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Silent Hill 2 - Weltall - 25th May 2005
Silent Hill 2 is the second in a horror series that has long captivated a cult following. Once again, we return to the silent, hauted New England resort town to see things we probably should never see.
James Sunderland, once upon a time, was a happy man. Married to a lovely, frail woman named Mary, his was a good life. They loved each other quite a lot. Unfortunately, the happiness was short-lived. Mary developed a rare disease, one which doctors were unable to cure. James was forced to watch his dear wife wither away, and three years ago, finally die.
Ever since, James has been an emotional train wreck, unable to come to grips with losing Mary. His life, in every aspect, has become sedentary and meaningless. As time goes by, he only sinks further into hopelessness and despair.
Then, one day, he got a letter. The name on the envelope said "Mary". His wife's name. The letter told him that she was waiting for him in their special place, in Silent Hill. A short, simple letter, and it was enough for the grieving James to ignore common sense and return to this misty town, hoping against hope that he would be able to see Mary again.
He had no idea what he was really getting into.
GAMEPLAY: 10/10
I really divide this into two sub-categories.
The actual gameplay itself is pretty standard survival-horror fare. James has about ten weapons at his disposal, both firearms and melee weapons. There are two different types of difficulties you choose upon beginning the game, each with four levels. The first is the Action level, which determines how difficult combat will be for you. On the easiest setting, Beginner, there practially isn't any. Monsters basically ignore you. Dying in beginner mode requires effort. On Hard mode, however, monsters are fast, hunt in packs, and hurt you badly. The one complaint here is that there is a huge jump in difficulty between Hard and Normal, the next level down.
The other difficulty setting is for the game's Riddles. This has three settings, Easy, Normal, and Hard, and a fourth, Extra, is available after clearing all three. Every puzzle or riddle in the game changes depending on this setting. Both the actual nature of the puzzle changes (texts for riddles will be completely different), and the result will also be different. Easy mode is really easy, nothing more than basic deduction is required. On Hard and Extra, you might want to keep a pen and paper handy. None of them are anywhere near obvious.
The actual gameplay itself is pretty standard. You can examine objects, hit monsters with your weapons, and use objects to solve puzzles. It's likely nothing you haven't seen before, and even if you haven't, it's nothing incredibly special anyway.
The other aspect of the gameplay is the game's story, and this is where Silent Hill 2 really shines. It is really difficult to explain this without totally ruining the story for you, but in this town, you meet several other people, and each of them have sordid pasts and ulterior motives. There is Angela Orosco, a young woman you first meet in a graveyard in the midst of searching for her mother. Even from the beginning, she seems to be a little on the wierd side, but you have no idea until later how deep that runs. Then, there is Eddie Dombrowski, a chubby, boyish guy who possesses both a child-like innocence and a devilish capacity for anger. Laura is a young girl who at first appears to be James' foil, yet has connections to Mary that will blow James away. There is Maria, a young woman whom James enounters that looks startlingly like his late wife. And finally, there is the infamous Pyramid Head, a gory butcher who wears blood-stained clothing, a large triangular headgear, excessively large pointed weaponry, and who stalks James like the worst of nightmares.
This game also features great replayability. There are many possible endings to Silent Hill 2 (Five if you have the normal version, seven if you find the Greatest Hits). Each of these endings is determined by many factors, such as how well you maintain your health, how you handle certain objects you acquire, how well you interact with Maria, and many others. Each of the endings is wildly different, and likely you would have to play through each time to see them all. Two of the seven endings are joke endings, the other five are not. If you have the Greatest Hits version, one of these endings is from an extra scenario called Born from a Wish, a short sub-game starring Maria, exploring an area James never sees, and providing great insight into her character and motives.
Graphics: 8/10
This game is a beautiful mess, it must be said.
You explore a great deal of the town of Silent Hill, and the detail is wonderful and elaborate. You feel like you're really walking in a small, deserted town that looks like it was recently inhabited. Inside of buldings the detail is no less elaborate, even though inside and out, your view is limited, outside from the beautiful swirling fog, inside from the complete darkness that only your flashlight can pierce. Textures are wonderful and there is wonderful attention to detail. Character models aren't incredibly spectacular but very appropriate. Expressions, moving lips, gestures are all easy to recognize.
The monsters are all suitably disgusting as well. In addition to their initial display of terror, each of them also has a symbolic value that you will discover as you play. Unfortunately, there is little variety in the monsters, but those that are there are chilling in their very appearance. The graphical style in general is predominated by certain colors, such as green, red and brown, and the style fits perfectly with the theme and tone of the game itself.
