What's Your Silent Hill 2?

[WayOutThere]

We're all ZP fans here so you probably get the reference in the title. If you don't, what are you doing? Go watch ZP already.

To Yahtzee, Silent Hill 2 is a true example of what can be done with gaming as an art form.

I recommend you read:

http://www.news.com.au/technology/story/0,25642,24493980-5014239,00.html

So, what I'm asking is, what is the most impressive piece of art you have ever seen? (art being defined as the exploration of human emotions- for example, the exploration of fear)

My Silent Hill 2 is the film Paprika. Paprika is about a device that allows you to enter your own dreams. Unfortunetly, the device gets stolen and misused causing all sorts of havoc. Whats truly great about this movie is that it felt so beyond reality. It was about discovering a deeper level to reality and the consequences of that discovery. I think we all want something deeper to reality, not stupid fantasies but something transendental. If I were religious I'd call it a discovery of the divine. This movie, to me at least, was about indulging that desire.

This last paragraph isn't phrased very well but I can't think of any better way to put it. Tell me if it makes any sense.

The point is the film really got to me and I think of it like Yahtzee thinks of Silent Hill 2.

What's your Silent Hill 2?

 

[Pimppeter2]

Jak and Daxter 2.

Story, gameplay, level design, amazingness. Its all there

 

[AboveUp]

Terranigma.
It managed to have a good story about philosophy, the nature of mankind, the way we treat our planet and the selfish God that created it just for the sake of having something to destroy again later.
It had a control system where you used one single button for several different attacks, which came across more naturally than most control styles in games now.
If I listen to the music from that game and close my eyes I can feel entire emotions and images play with my imagination in a way that no other game can, just google the world theme and the boss theme of that game to see what I mean.

It did all this in the 16-bit era on the SNES.

 

[Joshimodo]

Hmm.

I can't think of a film off the top of my head that was able to tap serious emotional tones, but for a game, Bioshock was the latest one. While it wasn't a "scary" game, nor was the gameplay incredible (though it was a top-notch game), the atmosphere was so brilliantly done, that it actually made me feel as if it was real, in a way.


The enemies actually felt like they were once people, the whole design was very believable, and the characters were brilliant. It's hard to explain, really.

As I said, it wasn't scary, but it felt eerie, and wrong. Much like Silent Hill (another game that would be in this list), though more subtle.

 

[Beffudled Sheep]

Blood Omen. The story was dark mature interesting and just good. I felt Kains urge for vengeance and general anger. The game had great voice acting (for its time) the weapons, armour and spells were all cool and was pretty open. Kain also is just an awesome character and his voice actor did a beautiful job with him.

 

[Timewave Zero]

My Silent Hill 2?

My Silent Hill 2 would be the works of H.P. Lovecraft. It's not the whole soul-eating Cthulhu or deprived madness stuff, no, sir. It's just how he writes. Like someone's last words; their final warning to mankind, that should you disturb this tomb, be prepared for the consequences, even though you probably couldn't comprehend them.
His monsters, these amoral alien creatures worshipped as gods by humans, are so indescribably blasphemous and incomprehensible they can drive people to total insanity by sight alone.
His veiw of a dark, chaotic universe in which mankind is but a pin-prick of sentience amidst the horrors of undefined realms of existence and creatures of unspeakable and terrible intent is so amazingly thought out and described.
Despite his avid atheism, he really had an amazing imagination, due to his vast knowledge of Greek, Arabian and Roman mythologies and truly understood people's fears of the unknown and how these things affected them.

 

[Dr.Poisonfreak]

The demonata series by Darren Shan, those books are really immersive

 

[Arkhangelsk]

Jak and Daxter 2.

Story, gameplay, level design, amazingness. Its all there

It was indeed well done, and one of the greater games, but I wouldn't define it as art in that manner. To quote Bill Bailey: "They're not plunging the depth of human experience". (Although it's a bit taken out of context, he was referring to mainstream rock, but it's the same notion)

Mine? Shadow of The Colossus. I looooove that game. It was beautifully designed, and the epic ending really touched my feelings. And the bosses were done greatly, in design and theme. A really fun game, but a bit on the short side. But I guess you can't expect more from a game with everything a Zelda game would have cut out except the boss fights. I must so get my hands on Ico one day.

