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| Silent Hill 2 | 
 enlarge | From: Konami
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $12.50
You Save: $7.49 (37%)
New (4) Used (31) from $12.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  272 reviews
Sales Rank: 2028
Platform: Playstation2
ESRB: Mature
Media: Video Game
Age: 17 - 17 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 20025
UPC: 083717200253
EAN: 0083717200253
ASIN: B00005ME6O
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Game disc only in blank case with manual. Disc in excellent condition. Daily shipping.
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| Features:
| • | Platform: PlayStation 2 | | • | ESRB Rating: Mature (17 and older) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Gamers looking for intellectual horror will find it in Silent Hill 2. As the story opens, James Sunderland receives a letter from his wife telling him to meet her in the town of Silent Hill. The only problem is that she's been dead for three years. In hopes of reuniting with her, Sunderland explores the haunted town, where he has many terrifying and unexpected encounters. While the brilliantly designed monsters are indeed scary, it's the complex twists and turns of the plot that really produce the game's terror. The gameplay is largely puzzle based. Much of it involves gathering clues and items to solve each puzzle. A few fights are thrown in, but these are quite easy, and are mostly used to show off the developers' bizarre creations. The level of both puzzles and fighting can be adjusted to match each player's skill level. Although its mechanics are rudimentary, the game's presentation is anything but. A heavy use of fog is the game's hallmark effect, greatly adding to the mood. Sound--both effects and music--alternates between eerie silence and sudden, shocking crescendos. Although the graphics and sound are both topnotch, the real star of this game is the story. It's very rich and intricate--a sharp contrast to the banal scenarios that frame most games. Although the game is short (around 10 hours), players will want to give it another go to discover its multiple endings and secret items. Despite basic gameplay, Silent Hill 2 is an excellent choice for gamers looking for cerebral thrills. Parents should note that in addition to violence and gore, this game deals with such topics as suicide, homicide, and euthanasia. --Raymond M. Padilla Pros: - Scary and stylish graphics
- Excellent cutscenes
- Effective sound effects and music
- Original creature design
Cons: - Unchallenging combat
- Too much item fetching
- Story might be too complicated for some
Amazon.com Product Description
With its Poe-like atmosphere, dense fog, pitch-black hallways, and a cryptic letter from a dead wife, Silent Hill 2 promises to surpass the paranoia created by its predecessor, Silent Hill. The sequel opens with James Sunderland, the series' average joe protagonist, and a mysterious message that reads, "Silent Hill, our sanctuary of memories. I'll be waiting for you there." More puzzling is that the note is signed by Mary, his deceased wife. James sets out for Silent Hill hopeful that he'll find a trace of Mary. After an aborted attempt by car, James plunges into the dank fog and embarks on his quest by foot. Enter Angela, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Mary, and who also beckons him with another curious message. It seems James can't go back; strange things are happening in Silent Hill. Silent Hill 2 offers 10 new formidable foes, plenty of puzzles, and bone-chilling gameplay. The sequel's new story and characters promise to thrill and terrify. The visual and sound effects are amazingly detailed and macabre, and, if you're playing on a system with surround sound, you may find yourself keeping the lights on.
Product Description
Gamers looking for intellectual horror will find it in Silent Hill 2. As the story opens, James Sunderland receives a letter from his wife telling him to meet her in the town of Silent Hill. The only problem is that she's been dead for three years. In hopes of reuniting with her, Sunderland explores the haunted town, where he has many terrifying and unexpected encounters. While the brilliantly designed monsters are indeed scary, it's the complex twists and turns of the plot that really produce the game's terror. The gameplay is largely puzzle based. Much of it involves gathering clues and items to solve each puzzle. A few fights are thrown in, but these are quite easy, and are mostly used to show off the developers' bizarre creations. The level of both puzzles and fighting can be adjusted to match each player's skill level. Although its mechanics are rudimentary, the game's presentation is anything but. A heavy use of fog is the game's hallmark effect, greatly adding to the mood. Sound--both effects and music--alternates between eerie silence and sudden, shocking crescendos. Although the graphics and sound are both topnotch, the real star of this game is the story. It's very rich and intricate--a sharp contrast to the banal scenarios that frame most games. Although the game is short (around 10 hours), players will want to give it another go to discover its multiple endings and secret items. Despite basic gameplay, Silent Hill 2 is an excellent choice for gamers looking for cerebral thrills. Parents should note that in addition to violence and gore, this game deals with such topics as suicide, homicide, and euthanasia. --Raymond M. Padilla Pros: - Scary and stylish graphics
- Excellent cutscenes
- Effective sound effects and music
- Original creature design
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| Customer Reviews: Read 267 more reviews...
