Silent Hill 2
From SilentHill
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Contents |
Plot
James Sunderland receives a letter from his wife, Mary. As the player soon hears from James, this is (at the least) unexpected for Mary is dead, having succumbed to an unknown disease three years prior. The letter certainly suggests that she may not be, however, for in it Mary tells James that she is in Silent Hill, alone and awaiting him in their "special place." Frustration and forlorn hope lead James to the small New England resort town, not at all knowing what he will find but resigned to do it for Mary. Upon arrival he finds Silent Hill abandoned and in considerable disrepair. His search for Mary quickly becomes a struggle for survival against hordes of ghoulish monsters, prominent among them a large, hulking man-like creature James dubs "the Red Pyramid Thing". The search itself takes on bitter and unexpected angles as he encounters other people in the town, each with their own conflicts and dark secrets, and the more James learns about them the closer he comes to realizing that he may be carrying a few of his own.
Characters
- James Sunderland: The game's protagonist and primary player-character. James is a man in his late 20s and is the husband of Mary. With the exception of the Born From a Wish scenario, the entirety of Silent Hill 2 is shown from his perspective as he follows his letter in search of his wife, Mary. He is also the son of Silent Hill 4: The Room character Frank Sunderland.
- Mary Shepherd-Sunderland: James's wife. At the start of the game the player learns that she has been deceased for three years, the victim of an incurable and ultimately fatal illness (which is never directly named). A letter bearing her name and signature comes into James's possession three years after her death. The player's primary objective is to guide James through Silent Hill to find her.
- Maria: A young woman whom James encounters standing alone at the lookout on Lake Toluca's southern shore, which he first believes is the "special place" to which Mary's letter refers. Maria bears a striking physical resemblance to Mary, and not just in the similarities of their name, though she dresses and acts much more provocatively than James's wife. Their connections may be deeper than that, though, because Maria also seems to know things only Mary could possibly know. She joins and accompanies James twice throughout the game and appears several more times. She is also the lead character in the Born From a Wish sub-scenario.
- Angela Orosco: A young woman who is timid and very troubled, Angela appears to be in Silent Hill on a mission to find her mother. James meets Angela very early on in his quest and in their first meeting he receives from her an ominous warning of the dangers that await him. Her moods and temperament change frequently, sometimes several distinct times in any given meeting, and she displays suicidal tendencies. To the extent which the player is made aware, Angela is the only character in Silent Hill 2 that does not encounter any of the game's other characters.
- Laura: A precocious eight year-old girl James encounters frequently in his travels. She initially seems to serve as a mean-spirited hindrance to James, but he soon learns that Laura knows Mary and claims to have been very good friends with her. She seems to be able to explore Silent Hill unaware of the monsters and dangers James encounters.
- Eddie Dombrowski: An overweight young man whose boyish appearance clashes quite frankly with his morbid and increasingly violent demeanor. When James encounters Eddie there often tends to be a corpse or two close-by, a fact from which Eddie repeatedly tries to disassociate himself. He knows and seems to be a casual acquaintance of Laura's; a brief scene in Silent Hill 2's introduction movie suggests that they may have traveled to the town together.
- Ernest Baldwin: Maria encounters this man in his eponymous mansion, though she never actually sees him, only conversing with him through locked doors. Ernest is a doctor and the father of Amy Baldwin, who died in a tragic accident as a small child. He attempts to enlist Maria's help in obtaining a sacred relic that may be used to bring his daughter back to life. He also seems to know James, though James is never shown to be aware of Ernest.
Monsters
Weapons
Wooden Plank - You'll have to use this weapon for a while in the beginning of the game. It has a short range and does limited damage. Once you get a better melee, this will become useless.
Handgun - This will be the first firearm you come across. Ammo is plentiful and this gun is fast and easy to use. It works well on most regular enemies.
Steel Pipe - This is a decent melee weapon. It is easy to use and quite powerful. It's good to conserve ammo, but you have to get a bit close to enemies to hit them.
Shotgun - This is a powerful weapon that is most effective at close range. It inflicts a good amount of damage and ammo isn't too hard to come by. Best used on tougher enemies.
Rifle - This is the most powerful firearm in the game. However, it is very slow and must be reloaded after every shot. Ammo is also rare, so it should be conserved for boss battles.
Great Knife - Pyramid Head's weapon. It is the most powerful melee weapon in the game, but is slow and difficult to use. You also walk very slow while it is equipped.
Chainsaw - The chainsaw is available on a second game near the beginning. It's a powerful melee weapon, but can be slow and difficult to use. It takes time to warm up before it can be used.
Hyperspray (green) - You unlock these weapons when you beat the game twice. This has unlimited sprays and will kill any enemy in one spray. This is the most powerful type of Hyper Spray.
Hyperspray (yellow) - This spray will paralyze abstract daddy, nurses, Eddie (1st Battle), and table monsters. It will also completely defeat straight jackets. and make mannequins attack each other.
Hyperspray (white) - This spray will paralyze nurses, table monsters, and mannequins. It will also completely defeat straight jackets. and chases away the final boss' moths.
Hyperspray (purple) - This has unlimited sprays. Effective to paralyze all normal enemies. It also will completely defeat straight jackets and make mannequins attack each other.
Meat Cleaver (Maria scenario only) - This is the only melee weapon available when playing as Maria in the X-Box/Ps2 Greatest Hits "Born From a Wish" scenario. It is weak and has little range.
Revolver (Maria scenario only) - This is the only firearm available to Maria when you play the X-Box/Ps2 Greatest Hits "Born From a Wish" scenario. It has moderate stopping power, but ammo is rare.
Theories
Items
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Releases
Silent Hill 2 was first released for PlayStation 2 in late 2001. The original European edition also included a second disc: a "Making-of" DVD video featuring trailers, an artwork gallery and a documentary on the title's development.
The Xbox port was released late in the same year as the PS2 version, on December 20, and the PC version in December of the following year. Each region had a different subtitle; the Xbox port was subtitled Saigo no Uta (最期の詩, Saigo no Uta? lit. "poem of the last moment") in Japan, Restless Dreams in North America, and Inner Fears in Europe. The ports also contained additional material. James' scenario was given a sixth ending and an additional sub-scenario titled "Born from a Wish" was included. This mini-game is shown from the perspective of Maria, which explains her background before she met James in the main game.
This revised version of the game was ported back to the PS2 and PC and billed as a director's cut under both the "Greatest Hits" and "Platinum" labels depending on location.
The PC version of Silent Hill 2 was released in December 2002, ported by Creature Labs and published by Konami. The PC edition is equivalent to the Xbox port, including the Maria scenario and the extra ending. The port generally received worse reviews due to its controls, which were keyboard only, mouse support limited to menu and map navigation, although the game had support for a USB controller. Other added features included the ability to save anywhere, quicksave and quickload, and a movie menu to view trailers for Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3, as well as any ingame movie once seen by the player.
