Zero Punctuation: Silent Hill 2

[The King of Ape Sex]

Silent hill 2 truly is a great game. A now not so close friend of mine said to me yesterday that world of warcraft has a deeper and more compelling story than silent hill 2. Upon hearing this I shat a brick and proceeded to beat him to death with it. The sad thing is no matter how hard i try i can't convince him.

 

[Ericb]

I loved this review and respected Yahtzee for first pointing out what he considered flaws in the game he apparently treasures the most.

Although I very much like the jokes, what keeps me coming back is the intelligence of his arguments.

He should definitely review games of other times, because with what's been coming out in the last few years, it's pretty easy to predict the kind of reviews they would produce. It gets boring (and sadly frustrating) to see him complaining about the same things over and over again, it just shows the state of creative stagnation that videogames find themselves in.

Besides, it would very educacional for many of the new generation to see how designer tried harder to explore ideas in games of yore. Of course, back then they were more free to do so, before the advent of constant divine intervention (greedy and neophobic executives).

Hey, do more indie games, by the way!

 

[pirateninj4]

This game is and will always be the reason I started to watch this guy every week. It was exactly as he put it. Full of atmosphere and story and it didn't need flashy shit to make you pee your pants and turn on all the lights. And have a friend over to play with you cause you were a chicken shit.

 

[saintchristopher]

I started playing Silent Hill 2 for the first time this month, and I've got to say, he's spot fucking on about the atmosphere. Seriously, 2 minutes into it you're already wound up so tight for fear of something huge jumping out and attacking you that you'll jump straight out of your skin the second anything happens. There is literally no moment in this game where you don't feel tense, and that, i think, is the hallmark of a true horror game. Resident Evil and Dead Space can go toss each other's overrated salads. Long live Silent Hill 2.

[small]p.s. Silent Hill 4, broken combat aside, wasn't all that bad. Both games play with the similar themes of isolation and questionable mental conditions, and SH4 throws in a hint of voyeurism too, for good measure. It wasn't even supposed to be a Silent Hill game, but much like "Exoricst 3" back in 1990, they felt it wouldn't sell on its own merit and attached the big franchise name to it, which ended up hurting both of them because of course they didn't hold up to their respective namesakes. But taken on their own merit, they're both pretty awesome.[/small]

 

[Falcon123]

Easily one of the best games of all time. Thank you, Yahtzee, for giving SH2 it's due.

 

[Mr. Shoggoth]

There is a box art for Silent Hill Shattered Memories BTW, I don't know where it is (only seen it posted on a forum) but it's awesome.

Did the one you saw include Cheryl sitting on a swing, completely frozen?

I think I saw one like that...but I can't find it anymore.

 

[Basilong]

I suppose one of the best things about SH2 is that you didn't actually have to go through the final boss fight to complete the game, all you needed was a key shaped like a bone, stick it in a door only a short walk away from where the most major plot twist occurred a viola! You are now happily introduced to an ending where every little bit of suffering you were forced through was some sadistic experiment from a small yellow dog.

When Yahtzee said that the game likes fucking with your head, he was not wrong.

You need to finish the game at least once to get that ending.

I've only played through the ending with the letter, the ending where he rows with Maria in the boat and the Dog ending. Letter ending was so sad, all in denial and embracing the delusions of the town. I am yet to play the Directors Cut with the Maria story. :/

 

[Tolerant Fanboy]

Am I the only one who would genuinely like to see a Silent Hill: The Zoetrope? If only because the thing would be the size of a near-future space station they spin to induce artifical gravity...

Wow. I think I just overgeeked myself in the Escapist forums...

 

[HentMas]

is it just me or does anyone else gets a little startled when he blows that... party noice making thing and it comes out of his hat, like when it came out of his ear in Call Of Juarez

every single time i replay the video i jump a little hahaha

 

[Cptn_Squishy]

I liked how this is his favourite game of all time but he's STILL objective enough not to slap with the perfect scores so many critics attatch to games that they know will sell well just because they want to be on the bandwagon.

nice job

 

[whaleswiththumbs]

I wondered where the unimaginative Yahtzee got his ideas for Trilby's Notes.. I knew it couldn't be original.

If This makes sense,
Yahtzee is the only one who can make games for Yahtzee, that he will like, you have come to either A.) The Stonking Great Contest Is pointless for normal people. OR B.) It is for people who would either be the Dominatrix or the Gimp.

I wanted to go somewhere with that,but heres it in nutshell form: From this review, as I have never played any Silent Hill game, Trilby's Notes seems almost plagaristic in the the fact that, It got deep into my head, the first time the hotel morphed into the bloody gorey alternate I got so scared I actually ran away from my computer, DAm you Yahtzee, I had a completely different directions that the game was going and BAM! your evil cock slapped me in the face.

 

[dubious_wolf]

Dude... I was slightly shocked by this one... i wasn't expecting Yahtzee to ever review Silent Hill 2. I actually just started playing this game, i got to the apartment when my xbox 360 decided it didn't like playing old xbox games and spat it out... so now i have figure out something else... still what i played had phenomenal atmosphere and pacing, The very first part had me scared out of my mind when all i hear is footsteps...

 

[Silly_Billy]

Wow, i didnt knew about the psychological test on the next silent hill, now im interested.

Same. In the video he shows the next Silent Hill on the Wii. Is it really possible that a game with potential might end up on the Wii?

 

[Tedy567]

I'm surprised it took this long for him to pull out SH2. I'd thought he'd have done it sooner.

Good review all around.

Same here, I thought he was going to pull it out on EP. 100.

real men dont pull out

 

[Zand88]

An enigmatic entry, but, I gotta' say that I was pleased with this episode, unlike the others. He pretty much nails all the points that are easily overlooked about SH2, especially about the narrative.

 

[The Lost Big Boss]

I'm surprised it took this long for him to pull out SH2. I'd thought he'd have done it sooner.

Good review all around.

Same here, I thought he was going to pull it out on EP. 100.

real men dont pull out

I beg to differ.

 

[Tedy567]

I'm surprised it took this long for him to pull out SH2. I'd thought he'd have done it sooner.

Good review all around.

Same here, I thought he was going to pull it out on EP. 100.

real men dont pull out

I beg to differ.

hahaha. it was a joke.

COR!

 

[JadeOA]

I was just playing this game last night C:
I loved the three jokes at the end this time around. Nice review.

 

[Dzikun]

Great one there^^ The dolphin part made me laugh so hard!

I never played any of the silent hill games except the one you reviewed. I remember sitting alone in my room and pissing my pants. So scary. Silent Hill 2 is still the scariest and and most "immersive" horror game for me.