 Don't go to Silent Hill without a clean conscience. September 26, 2008
Hardly a game at all, really. Silent Hill 2 is an experience before a game--a happening in stead of a distraction. It's an event to be felt rather than played. That's what Silent Hill 2 is for me. And it's amazing. In general, I'm not a fan of horror games. But the Silent Hill series is more than cheap scares and gore (though such will be found). It's a great story tied with exploration and discovery. It's the unraveling of secrets. What happened? What's going on? What's it all mean? These are the questions you'll be asking yourself when you play through SH2. Or SH3 for that matter. I assume the same goes for 1, 4, Origins, and the new 5, but since I haven't played them I cannot say absolutely.
James Sunderland's wife passed away three years ago, but he could swear the letter he's holding is written in her handwriting. She's waiting for you, James, in your "special place". But when James finds the old resort town, he finds only monsters and those few humans dragged to the town, driven by their own inner pain, trying to discover things for themselves.
James searches, fighting where he must, being stalked by the malevolent figured with the helmet shaped like a rust-covered pyramid that carries a knife too big for a normal man to even lift. He searches through streets and apartments, a park, a hospital, a prison, but will James find the answers, or will he go mad, or is he already? This is Silent Hill 2.
The gameplay is what you'd expect if you'd played the games before. You run around, solve puzzles, beat up monsters with a steel pipe or shoot them or what have you. You uncover secrets and watch the events unfold. And how you play the game determines how it ends. Explaining a game like Silent Hill is boring when you mention the mechanics. Because the mechanics--the controls--are just there for you to have a way to be in the story. The controls work, that's all that needs to be said about them. Camera angles can be irritating at times, but they are how they are to increase the cinematic quality.
Overall, though, Silent Hill 2 is amazing. I wasn't even a fan until very recently. I picked up 3 wondering if I liked horror games. I still don't know if I do, but I love Silent Hill.
Graphics - Decent, most of the times. Great during some cut scenes. But we're spoiled to amazing next-gen graphics these days. Still, I love the facial expressions on characters during the well-rendered scenes. That really brought life to the characters.
Sound - Fantastic. Akira Yamaoka has been doing SH's music for so long and for good reason, it's always fitting with the mood. Catchy, haunting, whatever. I'll be buying the soundtrack.
In closing, I've played more fun games than SH2, but I don't think any will stick in my mind as well or as long. It will make you think, it will make you wonder, and you'll enjoy it the whole way. And really, isn't that what games are supposed to do?
Exellent story September 7, 2008
Silent Hill 2 is famous with video gamers for what is perhaps the best story in a video game yet.
You play as James Sunderland, a normal guy who goes to Silent Hill after receiving a strange letter from his wife. The strange thing is that his wife died long before the letter was written...
This game does have two issues: the combat is a bit frustrating and the camera isn't a team player, but the story more than makes up for that.
 Great game if its' unique flavor is indeed your cup of tea. August 6, 2008
I got SH 2 years ago. For its' time the graphics were great and the story was definetly something original no other game developer team had tried before. If you were to ask which I found more scary..being attacked by flesh eating mutants or receiving a genuine letter from a deceased loved one written AFTER they had died I'd be inclined to say the later.
Regardless that is the Dilehma James is faced with. His dead wife has lured him back to Silent-hill and you know THAT is not going to be a happy walk in the park.
