Post by failureisanoption on Jun 14, 2015 3:27:41 GMT
Yo guys,
Bored as I am, I thought I might do another one, though I wanted to save myself until next week.....
Ah well, nothing I can do about it now so enjoy my terribly written review. There will be a lot of text this week, so grab a coffee or something, and maybe a snack.
Today, we will go back to September (my birth month, yay \o/) of 2001 and have a look at one of the greatest Horror games ya could (n)ever play:
Silent Hill 2, made by Konami's Team Silent, and originally released on the PlayStation 2, with an extended cut released on the original Xbox (which added a small extra scenario and cleaned up some things, I guess, I never played it) and released on the PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360 as part of the Silent Hill HD collection, and ported to PC also. But ya don't want the HD collection or the PC release as they suck ass. They were made worse instead of better, so really, save yourself the trouble and don't do it.
Our story revolves around a man called James, who mysteriously has received a letter from his wife. Well, I hear ya ask "why is that strange?", hmm, it's probably because she has been dead for the last 3 years. Don't worry, it was not a spoiler, they actually tell ya this. So anyway, she wants to meet him in their special place, and since he is as curious as ya are right now, he sets out to the town of (new) Silent Hill, to find out about the origin the letter. On his journey, he will also meet some other characters, each with his or her own background and reason to be in Silent Hill. And unlike the third game, ya didn't need to have played the first one to get the whole story, as it is a stand-alone tale and has no relation apart from some location references.
Fantastic, now we got the basic story down, let's talk about the gameplay already. Since ya awesome and ya might have played this already, ya can skip this section, or read it anyway and tell me if I got it wrong. As mentioned before, it is a horror game, but it has more of a psychological horror aspect to it than the jump scares they are trying to do nowadays. Ya will start out with no weapons or any sort of tools, ya might not even get a map, but that's really up to ya. It will start out very boring, since ya do nothing but walk around and trying to find out what to do. But eventually, ya will come across the first enemies, which will also supply ya with yer first weapon, and one of the handiest tools ya can have while playing. I'm talking about, of course, the Pocket Radio. Yea, ya heard me right, I said radio. Ya know why the radio is so important? Because it tells ya when the bad guys are near ya by blaring a lot of static at yer ears. The louder the static, the closer the monster. Fantastic, ain't it? Well, the good news is, ya can turn it off, but ya won't know if baddies are near ya, unless ya some sort of pro gamer, then ya don't really need the radio, since They are attracted to mostly noise and light.
Now ya wondering where does the light part come in? Well, ya will also get a flashlight somewhere down the line, which is even more important than the radio. Without it, ya won't even be able to open some doors, look at your map, and generally do other things that might require a bit of a visual aid. These are probably the most important items in the game. Well, apart from the various quest items ya need.
Showing of the Flashlight (and other stuff)
That was some long bloody paragraph, I don't even want to do the rest now.......but power on we shall.
I think we should talk about the horror aspect next. As mentioned, it has more of a psychological aspect to it, it tries to make you your own worst enemy. I tell ya, I had to turn the game off several times, I was crapping my pants (nearly). If ya play it like it's supposed to be played, ya might do that, too. How should ya play it? Ideally, ya would do it when ya alone, in a dark room, with (good) headphones. Sound is very important to the psycho-horror. The scariest for me was when all of a sudden somebody whispered into my ear. Man, that was freaky since nobody was there with me. I stopped after that for the night, it was just too much for me. Though I actually found that by accident, so ya might never hear it. It does have some jump-scares, but not very many. Hmm, not much else I can say, if ya like suspense and creepy stuff, play it.
Have a screenshot
On top of all the scary stuff, the game will also make use of your braincells a bit (or a lot), since they have also implemented a Riddle Level, instead of only a difficulty level. On easy or medium Riddle level ya should be able to figure it out without much hassle, but once ya crank it up to hard (or Extra, once ya finished the game), some of the puzzles will have ya stumped. And if ya think ya can cheat, no, the solution is different for each level.
Ya think now, puzzles, horror? That's it, nothing more? Why is there no music? Or blood? Or some other stuff that ya not see in games? But my friend, I tell ya, ya have all that stuff. Just because I haven't talked about it, doesn't mean it's not there.
