The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
Just a matter of days ago, I managed to play on my mates PS2, who had obtained a copy of Silent Hill 2 - here's my review of the game.
Where did it all start? Resident Evil? Alone In The Dark? Zombies Ate My neighbours? Whatever caused these horror/survival games to happen is spawning many wannabe games. These games include Martian Gothic Unification, Parasite Eve (1 and 2) and Chaos Break. These games, I am sorry to say, were shop shelf to back door games. They were awful.
The Resident Evil games, thanks to the genius of Shinji Mikami, were the unrivalled kings of survival games. By that, I mean Resident Evil 1 and 2 leapt to the top of the charts, not giving a damn about the pathetic opposition. The attitude of Resident Evil then began to get a little too comfortable, relaxing and sitting back to make Resident Evil merchandise (dolls, comics, etc) and working on the Resident Evil film. But one day they got a nasty shock to find a game that had stood up to challenge Resident Evil’s crown. The game was called Silent Hill.
This game was the only survival game at the time to be awarded a 10/10 by Official UK PlayStation Magazine. It was the darkest and most chilling game out there. The zombies from Resident Evil 1 and 2 were, lets face it, fairly easy to avoid and their slow lumbering movements didn’t exactly fill you with fear. Silent Hill’s creatures were freakish though and far more evil in style. Resident Evil’s creatures were made by Umbrella whereas Silent Hill’s, due to the demons and headless claw creatures, were far more identifiable to something from hell. Silent Hill added a few clever touches that Resident Evil had sadly overlooked. You pick up a radio near the start and every time you are about to run in to a monster (or indeed one will run into you) it would release a disturbing burst of static. Torches illuminated corridors as you played with the beam onthe walls. The heartbeat of your character could be felt from the Dual Shock (A lovely idea which Resident Evil: Code Veronica has stolen) making you nail-bitingly nervous.
The game was never accepted into mainstream British culture quite as much as the Resident Evils. It did do well by all means but not as well. Resident Evil, just over half a year later, released a new game Resident Evil 3: Nemesis which introduced a new creature that would stalk you through rooms moving twice as fast as you. It received a worthy 10/10 from Official UK PlayStation Magazine, which boosted its sales dramatically. Out of loyalty or perhaps the differing amount of advertising the public went for Resident Evil 3 and far too many forgot about Silent Hill.
Present
Resident Evil rules supreme with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil: Zero Hour, Resident Evil: Code Veronica and Resident Evil: Survivor crossing a wide range of consoles. Also Capcom has built up two other games, Dino Crisis and Dino Crisis 2. So far Capcom is smugly content with a franchise of 8 survival games dominating the market.
Its time for that to change…
Future
Now the time begins when the game that should be sitting in Resident Evil’s Throne returns. The dark twisted town of Silent Hill is once again on the map. This time though Harry Mason does not star. Instead James Sanderland returns to Silent Hill, the town he promised to take his wife to, after he receives a letter from his wife. Doesn’t sound very scary does it? That is, until you find out that his wife has been dead for three years.
Freaky creatures appear and some that make your stomach churn. Faceless nurses, bodies that writhe in a layer of rubbery flesh that seems to imprison them and other bizarre nasties. Are you scared yet? No? Well if you see the screenshots of Silent Hill 2 you will be. The fog was added in the original due to the limitations of the PlayStation. This time it moves realistically when coming in to contact with thinks that would disturb it. This enhances the atmosphere dramatically. The open spaces seem claustrophobic as the fog closes of things from view. Is that a building? What would happen if I go to it? Is there something waiting for me if I did?
Screenshots also show that the feeling of the terrifying and perhaps more sinister "indoor" world has not worn off. Reddish brown grime cakes some floors or walls and you ask yourself. Is that blood or mud? The idea is not to be able to identify it and leave you guessing.
Konami don’t want the locations that you visit in Silent Hill 2 to be in anyway repetitive to the first Silent Hill. The town is the same but you will not visit the same places or see any of the characters from the first game. However, Silent Hill 2 may have some strong competition.
This is a great game and makes me re-consider getting a PS2. Get this game when it comes out - it's an absolute cracker. I hope to get back round my mates' soon and play this great game again.
