Poll: So I just finished Silent hill 2

[Burchy22]

So my last topic about RE4 got a lot of interesting replies so I figured I'd do it again. I'm going to say right now I'll be mentioning several things that happen in this game so spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't played it.

I started this game a few days ago and felt pretty lost straight away on were to go, maybe I've been spoiled by games now a days that hold your hand, but there's a difference between not holding your hand and running away from you while giving you the finger. First impression was good atmosphere but nothing that gripped me. After a couple of days I put it on last night and at some point, I'm not entirely sure when but by the time I was at the hospital this game had me by the balls!

The window shining on my screen forced me to only be able to play this dark game at night and that definitely helped, I stayed up until 4AM and finished the game in one sitting. I got exactly what I was expecting with this game and that's damn good atmosphere, the game relies on it and its good enough to carry you through the entire game.

To be honest, my only complaints with the game are just nip picks, like what is the deal with Laura? I get that Maria is probably not real, but Laura talks with Eddie so she must be real, but her story contradicts with James.
James voice actor is terrible, I burst out laughing after you beat Eddie and he casually says "Eddie, are you okay?" No dipshit, you just shot him about eight times, he isn't okay.
Speaking of Eddie the fight against him is so bad, just trading shots and stopping to heal every now and again, none of the bosses in this game are really good.

Mary's voice actress though is great, that hallway near the end and that ending letter are very strong. (I got the water ending if anyone was wondering)

The only other things wrong are pretty much my own fault, I knew the twist ending which I think ruined a bit of the experience for me and also thanks to the movie I thought by turning off my light the nurses would freeze and leave me alone, got stabbed in the face. THANKS AMERICA. (Though I did later learn that enemies are more attracted to light and sound, but will still do stuff, obviously...)

TL;DR? Silent hill 2, damn good game, got exactly what I wanted, can't wait to start Silent hill 3 which I don't know the twist ending to.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I believe the theory behind Laura is that, since she is a child and is innocent, the town can't affect her. Meaning, she sees no monsters or anything that the town throws at everyone else. She is already in Silent Hill when James arrives because she was staying at the same hospital as Mary. That's why she's looking for Mary throughout the game, and also why she doesn't like James--James rarely visited Mary when she was sick, so Laura thinks James doesn't like her. Since Eddie is a real person though, and not something made by the town, that's why Laura can see and talk to him.

Silent Hill 3 is great I believe. There are people out there who think it's not, but it is a very strong game in my opinion. It might not be as good in terms of story and atmosphere as 2, but it still blows all the other Silent Hill games out of the water, as well as a lot of other horror franchises.
The story here ties heavily into the first game, so much so that you may want to read a summary of it before playing 3 if you haven't played the original first. Anyway, have fun with 3.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

2 Was great even though I knew all about the ending and stuff. I got stuck on the Subway of 3 and never went back

 

[Silvanus]

I agree with Sniper. As I saw it, the town exploits the emotional and psychological baggage that people have; it torments them about what they've done, their past, their regrets. Laura is just a young child. She doesn't see Silent Hill as the hellscape that we do because she doesn't have the baggage the other characters do.

I have to agree that the fight with Eddie was the one low-point. On the whole, the prison section was incredible, though, the scariest experience I've ever had I a game.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Silent Hill 2 borrowed a bit from the David Lynch movie Lost Highway (the video tapes), so I kinda figured the ending out before it was revealed too.

As for James' voice... Whether it was intensional or not, the kind of "duh" tone in his performance added to his detached state of mind. Since after all, anyone who has any common sense would've turned away the second they heard the growly noises on the gravel path through the forrest. James can leave Silent Hill anytime he wants to (and depending on what ending you get he does), he simply choses not to.

It's amazing how much more scary Silent Hill 2 is within it's first half hour, than nearly all games made today. The sound design is freaking genius. Too bad though that Pyramid Head got too famous and turned into a giant douche.

 

[Evonisia]

Siltn Hill 3 is amazing, most people prefer 2 over it so since you're likely to be in the majority... don't think it will be better. I prefer it, Heather will always be a much more interesting character than James and her relationship with Douglas is solid gold even when compared to Mary and James'. It's tone is much different to Silent Hill 2's, as is it's art style. Rather than cold depressive carboard and dust gathering, everything is sickly organic to represent the whole motherhood and sexual feel throughout the game (even the loading screens are basically puss swimming around the screen).

Laura can speak to Eddie because Eddie is real. I don't really recall Laura speaking to Maria (apart from the Maria side game).

 

[Mikejames]

Laura's story contradicted what James remembered because he had repressed the truth. He states that Mary had died three years ago, but it had to be more recent than that. I believe the implication is that the time he brought her flowers is the last time he actually visited her in the hospital. "She was always waiting for you..."
Eventually she was released to him during the period he doesn't remember, and things deteriorated from there.

Great game. Made me view psychological horror in a whole new light. Silent Hill 3's setup is a bit simpler, but I think it's still worth playing.

It's amazing how much more scary Silent Hill 2 is within it's first half hour, than nearly all games made today. The sound design is freaking genius. Too bad though that Pyramid Head got too famous and turned into a giant douche.

Poor PH.. Doomed by his iconic status.

 

[JimB]

James's voice actor is terrible.

Did you play the original PS2 version, or the HD remake?

 

[Michael Law]

Jame's voice actor is so bad haha
And 3 was my first SH game. It is good, but I ended up liking 2 more when I went back

 

[Eternal_Lament]

If I remember correctly, the story behind James' voice actor was that he wasn't originally meant to voice him. The guy that voiced him was this American businessman in Japan who took his daughter over to audition for the role of Laura, and while there the developers asked him to read some lines. He did, and they just simply cast him as James. He has never worked in the video games industry before or after then, and that was his only job as a voice actor. So yeah, he's obviously doing a terrible job, but at the same time it also adds to the creep factor. It's this unnerving feeling that the person on the other end is clearly uttering words, but said words come across as "not right" given the context, giving an extra feeling that there is something wrong going on.

As for Silent Hill 3: good game, although it has a somewhat weaker story than 2. It shines in the visuals and sound design, and it is definitely nightmare inducing, but the actual story behind 3, while fine, just doesn't really stand as a good story. Good protagonist and supporting cast, just wish they had a better story tied around them.