Additionally,to add replay value, here, have 5 different endings, because why not? Also, have some hidden weapons, like a facking chainsaw, because, who doesn't like to use a chainsaw to cut baddies? Though the best weapon has to be the aerosol....yes, aerosol! Brilliant, eh?
To pleasure your ears, a nice guy (Yamaoka Akira) wrote some epic music for ya, well, not all of it is epic, but most of it is very good. Ya should get yourselves the OST if ya can, it is quite good. Not as messed up as the one from the first game, though the mood they were going for was different, I think.
Ya will hear some nice haunting melodic stuff, some rock-style music, and some other stuff I fail to accurately describe, all complementing your playing experience.
Here, have a link to some music from this game:
https%3A//soundcloud.com/arvind-jagessar/silent-hill-2-love-psalm-instrumental-nightlclubby-jazzy And maybe another one:
https%3A//soundcloud.com/adam-amini/silent-hill-promise-repriseAnd have a last one:
https%3A//soundcloud.com/tirsis/ashes-and-ghost
Graphically, the game is again not super fancy, though some care went into the design of the locations and some enemies and visuals do convey an atmosphere of creepiness and loneliness. And the controls can be a bit clunky at times, as can the camera movement, but in no way does it make it unplayable. If ya have a PS2, and ya know someone who has the game, ask him/her if ya can borrow it. If ya can't do that, well, there is always the other option. Play pirate and get it on the internet. Though if ya going that way, ya need a decent computer, simply because emulation does take quite some resources. Emulator, as always, can be obtained legally, so no fear there, but the game and the BIOS file (required to use the emulator) are illegal to download, though the BIOS file can be gotten legally if ya actually possess a PS2.
Good news!!! I think I'm done with episode II. About time I hear ya say. That's what I thought, too.
Sorry for all that text, can't be helped. Look forward to next time, when we will be looking at a RPG, I just don't know which one yet. I have something in mind, but I can't decide.....Ah well, I still got some time to make up my mind.
Thanks for reading, and if ya wanna talk to me about the game, feel free to do so.
See ya next time....
Bored as I am, I thought I might do another one, though I wanted to save myself until next week.....
Ah well, nothing I can do about it now so enjoy my terribly written review. There will be a lot of text this week, so grab a coffee or something, and maybe a snack.
Today, we will go back to September (my birth month, yay \o/) of 2001 and have a look at one of the greatest Horror games ya could (n)ever play:
Silent Hill 2, made by Konami's Team Silent, and originally released on the PlayStation 2, with an extended cut released on the original Xbox (which added a small extra scenario and cleaned up some things, I guess, I never played it) and released on the PlayStation 3 and XBOX 360 as part of the Silent Hill HD collection, and ported to PC also. But ya don't want the HD collection or the PC release as they suck ass. They were made worse instead of better, so really, save yourself the trouble and don't do it.
Our story revolves around a man called James, who mysteriously has received a letter from his wife. Well, I hear ya ask "why is that strange?", hmm, it's probably because she has been dead for the last 3 years. Don't worry, it was not a spoiler, they actually tell ya this. So anyway, she wants to meet him in their special place, and since he is as curious as ya are right now, he sets out to the town of (new) Silent Hill, to find out about the origin the letter. On his journey, he will also meet some other characters, each with his or her own background and reason to be in Silent Hill. And unlike the third game, ya didn't need to have played the first one to get the whole story, as it is a stand-alone tale and has no relation apart from some location references.
Fantastic, now we got the basic story down, let's talk about the gameplay already. Since ya awesome and ya might have played this already, ya can skip this section, or read it anyway and tell me if I got it wrong. As mentioned before, it is a horror game, but it has more of a psychological horror aspect to it than the jump scares they are trying to do nowadays. Ya will start out with no weapons or any sort of tools, ya might not even get a map, but that's really up to ya. It will start out very boring, since ya do nothing but walk around and trying to find out what to do. But eventually, ya will come across the first enemies, which will also supply ya with yer first weapon, and one of the handiest tools ya can have while playing. I'm talking about, of course, the Pocket Radio. Yea, ya heard me right, I said radio. Ya know why the radio is so important? Because it tells ya when the bad guys are near ya by blaring a lot of static at yer ears. The louder the static, the closer the monster. Fantastic, ain't it? Well, the good news is, ya can turn it off, but ya won't know if baddies are near ya, unless ya some sort of pro gamer, then ya don't really need the radio, since They are attracted to mostly noise and light.