Thanks for reading.
Firebalt.
Where did it all start? Resident Evil? Alone In The Dark? Zombies Ate My neighbours? Whatever caused these horror/survival games to happen is spawning many wannabe games. These games include Martian Gothic Unification, Parasite Eve (1 and 2) and Chaos Break. These games, I am sorry to say, were shop shelf to back door games. They were awful.
The Resident Evil games, thanks to the genius of Shinji Mikami, were the unrivalled kings of survival games. By that, I mean Resident Evil 1 and 2 leapt to the top of the charts, not giving a damn about the pathetic opposition. The attitude of Resident Evil then began to get a little too comfortable, relaxing and sitting back to make Resident Evil merchandise (dolls, comics, etc) and working on the Resident Evil film. But one day they got a nasty shock to find a game that had stood up to challenge Resident Evil’s crown. The game was called Silent Hill.
This game was the only survival game at the time to be awarded a 10/10 by Official UK PlayStation Magazine. It was the darkest and most chilling game out there. The zombies from Resident Evil 1 and 2 were, lets face it, fairly easy to avoid and their slow lumbering movements didn’t exactly fill you with fear. Silent Hill’s creatures were freakish though and far more evil in style. Resident Evil’s creatures were made by Umbrella whereas Silent Hill’s, due to the demons and headless claw creatures, were far more identifiable to something from hell. Silent Hill added a few clever touches that Resident Evil had sadly overlooked. You pick up a radio near the start and every time you are about to run in to a monster (or indeed one will run into you) it would release a disturbing burst of static. Torches illuminated corridors as you played with the beam onthe walls. The heartbeat of your character could be felt from the Dual Shock (A lovely idea which Resident Evil: Code Veronica has stolen) making you nail-bitingly nervous.
The game was never accepted into mainstream British culture quite as much as the Resident Evils. It did do well by all means but not as well. Resident Evil, just over half a year later, released a new game Resident Evil 3: Nemesis which introduced a new creature that would stalk you through rooms moving twice as fast as you. It received a worthy 10/10 from Official UK PlayStation Magazine, which boosted its sales dramatically. Out of loyalty or perhaps the differing amount of advertising the public went for Resident Evil 3 and far too many forgot about Silent Hill.
Present
Resident Evil rules supreme with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil: Zero Hour, Resident Evil: Code Veronica and Resident Evil: Survivor crossing a wide range of consoles. Also Capcom has built up two other games, Dino Crisis and Dino Crisis 2. So far Capcom is smugly content with a franchise of 8 survival games dominating the market.
Its time for that to change…
Future
Now the time begins when the game that should be sitting in Resident Evil’s Throne returns. The dark twisted town of Silent Hill is once again on the map. This time though Harry Mason does not star. Instead James Sanderland returns to Silent Hill, the town he promised to take his wife to, after he receives a letter from his wife. Doesn’t sound very scary does it? That is, until you find out that his wife has been dead for three years.
Freaky creatures appear and some that make your stomach churn. Faceless nurses, bodies that writhe in a layer of rubbery flesh that seems to imprison them and other bizarre nasties. Are you scared yet? No? Well if you see the screenshots of Silent Hill 2 you will be. The fog was added in the original due to the limitations of the PlayStation. This time it moves realistically when coming in to contact with thinks that would disturb it. This enhances the atmosphere dramatically. The open spaces seem claustrophobic as the fog closes of things from view. Is that a building? What would happen if I go to it? Is there something waiting for me if I did?
Screenshots also show that the feeling of the terrifying and perhaps more sinister "indoor" world has not worn off. Reddish brown grime cakes some floors or walls and you ask yourself. Is that blood or mud? The idea is not to be able to identify it and leave you guessing.
Konami don’t want the locations that you visit in Silent Hill 2 to be in anyway repetitive to the first Silent Hill. The town is the same but you will not visit the same places or see any of the characters from the first game. However, Silent Hill 2 may have some strong competition.
This is a great game and makes me re-consider getting a PS2. Get this game when it comes out - it's an absolute cracker. I hope to get back round my mates' soon and play this great game again.
Thanks for reading.
Firebalt.
