As the most acclaimed of the series, Silent Hill 2, much like protagonist James Sunderland, shoulders a considerable burden. After nine years, do the mannequins and geometric monsters still emerge from the woodwork as viciously as before? Revisiting that “special place” should fill any gaps in memory. I plugged in a PS3 controller and loaded the PC version, companion to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox editions.

What You’ll Like

Turn Left on Nathan Avenue

Restless Dreams blankets players with the town’s looming isolation. The sirens, otherworlds, and even the staple flashlight and radio slowly drop into the player’s lap. Between Sunderland’s impeccable map-keeping abilities and the direct tactic of gameplay, players can navigate Silent Hill without breaking too much of a sweat. Memorable, unique architecture distinguishes key locations, and the heavy atmosphere complements the dreary wallpaper settings. Akira Yamaoka’s outstanding musical score and his fifty-plus sound effects provide each moment a haunting undercurrent.

Of Special Interest

Although James often pines over his late wife, even he enjoys a good puzzle—and so will the player. In addition to the several gameplay modes, selecting the riddle difficulty ensures a manageable experience. Logical and fair, the puzzles occasionally call for pen and paper solutions, but the clues rarely stump for long.

Fighting, split between light and heavy attacks, proves an equally satisfying affair, and James can target different enemies with a quick tap. A little exploration returns a big profit, as the game packs surpluses of ammo and health into its nooks and crannies. Keeping the flashlight shining will attract James’ attention to any noteworthy item, as well.

You Say Mary; I Say Maria

Silent Hill 2 gushes with more than blood: It writes the book on psychological horror. Voice-acting striking a reasonable chord, the dynamic characters interact purposefully with James throughout the gradually developing story, which is topped with a grand reveal. The clever scares, second only to the intelligent psychology manipulating them, lure players deeper into James’ mentality.

Pyramid Head, who has become the series’ go-to icon, triumphs as an unsettling antagonist, goading players onward through paranoia.

“Born from a Wish” places the seductive Maria in the midst of a haunted mansion. The extra scenario offers a less engaging run-around and little incentive other than a deeper look into Maria’s character, which interested players can appreciate.

What You Won’t Like

Look Sharp

Sometimes the game’s eerie perspectives enhance the frightful effect. In many cases, though, the stubborn camera controls inhibit exploration and acts as a nuisance, particularly upon entering rooms. James’ health meter also suffers from poor construction. Except for the unmistakable red health sign that appears when James is about to keel over, the static distortions viewable from the inventory screen give a lazy estimate of his overall status.

Recommendation: Rewarding and gripping, Silent Hill 2 expertly handles its love story bridled with horror. A solid game, players will find themselves venturing through the fog more than once, minor inconveniences doing little to dent the impressive experience. Few will forget the terror waiting among James Sunderland’s memories … unless they can’t bear to remember. 9/10

Review format credited to the Girls Entertainment Network

The holidays are almost upon us, which means sooner or later we procrastinators really need to start, you know, shopping and stuff. December is always a wonderful time of year for gamers—sure, November starts the race … especially on Black Friday … but the real joy comes in the first real snow-flying month (unless you live in California … jerk).

In celebration of our favorite time of year, I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at December sales and landmark events in the past seven years—that’s the entire 21st-century thus far according to the good ol’ Gregorian calendar. So sit back and read on, and I hope you enjoy. The full feature is up at RadNerd, but here’s a brief preview:

Developers, publishers, and gamers put down their controllers and join hands for that special time of the year when they break fingers and rush out in a mad stampede to buy the latest and greatest of the tie-breaking holiday season. The winter holidays are as big and influential for the gaming industry as summer is for popcorn movies, and this season will fall in line just like a pixel-decorated, shining … okay, insert your own politically correct object here. Let’s just say Charlie Brown would weep with joy and throw that stick figure excuse for an ornament-hanger in the trash with all the annually recycled wrapping paper. Here are the top December games of the last seven years—because 2000 doesn’t technically count (and no one loves it).

2001

One year in and the holiday season has a bundle of soon-to-be favorites to offer gamers in exchange for their merry good cheer. Of course, it was also a year of new tidings: the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo GameCube, and Xbox entered the popularly dubbed console war.

PS: I hope you like the banner.

Wake up, Henry. Clever fans will note the connections between the fourth game and previous installments: from the significance of the superintendent Frank Sunderland’s name to the mysterious “There was a HOLE here; it’s gone now” in SH2 and the repeated mentions of a certain murderer throughout the series. Wonder no more, because Silent Hill 4: The Room means to unravel the truth—whether you like it or not.

What You’ll Like

21 Ways to Die

Henry Townshend finds himself inexplicably locked in his apartment for five days. The windows won’t open, nobody on the outside can hear him when he yells, and somebody’s chained his door from the inside along with the friendly note, “Don’t go out — Walter.” When a strange hole forms in his bathroom wall, that’s when the nightmare really begins.

Your apartment, haunting-free. You live on wine and chocolate milk, apparently.

“Walter” turns out to be the name of a deranged serial killer named Walter Sullivan, who believes he can resurrect his “mother” by carrying out the ritual of the 21 Sacraments—which consists of twenty-one separate murders, including his own suicide. Henry crawls through the hole in his apartment to different Otherworlds, where he meets the last of Walter’s to-be victims; he can do nothing to keep Walter from killing them and ensuring their deaths in the real world, as well. Soon he and his neighbor, Eileen Galvin, are the only two intended victims still living.

