Falconv1.0
Smash Master
Link to original post: [drupal=3777]Falconv1 presents...[/drupal]
HIS FIRST PIECE OF ****. I MEAN REVIEW OF SILENT HILL 2.
But first, an introduction of sorts
Today, 'horror' is a term that seems pretty rare for games nowadays, and most games that call themselves 'horror' are really just action games with creepy looking enemies. Furthermore, the games that try to be scary really don't do it well at all, and everyone seems to have an idea why. You'll see this **** SCREEEAAAAAM at you on Silent Hill fan forums. My favorite remark when people mention combat is "herp derp the game should focus more on story, not fighting" and "being able to kill monsters makes the game less scary, we need a return of the old clunky combat so you get the feeling you're fighting for your life"
I want you all to make note of this in your brain: Anyone who thinks like that is dumb**** ********, and knows nothing. For one thing, I didn't know 'gameplay' got in the way of 'story', but if it does, well **** me give me some good gameplay and shut up. Secondly and more importantly, if the awkward *** combat of the original games really scared you past the first encounters, consider getting mental help. You carry around probably twice your body weight in ammo, and the enemies are fairly ********, especially in 2, but we'll get to that later, point is, neither plot nor ****ty combat made these games 'scary'.
What did it, was ATMOSPHERE. SAY IT WITH ME KIDS, A-T-M-O-S-P-H-E-R-E. Now with that in mind, let's go on to the shoooow.
Silent Hill 2 is a creepy game, it's kinda hard to play this alone in the dark and not get creeped out. The first 'level' you enter is an apartment with all the lights out, and not a single sound plays except for the sound of your footsteps as you walk through. The hallways are dimly lit and narrow, and everything gives off the vibe that it's very worn out and old. The selective use of sound, and the avoidance of too much going on gives you a feeling of doubt, very little in the way of 'jumpers' happen, but the game keeps you in suspense almost all the time, making key moments grab you that much more, Truly, the game oozes with atmosphere, with great attention put into each part of the areas your explore. Even today, I'd argue the graphics hold up fairly well, so there's nothing to fear about it 'aging poorly'. If anything, I'd argue it gets better the longer you own it, because it gives you more time to think about it.
Silent Hill 2 remains perhaps one of my favorite games of all time, partially because before I played it, I had never experienced anything quite like it. The game refuses to make sense, your character refuses to make sense, yet at the very end, assuming you paid attention, you finally get a good idea of why everything happened, but here's the kicker, there's more to learn. People have all kinds of theories as to why certain things look the way they do in SH2, and the beauty is some of them have some real merit. The white door seemingly out of place when you find a rather confusing teenage girl in an apartment, a dead man staring at a tv playing static, all these things symbolize the mental state of James, or the other crazy mother****ers you meet in game. These little details added to my enjoyment of the story, as it gave me something to look for on my later playthroughs, as well as something to discuss with fellow fans.
That's not to say it relies entirely on atmosphere to be good, that would be silly. That being said, there are definitely some negatives along with the positives.
Gameplay is essentially 1 part exploration, 1 part puzzle solving, and 1 part monster killing. The exploration is great, the puzzles are pretty smart, but the monsters, oh hoooo the monsters. The problem with SH2's monsters is pretty much that they all do the same thing, which is move fairly slow towards you til you gun them down. While they definitely look and sound creepy, they sure as hell aren't 'imposing' once you've killed your 50th nurse or thing trapped in a straight jacket made out its own skin. While the combat may be 'easy', it's sure as hell not enjoyable, mainly due to the mother****er of a camera the game employs. It's kinda like the Resident Evil camera from the older ones, placed at certain cinematic positions, which look cool when you're in certain areas, but it's annoying as all hell during combat. Sometimes, it's not too bad, but I definitely remember wanting TO PULL MY ****ING TEETH OUT AFTER IT BUGGED OUT FOR THE TENTH ****ING TIME THE BLOODY HOSPITAL, REFUSING TO STAY AT A DECENT ANGLE AND INSTEAD FACING THE FRONT OF JAMES WHILE MONSTERS APPROACHED HIM, WHICH I COULDN'T SEE BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T IN VIEW OF THE FRIGGIN' CAMERA.
Anyhooo, akwward combat aside, Silent Hill 2 remains a classic example of the Japanese doing it right. By blending their take on horror, and borrowing ideas from many different western horror works, they truly crafted something original, and its something you should all experience. Don't be a ****ing *****, just do it.