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
Just a matter of days ago, I managed to play on my mates PS2, who had obtained a copy of Silent Hill 2 - here's my review of the game.
Where did it all start? Resident Evil? Alone In The Dark? Zombies Ate My neighbours? Whatever caused these horror/survival games to happen is spawning many wannabe games. These games include Martian Gothic Unification, Parasite Eve (1 and 2) and Chaos Break. These games, I am sorry to say, were shop shelf to back door games. They were awful.
The Resident Evil games, thanks to the genius of Shinji Mikami, were the unrivalled kings of survival games. By that, I mean Resident Evil 1 and 2 leapt to the top of the charts, not giving a damn about the pathetic opposition. The attitude of Resident Evil then began to get a little too comfortable, relaxing and sitting back to make Resident Evil merchandise (dolls, comics, etc) and working on the Resident Evil film. But one day they got a nasty shock to find a game that had stood up to challenge Resident Evil’s crown. The game was called Silent Hill.
This game was the only survival game at the time to be awarded a 10/10 by Official UK PlayStation Magazine. It was the darkest and most chilling game out there. The zombies from Resident Evil 1 and 2 were, lets face it, fairly easy to avoid and their slow lumbering movements didn’t exactly fill you with fear. Silent Hill’s creatures were freakish though and far more evil in style. Resident Evil’s creatures were made by Umbrella whereas Silent Hill’s, due to the demons and headless claw creatures, were far more identifiable to something from hell. Silent Hill added a few clever touches that Resident Evil had sadly overlooked. You pick up a radio near the start and every time you are about to run in to a monster (or indeed one will run into you) it would release a disturbing burst of static. Torches illuminated corridors as you played with the beam onthe walls. The heartbeat of your character could be felt from the Dual Shock (A lovely idea which Resident Evil: Code Veronica has stolen) making you nail-bitingly nervous.
The game was never accepted into mainstream British culture quite as much as the Resident Evils. It did do well by all means but not as well. Resident Evil, just over half a year later, released a new game Resident Evil 3: Nemesis which introduced a new creature that would stalk you through rooms moving twice as fast as you. It received a worthy 10/10 from Official UK PlayStation Magazine, which boosted its sales dramatically. Out of loyalty or perhaps the differing amount of advertising the public went for Resident Evil 3 and far too many forgot about Silent Hill.
Present
Resident Evil rules supreme with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil: Zero Hour, Resident Evil: Code Veronica and Resident Evil: Survivor crossing a wide range of consoles. Also Capcom has built up two other games, Dino Crisis and Dino Crisis 2. So far Capcom is smugly content with a franchise of 8 survival games dominating the market.
Its time for that to change…
Future
Now the time begins when the game that should be sitting in Resident Evil’s Throne returns. The dark twisted town of Silent Hill is once again on the map. This time though Harry Mason does not star. Instead James Sanderland returns to Silent Hill, the town he promised to take his wife to, after he receives a letter from his wife. Doesn’t sound very scary does it? That is, until you find out that his wife has been dead for three years.
Freaky creatures appear and some that make your stomach churn. Faceless nurses, bodies that writhe in a layer of rubbery flesh that seems to imprison them and other bizarre nasties. Are you scared yet? No? Well if you see the screenshots of Silent Hill 2 you will be. The fog was added in the original due to the limitations of the PlayStation. This time it moves realistically when coming in to contact with thinks that would disturb it. This enhances the atmosphere dramatically. The open spaces seem claustrophobic as the fog closes of things from view. Is that a building? What would happen if I go to it? Is there something waiting for me if I did?
Screenshots also show that the feeling of the terrifying and perhaps more sinister "indoor" world has not worn off. Reddish brown grime cakes some floors or walls and you ask yourself. Is that blood or mud? The idea is not to be able to identify it and leave you guessing.
Konami don’t want the locations that you visit in Silent Hill 2 to be in anyway repetitive to the first Silent Hill. The town is the same but you will not visit the same places or see any of the characters from the first game. However, Silent Hill 2 may have some strong competition.
This is a great game and makes me re-consider getting a PS2. Get this game when it comes out - it's an absolute cracker. I hope to get back round my mates' soon and play this great game again.
