Silent Hill 2 (Greatest Hits)
by Konami
Our Price: $107.48
Availability: Usually ships in 4-5 business days
Buy Used: from $11.71 (click here)
Category: Video Games
See more product details and other editions
Product Summary
Brand: KonamiPlatform: PlayStation2
Publisher: Konami
Product features:
- A re-release for Konami's survival-horror game Silent Hill 2, including the "Restless Dreams" extra story sections from the Xbox version.
- Eye Toy Play 2 with Camera
- PlayStation 2 Memory Card (8MB)
- Playstation 2 Memory Card 8MB 2PK Red/Blue
- Playstation 2 Action Replay Max
Video Game Reviews of Silent Hill 2 (Greatest Hits)
Customer Review: Silent Hill 2 doesn't deliver as much
Summary: 3 Stars
Let me get something out of the way right NOW in the beginning of the review- it bothers me a little bit the masterpiece that is the original Silent Hill is constantly being pushed to the back so people can admire the sequel instead. I have the opinion that the original Silent Hill is where the ultimate horror experience can be found. For whatever reason though, time has NOT been kind to SH1 and all the attention went to the (supposed) improvement that is Silent Hill 2. I don't believe Silent Hill 2 is better than the original OR Silent Hill 3.
Alright, where to start. Immediately I was blown away by the graphics despite the fact they look quite similar to the original (in some cases, such as the town, almost identical) but without all the rough edges that gave the original a special kind of fear (probably unintentional on the part of Konami since they were working with the best technology available at the time). Everything's been smoothed over thanks to the PS2 being graphically superior to the PS1. The backgrounds are absolutely terrific compared to the original.
The thing is, the graphics aren't SCARIER to me personally over the original Silent Hill because, you know, what makes a nightmare world believable to me is *not* having a clear picture showing what's going on around every single turn. What makes a nightmare to me is *not* having the graphics be as realistic-looking as possible in a video game because a huge thing that MAKES a nightmare so frightening in the first place is the way everything appers, so there goes some of the intense atmosphere. You can't have clean graphics that look incredibly realistic and expect absolute fear- you need the graphics to be mostly grainy.
Don't get me wrong, Silent Hill 2 delivers with the dreary and uncomfortable setting, and the uneasy feeling something is coming to get you, but the series was already showing signs of gamers being able to predict when the scary parts are coming. This was not so much the case in the first Silent Hill. The atmosphere in SH2 is only occasionally scary. The atmosphere in the first Silent Hill is *always* scary.
This is one case where improved technology certainly played a part in making the graphics look better without actually *being* better because the improved graphics didn't bring the fear and intensity to the table to back up the amazing looking graphics, and that's a big problem with the game.
I like the lead character named James. Sometimes he falls for some of the same "uh, um, duh" tricks that Harry does as far as common sense goes when he *should* be saying more believable things to the people he meets around the town (perhaps due to poor voice acting) but other than that, he's a good character. He shows emotion or concern when he needs to and that's the most important thing. You can't have a psychological video game thriller without some feeling and attachment to the main characters, so the game does its job there.
I think it's funny the way James looks while running with his arms all buffed up and hanging out like he's one bad dude, lol.
I like the fog effect. We all know the effect of the fog was used in the original as a way to hide pop-up in the backgrounds, even though it wasn't a distraction, so here the fog is used better. However, I'm not crazy about the way the flashlight looks when James shines it on walls, ceilings, floors and other objects. Perhaps the grainy graphics in the original helped make the flashlight look more believable the way Harry was using it and running around with it, I don't know. Also, the same can be said for the radio. The radio doesn't give off that special hazy sound when an enemy is just around the corner and making everything feel like a confusing illusion. Here it's just... a bland sound.
I prefer the town area in the original Silent Hill because the developers made sure each of the buildings in the main part of town had a LOT of detail with their own store names and whatnot, and it was fun to compare those store names to the REAL names here in America and Japan.
The absolutely number one complaint I have with this game (and it's a big one) is the *extremely* poor variety in the enemy department. In fact it hardly seems like there's ANY variety at all. All the enemies look pretty much the same to me, and the only difference I can see is that some of them have different attacks compared to others (like one of them was swinging a pole around while another similar looking enemy wouldn't have a pole).
All the enemies seem to have the same animation where they twirl their heads around awkwardly and slowly walk in James direction. I was expecting to see dogs, demon kids, shadow kids, huge flying birds, ANYTHING besides the same old enemy all the time. Dogs and birds are constantly a threat in the original Silent Hill. All this stuff adds up to a game that isn't very challenging or exciting as far as replay value goes. We should have more enemies in the game than what's given to us, because after a while you don't want to keep battling the same bad guys over and over again.
