|
|
|
SILENT HILL 2 (PS2)
|
Publisher: Konami.
Developer: KCET. Released: November 2001 (Europe). Genre: Survival Horror. Other versions: XBOX; PC. Posted 28th June 2020. By Tom Clare © 2020 |
|
Characteristic of its name, Silent Hill 2 begins quietly. James Sunderland is lured to the titular backwater town by a mysterious letter from the wife he thought he watched die three years previously. Appropriately enough, we see him staring into a mirror, he’ll have plenty to reflect on over the following few hours. Whereas the first game jolted the player with a hell’s sirens and harpies nightmare to kick things off, Silent Hill 2 is in no such hurry. Ambling through the fog James, much like the player, already suspects the journey he’s embarking upon might be complicated and dangerous. But like the small handful of damaged souls found floating around the town in hope of personal redemption, he doesn’t seem to care.
Like the fog that envelops the town, Silent Hill 2 has a way of getting under your skin. The lengthy dirt road that leads into town is a subtle reminder that there is no turning back. If James is to survive, he’s going to have to confront his demons. The town is a living entity, one that twists its paths and its realities to test and manipulate. At first, it’s little things. Blocked routes, broken doors, the feeling inexorably of being shepherded towards somewhere you don’t want to be. The shuffling of feet as you run, which halts abruptly in-time with James stopping. Things to make you doubt.
|
|
Like its predecessor, Silent Hill 2 works in a huge range of cinematic camera angles to keep the player on-edge
Bit by bit, the game upsets the player’s equilibrium. It takes you from the geographical sanctuary of the map, by having James descend into basements that supposedly aren’t meant to be there. Then through implausible labyrinths that fry your sense of direction, endlessly long tunnels that lead deep into the earth, and elevators that descend further still. Then it makes you afraid. Deformed, writhing, dangerous creatures. Some are faceless, armless, like tortured souls in straight jackets. The monsters are some of the best and most distinctive to feature in a survival horror, truly the stuff of nightmares. The twitching nurses, and the Pyramid Head. This horrifying manifestation acts as the central protagonist’s bogeyman of-sorts. A bogeyman, but not quite a villain, nothing so simple. Angela and Eddie, two of the drifters you’ll meet along the way, refer to being chased by their equivalents. Pyramid Head represents a character’s personal fears and doubts, their hatred. Whether they can beat their bogeyman becomes a trial of whether they can come to terms with their past, and overcome it.
|
|
Aspects such as how much time you spend with Maria and whether or not you examine Angela's knife, have a bearing on the ending you'll receive
Silent Hill 2 is a masterpiece of survival horror, an ingenious work of interactive terror. Slowly, it suffocates the player with its ever-darker, grimmer and more-shocking looking environs, removing you more and more from recognisable reality and safety. It knows how to make you uncomfortable. The thick fog of the town gives way first to the Wood Side Apartments and then Brookhaven Hospital. Both are populated by narrow, dingy corridors that, in the light of James’s crucial yet inadequate torch, feels like staring into the abyss.
Whilst SH2 can feel an intensely isolating experience, it’s a more rounded, mature tale of love, loss and personal strife than its brilliant predecessor. Such is the oppressiveness of the landscapes, meeting others acts as a moment of sheer relief. In the cold light of day though, those you encounter often appear more lost than James. Angela and Eddie, both amiable but fragile figures, spiral out of control, toiling with their past struggles with abuse and bullying. By comparison, Maria, who bears a resemblance to James’s dead wife, is something of an enigma. Seemingly, she isn’t blighted by a bogeyman, and if her past has been as troubled as the rest, she doesn’t feel the need to mention or confront it. More so, she’s a reminder to James that what he’s experiencing has consequences, at one stage yelling at him for having abandoned her amidst the monsters. At points, she’ll accompany James on his journey, and how well you heed her well-being will affect the ending.
Whilst SH2 can feel an intensely isolating experience, it’s a more rounded, mature tale of love, loss and personal strife than its brilliant predecessor. Such is the oppressiveness of the landscapes, meeting others acts as a moment of sheer relief. In the cold light of day though, those you encounter often appear more lost than James. Angela and Eddie, both amiable but fragile figures, spiral out of control, toiling with their past struggles with abuse and bullying. By comparison, Maria, who bears a resemblance to James’s dead wife, is something of an enigma. Seemingly, she isn’t blighted by a bogeyman, and if her past has been as troubled as the rest, she doesn’t feel the need to mention or confront it. More so, she’s a reminder to James that what he’s experiencing has consequences, at one stage yelling at him for having abandoned her amidst the monsters. At points, she’ll accompany James on his journey, and how well you heed her well-being will affect the ending.
