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Review of Silent Hill 2
Though I'll try not to spoil much of Silent Hill 2, in comparing it to its predecessor I'm going to have to give things away. If you haven't played SH1 yet and you're at all interested in horror gaming, go to it. I got my second-hand copy for twenty of our paltry Australian dollars, and I've seen it cheaper. You'll thank me when you're up at three a.m., control pad vibrating in your hand like your beating heart, scared out of your mind.
Story
The plot of SH2 begins with James Sunderland receiving a letter from his wife telling him to meet her in the town of Silent Hill which they visited once on a holiday -- despite the fact she's been dead for three years. When he/you arrive in town, it's near-deserted, foggy, and haunted by bizarre Clive Barker monsters. The only other living people in town were all drawn here by something inexplicable, and you interact with them as you piece together the ambiguous and open-to-interpretation mystery.
In this wise SH2 replicates the setting, atmosphere, and structure of SH1 without any of the same characters or much connection of the plots. You're still going to be following a little girl through the mist, solving a lot of 'find the key-like object' puzzles, battling the occasional boss, jumping at radio static, and wondering if it's all some kind of insane nightmare, but don't expect it to explain the ambiguities of the first game.
This independence of plot could have been a real advantage, allowing new players to get it without having played SH1, but it doesn't work that way. SH1 had puzzles that were like . . . have you ever had one of those dreams where you're given an arbitrary task and you complete it through some bizarre leap of dream-logic which makes sense at the time but not when you wake? That's what the puzzles were like. The surreal quality was enhanced by theming some with Alice In Wonderland and Wizard Of Oz references -- both stories in which it's all a dream. One of the twists of the game is when you find out whose nightmare it is that's leeching out into reality and why, but lacking this explanation SH2's puzzles will seem like the arbitrary and irrelevant problems which get handed to you in less story-oriented games, rather than a clue in themselves. It's a shame.
Despite being strongly story-oriented, SH2 is filled with the same anachronistic power-ups as SH1 and most console adventure games. It bugs me that a game tries so hard to immerse you in its world and make you forget that it's just a game, then scatters health kits and bullets all over the streets. Your mileage may vary.
Gameplay
There are three difficulty settings for combat and three for riddles. This is handy -- you can choose which you like to be challenged by and which you're happy to breeze through. On easy combat and normal riddles I took under eight hours to finish it, not counting the one time I died and had to go back a short distance to a save point. This is a lot quicker than SH1 took, which may lessen the value for you, especially if you're not big on replaying a game once you finish it.
On the subject of replayability, SH2 has four different endings, plus a couple of bonus ones only accessible if you've already finished the game once (which also opens up extra options like increasing the amount of bullets and turning off the graininess, and some new weapons). Unlike the original which had a few primary endings based on which optional puzzles you solved, in SH2 the ending is based on your style of play. The game analyzed the path I took, concluded that I was cautious and cared only about my wife and gave me the ending which reflected that. A different style of play would suggest a different personality for the protagonist, and give James a different reaction to the climactic events and thus a different ending. It's an interesting idea, but I don't think it will work the way the designers intended for most people. The game concluded that I cared about finding James' wife because I rushed through the plot towards her without getting sidetracked -- but that was really because I had the game on rental and wanted to see the ending before I returned it. Also, I gave a female NPC who acts as a rival for your attention a few accidental whacks with a plank due to my own clumsiness with a control pad, not because of any actual harsh feelings towards her. Most of the stuff which the game counts as 'playing style' are trivial things that could happen for a variety of reasons, not things which suggest what ending you'd like to see . . . but having read the synopses it sounds like I managed to get the ending I wanted through dumb luck if nothing else. All's well that ends well.
The controls are the classic Alone In The Dark/Resident Evil variety, left and right spin you one the spot, forward is relative to the character, diagonal sends you walking on a curve. Relative controls make possible cinematic tricks like having the camera angle jump around, especially useful in horror, but if you haven't played one of those games you may take a while to get used to it. Having the camera jump to a corner of the roof in the middle of a fight can throw you off at first. I discover now that there's an option to have the controls non-relative, with forward as up and so on, but I can't tell you how that plays since I took it back already. More options are always nice though.
Even if you don't unlock the extra weapons by finishing the game, there are still more than is strictly necessary. Do I really need a shotgun and a rifle? I didn't use the cleaver-like great knife once, and I didn't even pick up the steel pipe, perfectly happy with my plank with nails in it. Others will complain that the game doesn't have enough weapons. These people are missing the point. That's all I'm saying.
The fright factor seems a little lower this time around, but that may be because I'm jaded by SH1. It's still pretty freaky, and there are moments you won't want the lights out for.
Graphics And Miscellaneous Junk
The graphics of SH2 are a step up, the transition from high-res cut scene to regular gameplay is much less jarring than it was before. Both games have a grainy look which the designers used to lend a Night Of The Living Dead feel, although resolution monkeys may not appreciate it. SH1's dodgy voice-acting only added to this B-movie ambience, but the sequel's is much superior; what it loses in hokey charm it gains in atmosphere. Although the main character's voice became grating, the others are excellent. Even the snotty brat of a girl sounds like an actual child, rather than the woman putting on a childlike voice a lot of animation settles for.
When loading a new area the screen goes black and footprints appear, one by one. This only draws attention to the fact that loading is longer and more frequent than in SH1. Or if it isn't, the footprints make it feel that way.
The music and sound are effective, although they didn't blow me away as in SH1. Again, I might be jaded.
Thank fuck the subtitles can be turned off.
Conclusion
SH1 was head and shoulders above the other horror games of its time, and although SH2 meets that bar it doesn't do much to raise it. Graphics and voice-acting have improved, but the scope of the game seems smaller and parts feel like a re-hash. I feel like a bad reviewer, because all I can really say is rent it and make up your own mind if you need it.
And check out a plot guide if you're confused after you finish it. Confusion is bad for the liver.