 

[Dopey Trout]

To me, Requiem For A Dream. It just beautifully and savagely makes you feel for every single character as they whittle their life away grasping for what they think they need, while the whole time what they really want is right in front of them. It's truly agonising and emotionally distressing.

To this day it's the only film that's had such an emotional effect on me, and for the record the soundtrack is beyond fantastic

And ^^^ HP Lovecraft is superb

 

[WayOutThere]

Despite his avid atheism, he really had an amazing imagination

Please tell me this doesn't mean what it sounds like it means.

 

[jazzmansam]

The album "A Love Supreme", by John Coltrane. The overwhelming force of the music, the intense soulfulness and beauty and raw force of the whole thing - it never diminishes. Every time I listen to it, I hear something new. Damn it's incredible. You just can't duplicate these things in a game.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Jak and Daxter 2.

Story, gameplay, level design, amazingness. Its all there

It was indeed well done, and one of the greater games, but I wouldn't define it as art in that manner.

Why not? A game with an amazing storyline of betrayal and corruption, that still managed to make light of it self at every turn.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

Jak and Daxter 2.

Story, gameplay, level design, amazingness. Its all there

It was indeed well done, and one of the greater games, but I wouldn't define it as art in that manner.

Why not? A game with an amazing storyline of betrayal and corruption, that still managed to make light of it self at every turn.

It was just a bit too silly. Don't get me wrong, silly can be great, but it mixed gritty seriousness and an angry protagonist with a wise-cracking weasel. It didn't tug my heart strings or give me a emotional realization (although it was great fun). Don't know, just didn't feel like it was art.

 

[Pimppeter2]

Jak and Daxter 2.

Story, gameplay, level design, amazingness. Its all there

It was indeed well done, and one of the greater games, but I wouldn't define it as art in that manner.

Why not? A game with an amazing storyline of betrayal and corruption, that still managed to make light of it self at every turn.

It was just a bit too silly. Don't get me wrong, silly can be great, but it mixed gritty seriousness and an angry protagonist with a wise-cracking weasel. It didn't tug my heart strings or give me a emotional realization (although it was great fun). Don't know, just didn't feel like it was art.

Meh, who am I to say your wrong. Like all art, its up to your own opinion

 

[nova18]

Shadow of the Colossus.
Its been said a million times but no game has captured the isolation and pain of a character like it did.
Except, coincidentally, Silent Hill 2.

The ending to SotC left me reeling for days though, I was in a constant "Aww" mood for days.

 

[Simmo8591]

mine would be Final Fantasy X, without a doubt my favorite game of all time. beautifully designed, an epic story, great characters, stunning orchestral soundtrack and a unique progression system

 

[723N]

Hmmm...

I'd have to go with Fallout 3 or Bioshock. Both of those games had such good characters and atmospheres, it was hard to stop playing. I did enjoy Fallout 3's gameplay A LOT more than Bioshock's though. Hopefully they'll improve on it in the sequel.

 

[Cat_Tyrn]

Star Ocean: The Second Story
Not well known but one of the first and most re-visited of the games I own.
A good, if unimaginative, story with a wealth of characters you can recruit and an item creation par excellence can keep you coming back for more.

 

[Mother Yeti]

The Nutty Professor 2.

 

[zen5887]

Hmm..

I'm torn between

The album Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, I don't think its musicianship and influence has been matched yet. Davis and Coltrain together re-invented the way people look at, play and listen to music.

Wings for Marie (Pt 1) and 10,000 Days (Wings Pt 2) by Tool, these two songs carry so much emotion and power. They work together to build up into an explotion of rage, sorrow and hate that moves me every time I hear it. Tool also show off their chops in this song with odd times and polyrhythm everywhere. Justin Chancellors bassline is one of my favorites.

The album More hearts then brains by Bike for Three! I listened to this alumb after I broke up with my girlfriend of two years, I felt like every song was about me, then two and a half months later after I met someone new, I listened to it again and felt the same about of emotion, just of a diffrent kind. No album has done that before. To make it even stronger I read that all the lyrics were based off experiances, as apposed to stories.