While the characters aren’t developed much due to their, erm, untimely deaths, the story itself plays out in a unique and incredibly chilling manner. You’ll be dragged down into the abyss with Henry—especially once your apartment no longer acts as a sanctuary, instead susceptible to various types of deadly haunting. The Room specializes in a genuine feeling of suffocation and growing isolation: People are dying around you, and no one outside your room can hear your cries. On top of that, you’re left with a frighteningly nonexistent sense of control. Henry becomes an unwilling servant to the 21 Sacraments, forced to stop an immortal Walter from completing the ritual. Ghosts can’t be killed, only warded away or stopped; half the time you have no idea where the Otherworld holes are going to take you next; your apartment and soon the entire building becomes a hell, whose limits Walter eventually breaches. No place is safe, and the game you thought you were playing starts taking on an entirely different set of rules.

Lose the Black, Keep the Trenchcoat

As far as villains go, Walter Sullivan succeeds at freaking me the hell out—and he completely takes advantage of that fact. With a blood-stained, terrifying visage and an intimidating demeanor, Walter lives up to his serial killer name. The first time you meet you practically run into him on the stairs, and before you can even think to run away, he starts having a pleasant conversation with you. Of course, he actually intends to trick you by giving you a cursed item. From the beginning, Walter toys with you, knowing he’s saving you for last. From the hospital scene to the forest chase, Walter’s actions are horrifyingly unpredictable … and wonderfully so.

This washed out picture really doesn't do Walter justice. I'll be over there, crying.

The Cut-Out Heart of Interior Decorating

The Room boasts detailed, grotesque environments completely aware of their place. Your apartment feels bland, like all crappy apartments are—at least until hauntings begin to adorn it with bloodied chairs, faces in the wall, and children’s shadows in your closet. Regardless of evil spirits, each time you return to room 302, there’s something new to be discovered—whether it’s red diary pages from the resident before you tucked neatly under your door or Walter stalking you through your door’s peephole.

And of course, Akira Yamaoka provides an always excellent score; strengthened with vocals by Joe Romersa, the soundtrack wields some of the best vocal songs in the series.

What You Won’t Like

Next Time Bring the Chocolate Milk

The concept of traveling through holes to other dimensions—which reveal the secrets of the cult-run Wish House where Walter grew up—plays out well until you’re burdened by inconvenience. Silent Hill 4 bears the shame of being the only game in the series with a limited inventory system and no means of discarding, which means you’ll have to make frequent and annoying trips back to your room and dig through its storage box in order to progress. Combat suffers from cumbersome execution, as well. Although the dodge and charge features are helpful, there’s no way to efficiently switch between targets.

Monkey see, monkey do. Enemies aren't too difficult once you know their mannerisms.

Having virtually no control over your situation makes for a captivating story, but not when it comes to gameplay. You’re given practically no guidance as to why collecting saint medallions and saving loads of health are important measures to take for later in the game, which can lead to a decent dose of frustration.

And speaking of that, Eileen might be that caring and self-conscious girl next door you never get the chance to ask out since you’re, oh yeah, trapped in your room thanks to a madman, but she quickly becomes one of the worst examples of escort missions. She’s injured to begin with, and her limp and clingy nature means constantly making sure she’s close enough to follow you through doors. This quickly becomes irritating due to the growing presence of ghosts and Walter, who turns aggressive in the latter half of the game. Plus, Eileen can’t drop down holes or use ladders, so you’ll have to find a different way to move from Otherworld to Otherworld. However, she can be surprisingly advantageous a fight, and needs much less healing than Henry.

Hurry, Henry!

The pieces slowly come together in the first half of the game, but the second chunk with Eileen focuses too much on cramming story and gameplay into several hours’ time. Returning to your apartment won’t heal you; although the interaction between the Otherworlds and your apartment—like it’s being contaminated by Walter’s reality—makes the game more interesting, the hauntings don’t really start until the second half. You’ll want to hunt down every holy candle you can, because later each visit back to your apartment means another haunting to clean up before the situation worsens.

Ghosts will give Henry (and you) a sizable headache.

Not to mention you can almost zip through the Otherworlds revisited, whose maps are significantly less extensive the second time. Compared to previous Silent Hill games when the sirens take over, the change here feels more than a little lacking.

Silent … Mountain?

The game begins in South Ashfield Heights and takes you to Otherworlds near your apartment—the subway, St. Jerome Hospital, etc. Silent Hill has little do with it, including the style. Ghosts have never had prominence in the series, and the absence of boss battles causes the game stray from the usual, too. I’m an advocate of giving series titles the room (no pun intended) to evolve, but not when it comes to wandering away from its spirit (again with the puns) entirely. The Room probably would have been better off if it had been released as a separate game altogether. At least the voice-acting is decent … except for the emotionally stunted yet handsome Henry and his hilariously emo way of dying.

Recommendation:

While I enjoyed The Room, it wasn’t until my second play-through that I truly warmed up to the game. It barely holds on to the name Silent Hill, for gone is the flashlight and sirens, heavy shadows, and psychological torment. As far as horror goes, SH4 does a decent job, yet perhaps not on the level of the series’ previous titles. For a game that only requires around ten or eleven hours depending on whether or not you know what you’re doing, a more even pace for the latter half would have done a world of good. Even though flaws in execution bring Silent Hill 4: The Room down a notch or two, the overall experience is still impressively worth the, well … sacrifice. 8/10

Handsome Haunted Henry.

Review format credited to the Girls Entertainment Network