! Games like this are actually perhaps scarier than a horror movie or novel; the interactive aspect making immersion more of a factor.

This game actually isn't perfect. The interface is a bit clunky and, on normal setting, at least, the puzzles can be rather obscure. This can lead to puzzle-frustration, the Achille's heel of adventure games. You'll likely find yourself wandering around the same places over and over again, saying "what the hell?" when you have no idea what you're looking for or are supposed to do. But, when you finally do figure it out, it's a satisfying experience. Also, combat is pretty awkward, but, like I said, James Sunderland is just an average guy, so this makes some sense.

With these minor flaws, my real score is about a 4.5, so it gets five stars by default.

This game is available for both PS2 and Xbox. Either version is worth playing, but the Xbox version has slightly enhanced graphics and a side quest, which adds some game time and makes it the better version.

Silent Hill 2 is highly recommended to anyone age seventeen or older.

The best game I ever played

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 20
Date: April 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Silent Hill is the BEST!!!! First of all you get sucked into the story, you want to find out what is going on.Why does this James dude want to find his wife when he knows his wife is dead? Is his wife really dead? Why did all the people in the town turn into monsters? Once you start picking up clues, keys, cracking up codes you hesitate to move on because you don't know what is waiting for you in the next corner or in the next room, everytime you hear the static from the monsters you get scared out of your wits because you don't know in what direction their coming from, everything is dark and foggy and there's something in your surroundings that tells you that evil is constantly watching your every move.
Don't listen to people who say this game is boring, they say its boring because they can't crack the riddles and move on. If you are good at solving puzzles and you're interested in mysteries then this is the game for you.
I didn't get around in playing the game more than once to see the different endings but my ending just blew me out of my seat. As I was going through the game I had an idea of what the ending was going to be like and when I got to the end my jaw dropped to the floor.
I caught a glimse of the PS2 version but to me the movements of the main character did not seem too lifelike, it was more like a puppet kind of movement. PLUS you can't play that chick character, whatever her name is, in the PS2 version WHICH WOULD ... because its pretty comforting having a little helper around when you're all alone, surrounded by monsters and psycho people.
My advice for people who are thinking of buying it: read everything you can get your hands on, if you have some objects but don't know how to use them then read the articles you picked up they might help you. If you get stuck somewhere and logic does not get you out of the situation then try some illogical things. DO NEVER EVER EVER cheat because it takes the fun away and it also takes away your sense of accomplishment when you finish it. If you have previous experience with role-playing games and know how puzzles work then you will definately have fun.

Extraordinary game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 14 / 15
Date: December 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

It's not often that a movie or a game scares me, but Silent Hill 2 is one of those games that totally freak me out. The core of this game is to create psychological frights, which is a nice change from cheap "boo"-type scares games like Resident Evil relies on. The plot is very well developed, and the storyline proceeds greatly throughout the game. I don't want to give anything away, but I can guarantee that you'll sit staring at your television screen going "What the..." when the credits start rolling. There are some serious mind-games going on here.

A great feature is that you can choose both puzzle and action difficulty. If you're an adventure fan like me, you can put the action level down to easy, the puzzle level to the hardest, and you all of a sudden have pretty much a pure adventure game. If you're an action fan, just reverse it. A great feature.

The graphics are great throughout, and so are the cut-scenes, but it's the music and sound that really sets the atmosphere. Walk out of a room, and you'll hear a gunshot and a scream from the door you can't get open. Add the amazing music on the top of this, and you've got one of the better sounding games in recent memory.

Silent Hill 2 is pure atmosphere, and with five different endings, and different clues to the secret of Silent Hill in each game, the re-playability value is high. This is a good thing, seeing that the game is so short, which again is its only drawback. The extra Maria scenario adds about an hour more of gameplay, but no major new plot development comes from it, although it's a great short-story on its own.

If you already own the PS2 version there's not a lot more to see in this version, but if you don't get this game now. Extraordinary storyline, top of the line graphics and sound, tons of atmosphere... Silent Hill 2 has it all.

XBox proves how great a game can be, this is a SCARY ONE!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: February 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The XBox Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams is an awesome game for several reasons.

1.) The graphics, playabilty & sound are awesome!

NOTE: If you have Surround Sound and you play this in the dark I guarantee you will get a real thrill.

2.) The game allows you to choose difficulty levels from Easy to Hard.

3.) There are multiple endings so your game actions and paths taken effect your journey to the end.

4.) Puzzles are abundant, need to be solved to complete the unfolding storyline. (Learn as you go why you are here & what you are trying to accomplish).

Summary: You are James Sunderland returning to Silent Hill three years after your wife died. Why? Because you received a letter recently from your dead wife asking you to meet her at your special place in Silent Hill!! Upon your arrival in Silent Hill there is a heavy eerie fog allowing you a very limited visibilty. The sounds are strange & provoking. Mysterious characters & undead are about. You mission is to unravel the mysteries of your dead wife Mary & you with all the mysteries of Silent Hill.

