Platform: Xbox
Lately I've been forcing myself into the survival/horror genre of gaming because my fear of... scary things... has been making me feel a bit pathetic so I got my hands on a couple Resident Evil games, and this Silent Hill 2. This is the slightly beefed up version by Konami, much like Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, where they add some extras in and then make the console switch (PS2 to Xbox).
When I began the game the first thing that really struck me was the incredible reality of the visuals. Your character, James Sunderland, is just an average guy with no special training or abilities like in the standard action game. He can barely swing a board with a nail through it, and gets tired if you run him long enough. But this ordinary man receives in the mail an extraordinary letter. From his wife Mary he believes, it beckons him to their special place, Silent Hill. However Mary died of a disease three years before.
Bizarre as it seems, James decides to take it upon himself to investigate, because despite the fact that the dead do not write letters, he would give anything to be with his wife again. Anything.
The whole game is filled with a very dark score of frightening bgm's, and the most disturbing, and bizarre creatures you ever swung a board with a nail through it at. But mind you there are other weapons to be got, but with James' ordinary..ness.. he can barely point a handgun, and to get a good shot in you sometimes have to let the creatures uncomfortably near to you.
A rather small cast of characters leaves you to feel some personal connection with each of them. I don't know about you all but Maria scares the hell out of me.
Graphics: I cannot name a game that I've played to date with such clean and disturbing visuals. Grotesque monsters, horrificaly graphic murder scenes, and an array of horrifying environments make this game a true experience of terror. Maybe it's just me but something about all the blood on the walls and glass........
10.0
Sound: Though they didn't try very hard to fit the English voice-over's to the Japanese dialogue-fitted mouth movements, the voice-actors gave it their damndest and pulled off very convincing acts. The background sounds and music are also a very big contributer to the fright this game induces.
9.5
Control: I don't know, I think that games with a 3D control to them should not be played using analog thumbsticks, thankfully though you can switch to 2D at any time for the old action game feel. In an attempt to make this game realistic they gave James almost a cripple in his attacking ability though, and it takes you a lot of time or effort to pull off even a basic attack.
8.0
Worth: I haven't played the original SH but as I understand it this one trumps it out for horror, topped potentially by only one game, Fatal Frame. ESRB's reasons for rating this game M go into its gruesome, gory, very emotionally disturbing visuals, bizarre sexual themes, language, and more--it is a masterpiece of a game but it merits the M rating like no other, let children nowhere near this one.
9.5