Sound: 10/10
The sounds of Silent Hill are absolutely spectacular. This game is more musical than the previous, and Akira Yamaoka's music is haunting, melodic, and absolutely perfect for every scene that features it. A lot of it is airy, flowing tunes that run on a slightly depressing note, but there are several guitar and piano pieces that are a delight to hear.
And in those long stretches where there is no music at all to hear, you get to experience the ambience of Silent Hill, which perhaps more than anything is what drags you in and keeps you captivated. It is impossible to fully describe the context of this ambience, since there are so many varieties and variations depending on the situation, but it's this ambience that chills you and creeps you out more effectively than any other aspect of the game.
Sound effects go along this same line. They are clear, crisp, and blend in perfectly with the action. Some of the monsters make noises that will haunt you long after you shut the game off.
Finally, the voice acting, which is an immeasurable improvement over the first game. Every character is given an appropriate voice, the writing is decent and the lines are almost always delivered as intended. Angela's voice actor, in particular, is incredible, even moreso considering that her voice role was by far the most demanding and the hardest to portray correctly. Through their voices you can easily determine their correct personality, and in an entertainment medium where voice acting is usually awful, this is an important achievement.
Final Score: 10/10
Impartiality aside, Silent Hill 2 is one of those games I can play for years and years. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you like Survival horror, and you want a game that is full of mystery, open to interpretation, and may keep you thinking hard for years afterwards, definitely find yourself a copy.
Silent Hill 2 - Sacred Jellybean - 31st January 2009
Quote:Finally, the voice acting, which is an immeasurable improvement over the first game. Every character is given an appropriate voice, the writing is decent and the lines are almost always delivered as intended. Angela's voice actor, in particular, is incredible, even moreso considering that her voice role was by far the most demanding and the hardest to portray correctly. Through their voices you can easily determine their correct personality, and in an entertainment medium where voice acting is usually awful, this is an important achievement.
Wait, really? I thought the voice acting in the first Silent Hill was far superior, though still not perfect. It's one of the first things I noticed on my first play-through. A good example is when James first meets Angela and tells her that he's lost, and she dramatically tilts her head forward and says in the most exaggerated voice imaginable, "Lo-OO-OSST???" As if she's never heard the word before and is trying hard to properly pronounce its subtle phonetics. There are barely any points in the game I can remember where I didn't find the terrible voice acting to be a great distraction, which, as the case with any game with a good story, is a shame.
I'm on my second playthrough of the main scenario because I enjoyed the game and want to see if I can pick up more about the various nuances of the story.
(warning, spoilers below)
For instance, a friend of mine, who is another great fanatic of the series, was telling me that James and the other characters are, in fact, dead, and trying to work their way through some kind of Dante's Inferno purgatory where the demons of their life are tormenting them. Perhaps I'm hard-headed, but in the main scenario (not the sub-scenario, where I thought it was pretty clearly hinted at), I didn't see a lot of evidence to support that James was dead, ghost-town aside. I got the In Water ending, and it seemed to me that James was alive up until the point where he carried the ghost of his dead wife to his car to drive off a cliff and into a river.
Here's something interesting which you've probably heard before: my aforementioned friend, who was obsessed with this game and read plenty about it online, told me the theory that all the monsters that James sees are manifestations of his sin, which is why most of them look feminine (as he had killed his wife in real life). If this is the case, why does Maria see the same monsters? Will this be explained when I get the Maria ending? (I read about the other endings online and how to get them, but not their content, so please be spoiler-wary in your explanations if possible. At this point, I've only beaten the main scenario with the In Water ending, as I said, and the sub-scenario, which judging from your post, only has one ending).
I also heard somewhere the theory that James had seen the Pyramid Head painting in real life, which is why he sees them now. Is there any evidence to support this? He doesn't seem to recognize the painting when he sees it again in the Silent Hill Historical Society, beyond the fact that he recognizes Pyramid Head itself. I've also heard that it wouldn't make sense for other characters to see Pyramid Head, but why would this be so if the painting had existed in real life?
I like the interpretation that Pyramid Head was supposed to be an executioner of the Civil War and is supposed to be a source of great guilt or malice, and that's why he chases after James. Very interesting to be sure - it's not every day that you get this much subtext out of a video game. :) Overall I liked Silent Hill 2 a lot, probably about the same amount as the first. The plot is a little better, but the first game is terrifying as all fucking hell. I need to play through that again. SH2 wasn't nearly as scary, but holy shit, the jail portion of the game... it still gives me chills to think about it.
