Atmospheric blockbuster
Light flickers, a metallic sound echoes through the hall and as I struggle to locate the origin of this ominous sound, the creature appears in my field of view, I am startled. The figure, devoid of all humanoid characteristics, straggles towards me, I freeze as my sanity is assaulted by this obscure vision of an organism which cannot be, which cannot inhabit this world. The world itself also seems to be out of place. As I have wondered through the desolate, yet lively town of Silent Hill, I have witnessed and confronted a series of horrors, each putting me on the edge of the abyss of insanity. Yet again I am confronted with the very deepest fears that lurk in the darkest corners of my psyche, incarnated in this grotesque creature, which I at once pity, yet I realise fully, that it may bring an end to me.
I fight on.
It took me 12 years to pick up a copy of Silent Hill 2 (It took me 11 to pick up Silent Hill), but now as I sit here, having almost finished the game, I do not regret that so much time had to pass for me finally be able to experience this marvellous game, a true piece of art I should say to do right by the game. I have always had quite an ambivalent relationship with survival-horror games, especially as a younger boy. I would either get stuck and the quit, or be so truly horrified that even the slightest excuse for shutting down the game would have been grasped and hold on to with a ferocious eagerness. I bought both Resident Evil 1,2 and 3, contemplated many a time if I should pick up any of the Silent Hill games (even had a friend come over, only so that I could try Silent Hill 3) and played a few of the less infamous horror titles of my youth. Silent Hill was always the last tier for me, the most terrifying experience anyone could have on any kind of console, and I was not keen on having to play through this game, at all. I guess I felt about Silent Hill as some feel about horror movies such as The Exorcist for example. The hype and the stories surrounding this work of fiction makes for a gruelling first encounter, an encounter many choose to postpone, often indefinitely. A said, it took me 12 years to pick up the second entry into the Silent Hill franchise, and boy is it an experience one hardly will forget...
Silent Hill 2 does a lot things right, and a few things a little off target, but even these small mistakes are so quickly forgotten that one surely will remember Silent Hill 2 as one of the best gaming experiences that has been offered at all. From Akira Yamaoka's splendid soundtrack which lays a solid foundation for an emotional and memorable experience, to the excellently written story, one that sucks the player in, holds tight and lets go, having blessed one with a magnificent tale of loss, love, anger and the taboos of human nature.
The game was criticised for the clunky controls that have for a long time characterised survival-horror, and camera angels that can be potentially lethal. I can identify with this criticism, however I believe that it adds a vital component to the game, which if it lacking would ruin the game. The component is, vulnerability. Not being able to sprint through the levels with razor sharp controls sure makes the player feel a lot more worried when pushing through the claustrophobic corridors of Silent Hill 2's dark and monster infested locations.
The atmosphere is so thick that I would not be surprised if James pulled out a knife (one is actually acquired through the course of the game), slashed it through the dense fog of the town and cut out a small piece of ''SUPER-AWESOME-ATMOSPHERE'' and put it in his inventory for later use.
Playing as James Sunderland, set out to find his wife Mary in the town of Silent Hill, though the wife died three years earlier from an incurable and deadly disease - is just fantastic. Throughout the game the player, through the eyes of our broken protagonist, will be tossed through a multitude of frightening painful and heart breaking situations, all captured within the frame of a video game, that at the time delivered just as beautifully as it does today (Especially with the HD collection). I cannot recommend to play at least Silent Hill 1,2 and 3 - enough, it is one of the best franchises conceived by game developers, of all time.
I hope that by writing this review I will be able to further my enthusiasm for this series, and hopefully some will be encouraged to pick up maybe one, two or three games and just maybe they will have just as awesome a time as I had, I surely hope they will.