First of all let me say I think this game really made people "re-think" the survival horror genre. It tried being witty, intelligent, and chalked with macabre symbolism as opposed to zombie arms that broke through windows. Even the side characters were more than simply devices to move the plot along. Eddie and Angela have their own interesting inner demons too and Maria looks just like James's deceased wife though her personality is drastically different. If that is not enough to sell you on this premise I could simply say "Oh yeah this game introduces Pyramid-Head". That alone will have people lining up in droves.
Now putting everything good about the game aside I'm going to be brave and talk about why I think while it deserves "praise" it still is not all that and a side order of extra big fries. Yes, I know this is the game the elite Silent Snoots put on a pedestal. The one game no other SH can compare to. The Holy Grail of team silent. Is it that earth shattering? For me anyway it was not.
As with the other games there is a suspenseful build up. First it is sounds. Then it is fleeting shadows. Finally it is full blown creatures. The only problem is often there are not enough monsters and instead you are forced to aimlessly wander around trying to collect keys or pieces of an obscure puzzle. Now I admit sometimes its' fun to run around an enviorment without fear of dying to see those little details. However in a survival horror game you should never begin lulling into a calm sense of security and that's the biggest flaw of the game. In most areas I felt "safe" and that the monsters were easy to manuever around. Every once in awhile an eager lurching Pyramid-Head made my heart race a bit but besides for the beloved apron adorned big guy no other creatures instilled in me any amount of dread.
The true disturbing factor comes from interacting with Eddie and Angela. I will not divulge why they are so psychologically unstable but talking with them alone requires a few steel nerves. These are normal people that "snapped" and you get the feeling you are a participant in their horrorifying delusions. Things get stranger when you meet Maria, the sultry Dopple-ganger of Mary who embodies all Jame's sexual fantasies given flesh. Is she Jame's wife's ghost? Sadly Silent Hill never makes an explaination that easy so you have to keep playing to find out.
As the game slowly drags on it picks up when we find out James has his own dark secret. When you finally get that revelation everything comes together and you know why Silent Hill's foggy streets beckoned to him.
Now there is one thing I like to make clear to the fans. Pyramid Head pursued James because James subconciously wanted to be punished for his past misdeeds however a few references from the other games prove the executioner has been apart of the town history for a long time. PH was not manifested from James, he was merely drawn to James. This is why it is OK PH was in the movie and ok he is in SH V.
Examples
1. In origins the gillespie house had a picture of PH. Origins took place way before Jame's arrival.
2. The Room talked about "the red devil" and Jimmy stone. This story ties into PH if you read it carefully.
3. Another document in Origins talked about "the executioner" as well.
4. In SH 3 there is a picture of one of Alessa's past goddess incarnations with PH in the background amongst a few other people. You can view it in the cathedral.
I just wanted to clear that up because there is a HUGE DEBATE raging PH should be confined to only this game which I find to be a waste of breath.
As you can expect the music in this game is haunting and very befitting of Jame's sad tale and descent into madness to find his redemption. If there is one thing SH 2 gets right it is estabalishing a powerful thought provoking mood.
Combat is what you expect from SH. You are not going to be able to fight like a marine. A plank with nails in it is your first weapon. That should tell you something right there. Eventually you get a few guns and a few other melee weapons besides your buddy "Plank-zorz". Aside from stomping on monsters when they're down you are not a golden glove brawling champion. Perhaps it is for this reason it is good why most of the monsters are so gosh darn pathetic. Besides for the acid spewing of the patient monsters and the sheer size of the abstract daddies nothing made me feel over-whelmed that often.
So in the end I'll say this game is great for atmosphere and a brilliant story. If you can stomach a horror game with more emphasis placed on wandering around, solving puzles, and talking to crazy lunatics to glean disturbing revelations you can likely over look the fact the combat engine is uninspired and the monsters are more scarce than the items in your inventory.
Silent Hill 2 May 6, 2008
When the playstation began to rise in popularity, it released a game known as Silent Hill. This game impacted many with its disturbing sense of horror. Silent Hill 2 was then released for the PS2 with amazing graphics and great replay value. This game is barely tolerable to play in alone in a dark room, but it is possible. I recommend this game for anyone who wants a horrific threal and great gameplay included.
A nightmare I will never forget. April 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a Brilliant game and one of the best games I have ever played. A master peace from start to end
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