This is a game which is a challenging problem solving adventure which at times can scare the dickens out of you. Beautifully done. Enjoy.

Scary

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 21
Date: November 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Hello. Hi. If you get easily freaked out and you're old, don't play this game because it will give you a heart attack... If you LIKE getting scared, because it's fun, this game is for you! This game IS SO FAR the most scariest game ever... Compared to Resident Evil, this game blows Resident Evil out of the water... this game is so scary that it will keep you thinking about it long after you beat it... and by the way, play with the light on or you will get scared, and if you're like "oh no GAMES don't scare me--AT LEAST rent it and see... This game is MAD scary and EVEN tho it has 5 different endings, you won't feel like playing it again... after you beat it once.

The most solid example of SH: Same mood and imagery, but greatest, most coherent story.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: September 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

THE SHORT: Less gory and satanic than the first game, but with a great story- the most coherent and understandable in the series, and with a fantastic twist at the end. 5 possible endings, great atmosphere. Sometimes frustrating (but adjustable) puzzle difficulty but fairly easy fighting.

THE LONG: The original game was great- similar to Resident Evil but unique enough to stand on its own, the game was dark, disturbing and satanic. The problem was, the storyline was so ambitious that it got pretty sloppy and weird at the end, with some plot details (such as a drug cult) not as fleshed out as it should have been. This game fixes things by concentrating on the main character, whose journey to the same town of Silent Hill is brought on by a letter that he received from his wife. Though dead from a fatal illness, her very writing asks James to return to the town, the site of some bittersweet memories for them.

As James travels through town, he meets some strange people who all seem to be off in some way. One is remarkably passive/ aggressive, one is suicidal, one is a little girl who seems to know him, and one of them is a woman who looks just like his dead wife, which brings out some conflicting emotions in James. These characters come and go as the game goes on, and they occasionally do some odd things. But the beauty of the story is that, when all is said and done, the motivation for these characters makes absolute sense- once you realize what they mean to James and why they're in Silent Hill in the first place. Whereas the first game unravels with a lot of obscure mythological references to religious artifacts and demonic possession, this one is strengthened completely at its conclusion, a conclusion that makes us rethink the motives and actions of every character in the game.

This is true of the game's biggest, most dynamic character- Pyramid Head. An apparent humanoid with a strange, triangular shape of flesh or metal on (or in place of) its head, this character represents sheer malice to James. From the moment he discovers it in an abandoned apartment building to the time he discovers hints of its origins, Pyramid Head is one of, if not the most, creepy of the series' foes. He isn't all over you in the game but instead appears occasionally from the shadows, often when you least expect him, slowly but steadily approaching James as he tries to flee. And once you learn what little you can of him near the end, it adds to the finale more than any of the other characters. Pyramid Head has a purpose, and once it's revealed what that purpose is, that great ending starts to form and you realize how psychologically powerful this game is.

All this story would be moot if there wasn't a good presentation, which there definitely is. Like the original game, your character wanders around a misty, fog-enshrouded abandoned town where nothing feels right and glimpses of things skittering about are caught. The game starts slowly, intentionally- don't get too impatient when first running through the woods and into town, it's meant to be suspenseful and build the mood. And by the time you're an hour or so into the game, what a mood it is. This game contains what's surely one of the most unsettling locations in the series- at one important juncture you enter the town's historical society and descend several hundred feet into ground, only to find a morgue, bloody pits that go farther and farther down, and Silent Hill's long abandoned underground prison. This location alone sets some great mood, as you see scrawls of long-dead prisoners and hear things from unseen places (listen for the heavy footsteps of something that seems to be whispering "Hurt you").

The mood is also heightened by little glimpses of the town that you find. You read about a grisly child killing and hear about a mysterious shipwreck, and learn the fascinating story of why a swamp got its bloody name. Like the first game, things are never quite right- but once "the darkness" falls, things get more twisted and you're in a nightmare world. And this world seems tailor made to oppress James.

This is the first in the series to allow both free roaming controls as well as the remote-control car style used in the original game, and other things, such as the boxes of bullets and first aid kits, will be familiar to players of the first game. As will the radio that emits louder and louder white noise as you approach, and the trusty flashlight (which you'll definitely be using). So it's the same gameplay to those familiar with the series and other games like it. Puzzle difficulty is actually adjustable and quite easy on the simplest level, so this game won't have you running for a strategy guide. Unfortunately, combat is also somwehat simple. There are some neat boss fights but the rest of the game is more about exploring, not fighting (though there's a lot to fight should you choose). But this lean on exploration is appreciated since this game gives you the biggest glimpse into what Silent Hill is really like.

Lastly, there's the basic version of this game and then the updated one for several systems that contains a few new options as well as a new mini-quest revolving around the character of Maria. This is the one to get, as price-wise they're about the same, but don't expect much- the new quest is less than an hour long though it does add some interesting perspective to the game.

