Silent Hill 2 is a terrific alternative to the Resident Evil series, or is it vice versa?
Silent Hill 2 is a "survival" horror game that shares the same gameplay mechanics as the original Resident Evil games. You'll get more moving cameras, abstract story lines, and more fog than Resident Evil games.
The story begins by receiving a letter from James' dead ex wife "Mary", who wants him to return to SIlent Hill which was supposedly a peaceful place at one time. James decides to leave in search of Marry. In time, he learns more about her death. You find out a small twist towards the end, and that's pretty much the entire game...atleast the part that is absolutely concrete.
The story, though at first may seem extremely complex and abstract, is relatively quite simple. Some of the scenes at the end require you to put together some thought to see what is going on. But even then, you really only learn one thing new upon completion of the game, and that is about Mary's death. It would have been nice to learn more about James and Mary then what the game supplies to you. You really are not left with a good ending the first time through. Either ending you get, It's really a "downer" for an ending. You'll have to replay the game twice to receive the ending in which you can revitalize Mary.
The dialog in this game is extremely odd at times. Certain moments, you feel that the characters are talking too slow, or really putting undue emphasis on emotion. There's a few times where characters over-react, and leave you with a "LOL WUT".
Don't expect a "concrete" story for the most part. For Resident Evil 1 (example), the story is exactly the same for everyone. You know exactly what took place, what is happening behind the scenes. For SH2, very little is concrete. You are never sure about what specific aspects of the story are true. Did James really receive the letter? Why did he only read half of it? Where did the second half come from? For some gamers after spending 14 hours of hard earned sweat, may come to this blank realization, and be a little discouraged with the game.
The gameplay is terrific. If you're a fan of the RE games, the gameplay is the exact same. You will get more moving cameras then what you are use to, but that's completely fine. You'll find that James is absolutely horrible at using melee weapons, but I was well suited with enough ammo to last me the game.
For a replay option, there isn't much of a point to it unless you want to revitalize Mary. Some people feel the need to do this I guess, I didn't. The other game mode with Maria was fine, but it was extremely short.
All in all, Silent Hill 2 is a terrific alternative to the Resident Evil series, or is it vice versa? You are left with an emotive abstract story which may not appeal to some players, but your also left with addicting gameplay and an immersive environment that really sets apart from the RE series. Besides that, did I mention this game was scary?