Silent Hill 2 - Nitro Rad

"But that's impossible, a dead person can't send a letter; it's illegal!"

The pizza line is Guy Cihi's (James's voice actor) favorite too, according to him. He and Eddie's VA had way too much fun with that scene.

You know, there's actually a lot of theories as to what's happening in this game pertaining to the characters, and though you may have heard some of them given this review is a couple years old, I thought you might be interested in reading them. One is that the enemies you see wandering around Silent Hill in this game are actually ordinary people that James is seeing as monsters. This explains why Eddie actually finds James a hypocrite in the boss fight with him. He doesn't see why James is condemning him for killing others when, from Eddie's point of view, that's exactly what James has been doing for the entire game. In fact, if what James is witnessing is mostly in his head, it even explains how someone like Laura gets around Silent Hill without any problems. She's not encountering monsters because her psyche is so much less sinister than James's. It even explains why she locks James in that room: she has no idea there are monsters in there trying to kill him. Second is that James's wife has only been dead for three days, which is when he pulled the plug on her. The frustration with his sex life--and by extension the presence of sexy nurses--is not a consequence of not having a wife for several years; it's a consequence of not being able to have sex WITH his wife for so long. But why then does he talk as though she's been dead a lot longer? Because in his mind, Mary died the day she became a cripple. She's been "dead" to him for years, which is why he's so depressed and hollowed out. He's been caring for a ghost for so long that he's exhausted and frustrated by it, which is part of the reason he kills her, and why he feels guilt for doing it. They're certainly dark ideas that paint James in a very negative light, but they're not exactly far-fetched, nor are they impossible to understand. James is a good person, but even good people can do horrible things when they're psychologically damaged.

you can actually beat the pyramid head boss battle by not shooting at him or hitting him at all. you just need to avoid his hits long enough for the siren to go off. the harder the difficulty though, the longer you'll have to wait for the siren. it kind of pains me to see people shooting so much at him when all they're doing is wasting ammo lol. good video though!!

Random fact: in a tweet one of the devs said that marys corpse is in the trunk of the car you start at.

I agree with the fact that it's not as scary, however to me personally it gives off a different feeling - it gives a feeling of hopelessness, stress, anxiety and depresses the hell out of me. With how heavy this game is on your emotions is why it's probably my favorite. It's just uncomfortable to play, that's why it's so good.

The voice acting was done like this on purpose. This direction is especially true for Angela. She is supposed to convey a very disturbed girl.

Fun fact. There was never a Japanese voiced version of any of the Silent Hill games. The voice in the dog ending Akira Yamaoka's own voice. Meaning that was added in last minute completely as a joke even unknown to Guy Chi, the person who did the role of James.

This ... feels weird. I last played the game ten years ago. When i was around 20 just entered adulthood and followed the steps of that man who was somewhere around thirty. Replayed it a couple of weeks ago and didn't even consider James' age when i did. Now that you mentioned his age ... 29 i realised - James is younger than me now. Just slightly but still. Will I in another ten or fifteen years replay it and tink of James as "a young man" ? Silent Hill 2 is a very ... intimate experience. You get to know the characters on a very personal level. Their sins, trauma they suffered. Exploring this game first when i was a teen and now in my 30s realizing that the once older man i traveled through hell with is now around my age and will soon be quite a bit younger than me ... this feeling is incredibly odd.

i dont know man this seems more of a depression game

dog ending is best ending

Not as scary? WHAT? I was terrified in the apartment building. So tense. I just felt like at any moment, something was going to get me.

I've got to call you out on saying that the voice acting is bad or that the interactions with other people seems off, it was made that way intentionally. What James sees and what other characters see is almost certainly completely different judging by what they reveal as the game goes on. These aren't normal people he's encountering in this game. There's no standard sidekick type/love interest in this game like Cybil was in SH1.

Good review overall, but saying that SH2 is some people's favorite because it's the easiest is a very shallow interpretation about why people really like the game. And, goes without saying, but "harder" doesn't always means better.

Wasn't not-so-perfect line delivery intentional?

"How can you sit there and eat PIZZA?!" Puts in my own response "It's very simple." Raises pizza slice "Like this." Begins to eat pizza

You know, I'd have to disagree with the CG graphics. I think silent hill 2 has some of the best PS2 CG I've seen. Sure they don't really hold up today, but they were the best for the time. Great review though, and that nitpick is the only negative thing I have to say haha, can't wait for more.

"Wounds will heal but your mind will be scarred forever" - Silent Hill 2

I love your videos, but I'm not sure I can agree on everything. The post-hospital section where you return to the previous part of town serves as a breather after the tragic conclusion of the hospital, and the boat section is an effective tension builder - especially if you've read about the boat that met its end on that lake. The execution isn't perfect, of course, but I can't fault the game for trying to establish some quiet time.

I think that Angela’s boss, “Abstract Daddy” is the same to Angela, as it is to James, the symbolism is just different. It could Angela’s abuse at the hands of her father, and the sexual issues for James.