If had to give it a grade, I'd give this n**** an A.
HIS FIRST PIECE OF ****. I MEAN REVIEW OF SILENT HILL 2.
But first, an introduction of sorts
Today, 'horror' is a term that seems pretty rare for games nowadays, and most games that call themselves 'horror' are really just action games with creepy looking enemies. Furthermore, the games that try to be scary really don't do it well at all, and everyone seems to have an idea why. You'll see this **** SCREEEAAAAAM at you on Silent Hill fan forums. My favorite remark when people mention combat is "herp derp the game should focus more on story, not fighting" and "being able to kill monsters makes the game less scary, we need a return of the old clunky combat so you get the feeling you're fighting for your life"
I want you all to make note of this in your brain: Anyone who thinks like that is dumb**** ********, and knows nothing. For one thing, I didn't know 'gameplay' got in the way of 'story', but if it does, well **** me give me some good gameplay and shut up. Secondly and more importantly, if the awkward *** combat of the original games really scared you past the first encounters, consider getting mental help. You carry around probably twice your body weight in ammo, and the enemies are fairly ********, especially in 2, but we'll get to that later, point is, neither plot nor ****ty combat made these games 'scary'.
What did it, was ATMOSPHERE. SAY IT WITH ME KIDS, A-T-M-O-S-P-H-E-R-E. Now with that in mind, let's go on to the shoooow.
Silent Hill 2 is a creepy game, it's kinda hard to play this alone in the dark and not get creeped out. The first 'level' you enter is an apartment with all the lights out, and not a single sound plays except for the sound of your footsteps as you walk through. The hallways are dimly lit and narrow, and everything gives off the vibe that it's very worn out and old. The selective use of sound, and the avoidance of too much going on gives you a feeling of doubt, very little in the way of 'jumpers' happen, but the game keeps you in suspense almost all the time, making key moments grab you that much more, Truly, the game oozes with atmosphere, with great attention put into each part of the areas your explore. Even today, I'd argue the graphics hold up fairly well, so there's nothing to fear about it 'aging poorly'. If anything, I'd argue it gets better the longer you own it, because it gives you more time to think about it.
Silent Hill 2 remains perhaps one of my favorite games of all time, partially because before I played it, I had never experienced anything quite like it. The game refuses to make sense, your character refuses to make sense, yet at the very end, assuming you paid attention, you finally get a good idea of why everything happened, but here's the kicker, there's more to learn. People have all kinds of theories as to why certain things look the way they do in SH2, and the beauty is some of them have some real merit. The white door seemingly out of place when you find a rather confusing teenage girl in an apartment, a dead man staring at a tv playing static, all these things symbolize the mental state of James, or the other crazy mother****ers you meet in game. These little details added to my enjoyment of the story, as it gave me something to look for on my later playthroughs, as well as something to discuss with fellow fans.
That's not to say it relies entirely on atmosphere to be good, that would be silly. That being said, there are definitely some negatives along with the positives.
Gameplay is essentially 1 part exploration, 1 part puzzle solving, and 1 part monster killing. The exploration is great, the puzzles are pretty smart, but the monsters, oh hoooo the monsters. The problem with SH2's monsters is pretty much that they all do the same thing, which is move fairly slow towards you til you gun them down. While they definitely look and sound creepy, they sure as hell aren't 'imposing' once you've killed your 50th nurse or thing trapped in a straight jacket made out its own skin. While the combat may be 'easy', it's sure as hell not enjoyable, mainly due to the mother****er of a camera the game employs. It's kinda like the Resident Evil camera from the older ones, placed at certain cinematic positions, which look cool when you're in certain areas, but it's annoying as all hell during combat. Sometimes, it's not too bad, but I definitely remember wanting TO PULL MY ****ING TEETH OUT AFTER IT BUGGED OUT FOR THE TENTH ****ING TIME THE BLOODY HOSPITAL, REFUSING TO STAY AT A DECENT ANGLE AND INSTEAD FACING THE FRONT OF JAMES WHILE MONSTERS APPROACHED HIM, WHICH I COULDN'T SEE BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T IN VIEW OF THE FRIGGIN' CAMERA.
Anyhooo, akwward combat aside, Silent Hill 2 remains a classic example of the Japanese doing it right. By blending their take on horror, and borrowing ideas from many different western horror works, they truly crafted something original, and its something you should all experience. Don't be a ****ing *****, just do it.
If had to give it a grade, I'd give this n**** an A.