Now ya wondering where does the light part come in? Well, ya will also get a flashlight somewhere down the line, which is even more important than the radio. Without it, ya won't even be able to open some doors, look at your map, and generally do other things that might require a bit of a visual aid. These are probably the most important items in the game. Well, apart from the various quest items ya need.
Showing of the Flashlight (and other stuff)
That was some long bloody paragraph, I don't even want to do the rest now.......but power on we shall.
I think we should talk about the horror aspect next. As mentioned, it has more of a psychological aspect to it, it tries to make you your own worst enemy. I tell ya, I had to turn the game off several times, I was crapping my pants (nearly). If ya play it like it's supposed to be played, ya might do that, too. How should ya play it? Ideally, ya would do it when ya alone, in a dark room, with (good) headphones. Sound is very important to the psycho-horror. The scariest for me was when all of a sudden somebody whispered into my ear. Man, that was freaky since nobody was there with me. I stopped after that for the night, it was just too much for me. Though I actually found that by accident, so ya might never hear it. It does have some jump-scares, but not very many. Hmm, not much else I can say, if ya like suspense and creepy stuff, play it.
Have a screenshot
On top of all the scary stuff, the game will also make use of your braincells a bit (or a lot), since they have also implemented a Riddle Level, instead of only a difficulty level. On easy or medium Riddle level ya should be able to figure it out without much hassle, but once ya crank it up to hard (or Extra, once ya finished the game), some of the puzzles will have ya stumped. And if ya think ya can cheat, no, the solution is different for each level.
Ya think now, puzzles, horror? That's it, nothing more? Why is there no music? Or blood? Or some other stuff that ya not see in games? But my friend, I tell ya, ya have all that stuff. Just because I haven't talked about it, doesn't mean it's not there.
Additionally,to add replay value, here, have 5 different endings, because why not? Also, have some hidden weapons, like a facking chainsaw, because, who doesn't like to use a chainsaw to cut baddies? Though the best weapon has to be the aerosol....yes, aerosol! Brilliant, eh?
To pleasure your ears, a nice guy (Yamaoka Akira) wrote some epic music for ya, well, not all of it is epic, but most of it is very good. Ya should get yourselves the OST if ya can, it is quite good. Not as messed up as the one from the first game, though the mood they were going for was different, I think.
Ya will hear some nice haunting melodic stuff, some rock-style music, and some other stuff I fail to accurately describe, all complementing your playing experience.
Here, have a link to some music from this game:
https%3A//soundcloud.com/arvind-jagessar/silent-hill-2-love-psalm-instrumental-nightlclubby-jazzy And maybe another one:
https%3A//soundcloud.com/adam-amini/silent-hill-promise-repriseAnd have a last one:
https%3A//soundcloud.com/tirsis/ashes-and-ghost
Graphically, the game is again not super fancy, though some care went into the design of the locations and some enemies and visuals do convey an atmosphere of creepiness and loneliness. And the controls can be a bit clunky at times, as can the camera movement, but in no way does it make it unplayable. If ya have a PS2, and ya know someone who has the game, ask him/her if ya can borrow it. If ya can't do that, well, there is always the other option. Play pirate and get it on the internet. Though if ya going that way, ya need a decent computer, simply because emulation does take quite some resources. Emulator, as always, can be obtained legally, so no fear there, but the game and the BIOS file (required to use the emulator) are illegal to download, though the BIOS file can be gotten legally if ya actually possess a PS2.
Good news!!! I think I'm done with episode II. About time I hear ya say. That's what I thought, too.
Sorry for all that text, can't be helped. Look forward to next time, when we will be looking at a RPG, I just don't know which one yet. I have something in mind, but I can't decide.....Ah well, I still got some time to make up my mind.
Thanks for reading, and if ya wanna talk to me about the game, feel free to do so.
See ya next time....