Long story short, it's the same Silent Hill that you may have liked in part one, and before things got increasingly less Silent Hill-ish with the next couple games. So play this game for the most definitive, moody Silent Hill in the series, and for the best, most understandable story as well- one of the best and most mature game stories in general. After all, Roger Avery, Oscar winning co-writer of Pulp Fiction, is doing the Silent Hill movie- and this one's his favorite too.

Amazing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 13
Date: December 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Beautiful game. The sounds are realistic, the graphics are sweet, the story is nice, great creatures and easy to handle controls. What Resident Evil should have been. If you like survival horrors, this is the best one yet...

Finally! A video game for intelligent people!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: August 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is one of my favorite games. I'll tell you why it's so great: not because you can let loose all of those aggressive instincts and have some mindless fun (like you get to do in Halo, for instance). There seem to be too many of those types of games. No. It's great because most of the gameplay concentrates on searching for clues to solve puzzles. You actually get to use that little noggin' of yours and think! I realize that's a revolutionary concept! A video game that forces you to think! Why play it then? Well, I for one, love to think. I love trying to outwit my opponent. That's why this game is so good.

Also, the element of suspense in this game becomes predominant. Not only do you have to think in order to solve problems (sounds like school, don't it?), but, at the same time, you have to focus on remaining alive. You never know what's gonna be around the corner, all you know is that whatever it is (if there is something) it's gonna be bad! Sounds exciting, doesn't it?

This game will not go over well with those people who hate to think or else don't do it very well. Consequently, those of you who like games like Halo may not like this game very much. In Halo, all you have to do is keep pressing the button on your pad that will make your gun fire and aim at those funny little aliens that always pop up into the open where it's the easiest to kill them all. What fun is that? In this game, the bad guys are a lot more nefarious than that. You go for long stretches without even encountering one. This is done purposely - to build up the suspense. And, it works! You never know what's going to happen next. In Halo, you didn't care. As long as you could keep shooting, you were always safe. There was absolutely no suspense in that game. That's why it was so boring! If you like suspense, there's no way you would ever find this game boring.

The only problem with this game is the camera angles. You can't use your right joystick to change your perspective. The perspective, for the most part, is frozen. However, the game developers probably did this on purpose. You aren't given a full view of your surroundings at any one time to increase the suspense. After all, if you could see everything around you, it wouldn't be nearly as suspenseful now, would it?

This game will become a classic like Halo, but for very different reasons. I have to admit it - Halo was fun. This game is not very fun. It's like going to a scary movie. You don't go to a scary movie to have fun. You go to a scary movie to be scared. Don't buy this game because you think it'll be fun. You'll be disappointed. Buy this game because you want to be scared. I can guarantee you - you won't be disappointed. Everything in this game is intended not to make your life any easier. It's intended to make you scared. No wonder, then, that some of the weapons you get seem so difficult to use. They're just things you happen to find lying around a deserted town. Because of this, you won't get to drive a tank (like you do in Halo). But, this just makes the game more challenging. If you like being challenged, buy this game. If not, buy Halo.

Watch out 'the thing'

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 22
Date: December 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

i played this demo of silent hill 2 for x box is real great good game first the graphics are so sweet not like the playstation 2 version that is all fogy all game,hated that one the X BOX sure has POWER,second is the most scarry game i ever played,if you though resident evil was so scary you are wrong because SILENT HILL 2 MAKES RESIDENT EVIL A COMIC BOOK GAME LIKE SPIDERMAN ETC.sh2 is my best game for the xbox...please buy it..

A Silent Hill veteran gives the sequel a solid 5 stars

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The "Silent Hill" series is hard for me to refer to as 'video games'...they are, quite literally, a state of mind. Die-hard fanatics of other 'Survival Horror' games may find the series disappointing and, above-all, confusing. To thoroughly enjoy these games you must let go any precepts you have about a literal norm that 'everything in the world has an explanation'. In the world of Silent Hill, this is far from the truth...and that's what makes it scary.

Like it's predecessor, Silent Hill 2 puts you into a world of horror and psychological terror as you venture through the infamous town limits of Silent Hill -- further immersed by XBOX's graphical and sound capabilities. After playing for ten minutes, Silent Hill familiars will say to themselves "it's starting again...", and non-familiar will be screaming "what the heck???".

A few big pluses for this one over the first one was the more frequent human encounters. While some say it breaks the fear of being alone in a frightening world, the arcane and strange nature of your encounters at times will send chills down your spine. Another big plus, the Voice Talent -- absolutely wonderful. Capcom can take a few lessons from Konami's ability to cast voices with believable emotions!

This 'game' is more poignant than the last, riding on a riveting plotline with scenes and cinemas that will leave you breathless and/or misty-eyed.

Good luck...and say 'hi' to Maria for me ^^

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