FOCAL POINT: FOUR-TELLING THE FUTURE?
|
|
It’s often been asserted that Silent Hill 4: The Room was planned as a separate, standalone horror project. However, this appears unlikely, as those with a keen eye will spot some pre-emptive nods to the game in Silent Hill 2. Neely’s Bar, which can be visited early on, has the message “There was a HOLE here. It’s gone now” emblazoned across a window. This is likely a reference to Henry Townshend’s means of travel between his apartment and other locations via horizontal, tunnel-like passages in SH4, rather than the vertical shafts predominant in the earlier games. A newspaper found in the garbage shoot at the Wood Side Apartments offers some background on the crimes of Walter Sullivan, The Room’s chief antagonist. Later on in the game, James discovers a sequence of open graves and headstones naming himself, Angela and Eddie. Just along from these, you’ll find Walter’s own burial spot.
Visually, it is outstanding. Supreme environment design reveals an astonishing level of high-quality renders, whilst small symbolic touches and environment evolution charts James Sunderland’s ever-more fractious mental state. SH2 benefits hugely from its lighting. When combined with the voyeuristic, disorientating range of camera angles, you’ll jump at things as innocuous as stair railings, which spike around madly in the light. The heavy graining, visual noise effect is an absolute stroke of genius, capturing the essence of staring into the dark, the eyes trying desperately to capture what’s just out of sight. The character models are some of the best ever seen on the PS2, moving with a range of expression and fluidity that represents a major step forward from the original game. A gigantic visual improvement over Konami’s own Shadow of Memories, Silent Hill 2 would remain one of the PlayStation 2’s most impressive-looking games, even years down the line.
Tying everything together is Akira Yamaoka’s definitive soundtrack. This too exhibits greater nuance than the already-fantastic audio of the original Silent Hill. Sharp, jarring percussive crashes accompany encounters with hellish creatures, whilst tracks with a doomy, breathing effect prove a masterful match for the cloying, padded-cell darkness of the hospital. It’s the piano tracks however that lend it a real sense of weight; the aftermath of grim or depressing events come to feel memorable for their rawness. The game knows when to scream and went to remain quiet. When to assail the player, and when to have them straining close to the TV, desperate to hear. The single blot on Silent Hill 2’s copybook is its lame voicing, which seems not so much detached (which would have made sense) as disinterested. So strong are all other aspects of the presentation however, it doesn’t spoil things at all.
Tying everything together is Akira Yamaoka’s definitive soundtrack. This too exhibits greater nuance than the already-fantastic audio of the original Silent Hill. Sharp, jarring percussive crashes accompany encounters with hellish creatures, whilst tracks with a doomy, breathing effect prove a masterful match for the cloying, padded-cell darkness of the hospital. It’s the piano tracks however that lend it a real sense of weight; the aftermath of grim or depressing events come to feel memorable for their rawness. The game knows when to scream and went to remain quiet. When to assail the player, and when to have them straining close to the TV, desperate to hear. The single blot on Silent Hill 2’s copybook is its lame voicing, which seems not so much detached (which would have made sense) as disinterested. So strong are all other aspects of the presentation however, it doesn’t spoil things at all.
|
|
It’s incredibly scary, but should you manage to endure the nerve-shredding tension, you’ll find a potent mix of absorbing exploration, strong action and fiendish puzzles. For the first time, there are difficulty levels not only for the combat side of the game but the riddles as well. If you’ve the fortitude for more playthroughs, there are four endings to discover, the nature of which can be influenced by your interactions with other characters and items. Repeat plays reveal a host of smaller points that are easy to miss first time through and can be better appreciated with the benefit of hindsight.
Silent Hill 2 saw traditional survival horror reach its peak. The schlock-horror fun and pantomime scares upon which the genre had developed over the previous five years suddenly metamorphosed into a whole new, more serious proposition, that was every bit as captivating and satisfying to play. It was a perfect storm of stunning design, spellbinding gameplay and complete artistic realisation. Its wondrous technical achievements, all the more impressive for how early the game arrived in the PS2’s lifecycle, are almost a sidebar to how effective it is at creating such a total horror experience. The original was world-beating for how it used the medium to create a lingering, exhaustingly scary playing experience. Somehow, impossibly, Silent Hill 2 manages to top it.
Silent Hill 2 saw traditional survival horror reach its peak. The schlock-horror fun and pantomime scares upon which the genre had developed over the previous five years suddenly metamorphosed into a whole new, more serious proposition, that was every bit as captivating and satisfying to play. It was a perfect storm of stunning design, spellbinding gameplay and complete artistic realisation. Its wondrous technical achievements, all the more impressive for how early the game arrived in the PS2’s lifecycle, are almost a sidebar to how effective it is at creating such a total horror experience. The original was world-beating for how it used the medium to create a lingering, exhaustingly scary playing experience. Somehow, impossibly, Silent Hill 2 manages to top it.
|
|
VERDICT
"...a perfect storm of stunning design, spellbinding gameplay and complete artistic realisation. The original was world-beating. Somehow, impossibly, Silent Hill 2 manages to top it." OVERALL: 10/10 |
OTHER REVIEWS FROM THE SILENT HILL SERIES
Silent Hill (1999, PS)
|
Silent Hill: Homecoming (2012, PS3)
|