Thanks for reading.
Firebalt.
Where did it all start? Resident Evil? Alone In The Dark? Zombies Ate My neighbours? Whatever caused these horror/survival games to happen is spawning many wannabe games. These games include Martian Gothic Unification, Parasite Eve (1 and 2) and Chaos Break. These games, I am sorry to say, were shop shelf to back door games. They were awful.
The Resident Evil games, thanks to the genius of Shinji Mikami, were the unrivalled kings of survival games. By that, I mean Resident Evil 1 and 2 leapt to the top of the charts, not giving a damn about the pathetic opposition. The attitude of Resident Evil then began to get a little too comfortable, relaxing and sitting back to make Resident Evil merchandise (dolls, comics, etc) and working on the Resident Evil film. But one day they got a nasty shock to find a game that had stood up to challenge Resident Evil’s crown. The game was called Silent Hill.
This game was the only survival game at the time to be awarded a 10/10 by Official UK PlayStation Magazine. It was the darkest and most chilling game out there. The zombies from Resident Evil 1 and 2 were, lets face it, fairly easy to avoid and their slow lumbering movements didn’t exactly fill you with fear. Silent Hill’s creatures were freakish though and far more evil in style. Resident Evil’s creatures were made by Umbrella whereas Silent Hill’s, due to the demons and headless claw creatures, were far more identifiable to something from hell. Silent Hill added a few clever touches that Resident Evil had sadly overlooked. You pick up a radio near the start and every time you are about to run in to a monster (or indeed one will run into you) it would release a disturbing burst of static. Torches illuminated corridors as you played with the beam onthe walls. The heartbeat of your character could be felt from the Dual Shock (A lovely idea which Resident Evil: Code Veronica has stolen) making you nail-bitingly nervous.
The game was never accepted into mainstream British culture quite as much as the Resident Evils. It did do well by all means but not as well. Resident Evil, just over half a year later, released a new game Resident Evil 3: Nemesis which introduced a new creature that would stalk you through rooms moving twice as fast as you. It received a worthy 10/10 from Official UK PlayStation Magazine, which boosted its sales dramatically. Out of loyalty or perhaps the differing amount of advertising the public went for Resident Evil 3 and far too many forgot about Silent Hill.
Present
Resident Evil rules supreme with Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil: Zero Hour, Resident Evil: Code Veronica and Resident Evil: Survivor crossing a wide range of consoles. Also Capcom has built up two other games, Dino Crisis and Dino Crisis 2. So far Capcom is smugly content with a franchise of 8 survival games dominating the market.
Its time for that to change…
Future
Now the time begins when the game that should be sitting in Resident Evil’s Throne returns. The dark twisted town of Silent Hill is once again on the map. This time though Harry Mason does not star. Instead James Sanderland returns to Silent Hill, the town he promised to take his wife to, after he receives a letter from his wife. Doesn’t sound very scary does it? That is, until you find out that his wife has been dead for three years.
Freaky creatures appear and some that make your stomach churn. Faceless nurses, bodies that writhe in a layer of rubbery flesh that seems to imprison them and other bizarre nasties. Are you scared yet? No? Well if you see the screenshots of Silent Hill 2 you will be. The fog was added in the original due to the limitations of the PlayStation. This time it moves realistically when coming in to contact with thinks that would disturb it. This enhances the atmosphere dramatically. The open spaces seem claustrophobic as the fog closes of things from view. Is that a building? What would happen if I go to it? Is there something waiting for me if I did?
Screenshots also show that the feeling of the terrifying and perhaps more sinister "indoor" world has not worn off. Reddish brown grime cakes some floors or walls and you ask yourself. Is that blood or mud? The idea is not to be able to identify it and leave you guessing.
Konami don’t want the locations that you visit in Silent Hill 2 to be in anyway repetitive to the first Silent Hill. The town is the same but you will not visit the same places or see any of the characters from the first game. However, Silent Hill 2 may have some strong competition.
This is a great game and makes me re-consider getting a PS2. Get this game when it comes out - it's an absolute cracker. I hope to get back round my mates' soon and play this great game again.
Thanks for reading.
Firebalt.