What bothers me as well is how I could have sworn I'd seen more or less these same monsters in plenty of horror movies, or monsters with similar animations where they twirl their heads around, but to be fair, I can't recall seeing these kind of monsters in movies that were released BEFORE SH2 came out. So maybe SH2 influenced movie writers and directors as far as a change-up to enemy designs in horror films in concerned. For that, the game honestly deserves a lot of credit.
Also, maybe it's just me, but when these same enemies fall to the ground to die they look VERY clumsy the way they just fall over immediately when James smacks them with an object or shoots them, and it looks VERY bizarre to me. The death animations don't look right. Compared to the way the nurses fall over and die in the original, the death animations here come up short.
The music in Silent Hill 2 is incredibly average to me. In fact for the most part I couldn't even hear any music- it was like Konami thought complete silence was the best way to trigger the ultimate horror effect, and apparently most people would agree seeing as how the game was praised to the moon at one time for its pyschological horror gameplay (even more than the original was). For me though, some of the areas of the game that had James running around for quite a while could have used some music or at LEAST included some really intense sound effects to build up an atmosphere. Just *something* other than silence because it didn't work for me.
What music I DO hear just feels drastically inferior to the original and doesn't effect me one way or the other as far as goosebumps, chills, and just fearing to turn around because something might be behind me. In some instances, I even hear music that's an obvious cheesy attempt to copy the soundtrack of the original but not NEARLY as memorable or effective. It's laughable that some people think Silent Hill 2 has better music and creepier sounds than the original.
The boss fights are terrible because most of them involve walking back and forth, waiting for the enemy to get closer, shoot, then run back to the other side of the room and wait for said enemy to walk close to you again, rinse and repeat. In some cases this goes on for WAY too long. This same strategy was used in the original, true, but used MUCH more creatively where you'd have to avoid the poison that gigantic moth would spit, the giant worm you would run around shooting that would come out of the ground in random places, and the final boss fight where you must avoid lightning. Those boss fights are more creative than the ones featured in SH2.
In other areas the game feels WAY too long as James is running around for an unnecessarily long period of time through the streets and apartment (to name a few). Also enemies can be easily avoided most of the time. Remember, that was NOT the case in the original Silent Hill with huge birds constantly reaching down to grab you, dogs ready to jump up and bite Harry, and demon kids grabbing your ankles constantly.
But the game does one thing EXTREMELY well, and that's storytelling and lots of emotion with every plot twist. For that, the game isn't bad. It's just a letdown to me.
All Games
Computer and Video Games
Bestsellers in All Games
Shadow of the ColossusSony; Sony Computer Entertainment; Release date: 2005-10-18; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $16.97
Price in other shops:
Playstation 2 Rock Band Special EditionMTV Games; MTV Games; Release date: 2007-12-18; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $44.99
Price in other shops:
Eternal PoisonAtlus; Atlus; Release date: 2008-11-11; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $27.38
Price in other shops:
Katamari DamacyNamco; Namco; Release date: 2006-08-08; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $9.97
Price in other shops:
Ultimate Ninja 4: Naruto ShippudenNamco; Namco; Release date: 2009-03-24; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $29.99
Price in other shops:
Guitar Hero World TourACTIVISION; Activision Inc.; Release date: 2008-10-26; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $17.00
Price in other shops:
MLB '09Sony; Sony Computer Entertainment; Release date: 2009-03-03; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $23.50
Price in other shops:
Guitar Hero MetallicaACTIVISION; Activision Inc.; Release date: 2009-04-14; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $36.99
Price in other shops:
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha versus King AbaddonAtlus; Atlus; Release date: 2009-05-12; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $34.99
Price in other shops:
Samurai Shodown AnthologySNK; SNK; Release date: 2009-03-24; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $14.99
Similar Video and PC Games
PlayStation 3 Dualshock 3 Wireless ControllerSony; Sony Computer Entertainment; Release date: 2008-04-04; PLAYSTATION 3; Video Games
Best price: $35.71
Price in other shops:
IcoSony; Sony Computer Entertainment; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $122.18
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4Atlus; Atlus; Release date: 2008-12-09; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $32.00
Price in other shops:
Silent Hill 2Konami TYO; Konami; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $54.89
God of War 2Sony; Sony Computer Entertainment; Release date: 2007-03-13; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
Shadow of the ColossusSony; Sony Computer Entertainment; Release date: 2005-10-18; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $17.97
Price in other shops:
Silent Hill OriginsKonami; Konami; Release date: 2008-03-04; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $16.62
Price in other shops:
Silent HillKonami; Konami; PlayStation; Video Games
Best price: $99.00
Silent Hill 4: The RoomKonami; Konami; Release date: 2006-06-15; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $37.25
Silent Hill 3Konami; Konami; PlayStation2; Video Games
Best price: $69.99