One of the most bone chilling moments in gaming history. An iconic antagonist. The greatest soundtrack to be released in the gaming world. Silent Hill 2 has it all.
Imagine being all alone in a foggy town, with no trace of how you got there. You hear unfamiliar sounds from every direction. Your only weapons are those scattered across the town, perhaps being nothing more than a wrench at times, let alone sometimes nothing at all. This is the reality of Silent Hill.
The story starts off with the main character, James, ending up in Silent Hill after he receives a note from his wife Mary, telling him that she's waiting for him to come find her in their "special place." This is bizarre to James however, because as far as he knew, Mary had been dead for years. Was this note a sick, twisted joke, or is Mary really still out there? For James, the thought alone determines him to find out where the note came from, and from who. Right at the get go we find out that James isn't new to the town of Silent Hill, having been there before when Mary was alive. He has a hard time understanding what she could possibly mean by their special place, because from his viewpoint, there were many places in Silent Hill he found to be important to them. Thus, here starts the beginning of James's fate in Silent Hill, and ultimately where his story will lead. It's up to the player how everything ends, based on the actions they've taken throughout the game and the choices they've made.
I'll be the first to admit that a game like Silent Hill 2 can get monotonous and repetitive quite fast, with having to look through what seems like hundreds of rooms in just a few hours time. However, there are many exciting plot twists and boss battles along the way to keep the story and gameplay fresh throughout all the mindless searching and solving of puzzles, and James himself is a really incredible character that instantly makes you latch onto him. Its a game you'll regret every minute of because it'll tarnish your sleeping mind, but somehow can't stay away from because you genuinely want to help James and progress further in the story. You meet some pretty interesting characters along the way as well, which makes your time in Silent Hill seem a bit less lonely, even if these people are a bit loony in their own minds. The monsters in this game are few in variety, but definitely not far between. That seems to be a standard for the series however, and the unique qualities they each have makes it much more forgiving.
Silent Hill is truly the epitome of everything I look for in a game. The first time running through this had me dreaming about it for weeks, and the soundtrack seemed to even be the only album on my phone that ever got use in that time frame. The story and subtle symbolic hints throughout the game really emerge you into the world of Silent Hill, and make you forget all about the sometimes dry gameplay. With a number of multiple endings, it has great replay value and I truly think it should be a staple in the life of anyone who's a fan of the horror genre, because with Silent Hill you aren't getting cheesy jump scares, you're getting a permanent mental psychosis.
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Rating: 10/10
Why I chose this rating: The first sentence of the post pretty much explains it all. Great soundtrack, extremely fun gameplay, insanely addicting and deep plot, monumental enemies. Just a genuine nostalgic game in a timeless franchise; my favorite game I've played to date.
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Xoxo ^_^
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