Zero Punctuation: Silent Hill 2

[K-nu]

No offense but I really hated this game
not because of the crappy combat mechanics or the annoying camera, it was because of the main protagonist and everyone else are so ... They're like emo-retarded-boring-empty-annoying kind of people, they made me want to kill everybody in the town instead of listening to their stupid stories, other thing was that sometimes it looks like the developers were making certain rooms just to piss you of, ex: in the hospital when you're with maria when you go to the 3rd floor AS SOON as you get trough the door there are 3 nurses standing next to you so you'll get hit even before you're able to move and probably maria will get hit to (of course maria will most likely stand in front of you and don't move even though she is getting beaten hard by the nurses - and it looks like you can kill maria by shooting her so she standing in front of you makes the game even more annoying) but maybe it's my fault for playing it on annoying difficulty (hard)
The story it's just a big fat "meh" (why it always has to be somebody looking for someone)
There's lots of enemies (at least on hard) and that seriously killed the "I'm alone" mood ( I felt like I was invading and killing people in THEIR TOWN - like I was the demon killing innocent civilians that just wanted to hang out and have sex with each other ) it looked like they were trying to make a shooter/beat'em up instead of a horror game
Is it scary? the answer is simple: NO (IMO)Psychological? : no (IMO) Are the characters good-deep-interesting-huggable-kissable? : I already said it no (IMO) they're just crazy
so in the end I didn't finish it, I got so pissed of I didn't finish it ( like I did with F.E.A.R. )
Lucky me I didn't buy it, just borrowed it

Ps: could you make a review of "Killing Floor" the retail not the mod?

Cheers

 

[Dfskelleton]

I liked SH2 more than all the other Silent Hill games. I actually for once 100% agree with Yhatzee. Gameplay is horrible and the puzzles don't make much sense, but the characters and story are amazing. Too bad. I've lost most of my hope for the series. Sh: Origins was pathetic, and Homecoming didn't even deserve to be created. SH: Shattered Memories was nice, but now that Akira's gone, I don't think the games will be as good, if good at all.

 

[SirRaiuKoren]

I actually did the math once. You descend approximately 640 feet in the prison, and emerge at the same elevation that you entered. 640 feet doesn't sound like a whole lot until you consider that that is the height of a 64 story skyscraper. This was calculated using maximum human falling velocity without sustaining life-threatening injury, as well as duration of falls in cutscenes. The elevator descends 24 floors. The opening stairwell from the historical society descends roughly 170 feet.

@Dalton Frantz: From what I've heard, Silent Hill has been unofficially discontinued. Akira was the producer for the latter half of the series, and has withdrawn from the franchise. Konami does not expect to publish any more Silent Hill titles. Also, nice "Judgment" picture for your avatar.

Fatal Frame was really good, but the story was not nearly as compelling as SH2. The horror aspects were similar, though.

@K-nu: I'm sorry you didn't like the game. Unfortunately, this is one of those titles where you begin to understand how all of the characters interact after you have done extensive analysis of the story. The surface level content of the characters and plotline seems redundant and empty, but I assure you that there is a good reason for that. Some people like that kind of storytelling, others don't.

I have to agree with Yahtzee that this game is a game which really demonstrates how video games are a unique and transcendental medium of telling a story. Verily this story could have been told no other way. That having been said, I have read hundreds of books, seen hundreds of movies, and played (probably) thousands of games, and Silent Hill 2 is my favorite narrative of all time in any medium. Thank you, Team Silent.

 

[BluenetteDiviner]

Well i didn't really like the camera angles in silent hill 2 as I'm used to being able to turn them with the right analogue stick... but in Silent Hill 2 I couldn't... and it frustrated me for a while. Then I got used to it and it didn't really bother me anymore.

 

[Micheal Kandeloussi]

bought a copy not to long ago, yea it does atmosphere well

 

[George Fatu]

good god, the first battle with trigonometry head in SH2 was bloody stupid, i have not seen a more boring boss fight, i mean my god he moves like a bloody sloth, of course that may be because of his pyramid balls, matching his head, but the dude later in the game sprints like a bloody athlete, there goes consistency.

 

[Svetoslav Savov]

i will just say that not this video help me decade to play that master piece.
game of all games :>
i salute all it fans with this cool clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewGQmQzsZX4&feature=related
i know it is not sh2 but it is good song

 

[SnakeoilSage]

Oh please. It's got about as much atmosphere as any small town on a Sunday night; if that's dreadful heart-wrenching loneliness to you than you're about as much a misanthropic loner as Sarah Palin in a tour bus begging for undeserved appreciation.

I'm tired of people holding Silent Hill 2 up as some kind of gold standard for storytelling; the characters are one dimensional, the plot is basically non-existent and just 'cause the game doesn't "show the shark" doesn't mean they're not smacking you in the face with it. Oo, a monster made out of a man molesting a child in a bed; you win points for originality if only because Disney is the only other group willing to animate furniture.

And stop pretending there's this deep complexity to James' character, when the game itself literally reveals the only reason he's even in Silent Hill 2 is 'cause he's a shallow dipshit who decided his case of blue balls justified murdering his wife. You can wrap all the Silent Hill weirdness around him you like but's no more likeable or identifiable than a suspect from a CSI episode, only instead of him getting tossed in prison like he should he's allowed to "get over his wife" and adopt some random child who's probably in more danger when James realizes she's eaten all the peanut butter than a guest at the Wonderland Ranch.

 

[EmperorSubcutaneous]

Something I've been wondering about ever since this review came out...What does "somewhere between midget height and 50 feet below sea level" mean? What does it mean?! I don't understaaaaaaand...

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

@SnakeoilSage - The first few moments of the game are running through a forest path surrounded by only the fog and tortured bestial noises. Then you beat a monster to death and meet, in a graveyard, a psychologically disturbed girl with a past that involves sexual abuse ... If that's the atmosphere of your small town on a Saturday night then I really feel for you!

 

[crimson sickle2]

Dangit Escapist editors, I finally forgot what it felt like to fuck a burning dolphin. You knew this would happen.

 

[animeh1star1a]

Just played silent hill 2 for the first time and i got the car in the lake ending. Loved the game and heard of it from Yatzee... and now I'm going to rewatch the review and see what changes after playing the game =)