Silent Hill 2 - Sacred Jellybean - 31st January 2009
Just wanted to post again to give this game more love: it's the sole reason I bought a PS2. Sure, there are plenty of other games on PS2 that interest me (such as Silent Hill 3 and 4 ;) but games outside the SH series as well), and I'll get them eventually, but this is the one that kept the purchase of a PS2 on my goal list for a long time, once I could get one at a reasonable price. I'm still flabbergasted that new consoles are over 100 bucks, so I got one used for 70. I guess it's because Sony still releases games on it as the PS3 doesn't seem to be faring so well.
I was actually a little disappointed my first time through, but after beating the game and discussing it a little with my buddy (we must have spent at least an hour total on the subject), I think it overall it comes close enough to my expectations. I guess I was expecting one of the best gaming experiences of my life (more from a story perspective, obviously), and I was a little disappointed by the supporting characters. Aside from Angela, they all seem a bit one-dimensional. Ooh, Eddie's a murderer because people called him fat! But eh, I think James' story is enough to carry the game. I guess I was just so pumped from hearing such great things about the game for such a long time. The video game clerk from which I bought it told me it was the best of the series, and that 3rd and 4th iterations were mere shadows of the 2nd.
I was a little annoyed by the gameplay with Maria following you around and was glad that it not only lasted long, but ended in a significant way. Maria dying was a lot like Mary dying all over again, and you really feel sorry for James and the guilt and failure that he feels when he can't protect her.
I got the In Water ending because I looked at the picture and letter enough times, and also looked at the knife enough too. Very interesting way of giving the player different endings. It's dumb, but I'm proud that I got the ending that I did, because it's confirmation that I cared about a reunion between James and his wife. Overall, very satisfying in terms of plot and ending.
Silent Hill 2 - Dark Jaguar - 31st January 2009
Well remember that Maria herself is a creation of James's mind. That's supported by the fact that, if she was a real person, not one story point about her makes any sense at all (like, say, her getting killed repeatedly, and then turning into the final boss). So, it makes sense that she'd be seeing what James sees.
Also, note that Angela (and yes, I thought her "Lost" thing sounded very awkward too) doesn't see the same things James does. "They look like monsters to you?"
I'll say this though. Maria's scenario is very bizarre. She appears to be helping a figment of HER mind, and so how hazy is a figment of a figment? It's like she's so far into the mental realm she's touching the very edge of something. I better get Charles Dexter Ward in on this.
Silent Hill 2 - Weltall - 15th March 2009
Silent Hill 2 - Sacred Jellybean - 24th May 2009
Alright, I beat the game again with the intention of getting Maria's ending, but I actually got the Leave ending, which I enjoyed a lot. Video game hint websites say that to get the Maria ending, you must not let a lot of damage be incurred to her. I didn't know how to do that when running down the hallway at Brookhaven Hospital. It didn't seem possible to both progress to the next cutscene and prevent the Pyramid Head from assaulting Maria. Thank you for that post, Ryan, it was very insightful.
Weltall Wrote:I actually wrote a long theory about Pyramid Head's true nature here, as I believe his role goes far beyond simply being a punishing aggressor. Again, I suggest not reading it yet if you're worried about spoilers. The gist of it is that I believe that Pyramid Head is really the good guy, and Maria is the game's true villain (from James' perspective, anyway).
And thank you for that, too. I read every word of it. That's a very fascinating interpretation, I definitely hadn't thought of it that way, but there's certainly a lot of evidence to support it. I can prove that I did by telling you that
Quote:You see it happen twice and a third instance is heavily inferred.
Might work better as
Quote:You see it happen twice and a third instance is heavily implied.
But it's very well-written overall, and I enjoyed it, so kudos.
Quote:Eddie's violence stems not just because he's tormented, but because he's sociopathic and emotionally immature. You can tell this because he speaks mostly in simple sentences and dresses like an eight-year old, and also because he reacts to negative stimuli by throwing what amounts to a very violent temper tantrum.
I hadn't really picked up on the immature clothes, honestly, but it's a great touch. Laura's role and relationship with mary are interesting as well.
Quote:She can be seen as an extension of Mary's will.
Mary's will? For James to visit again? I'm behind you on that, but in the sense of her thanking him and telling him she'll always love him and apologizing for his torment (for which she feels responsible, even though she was also victimized) and ultimately that she thinks he should live his life and move on, Laura's not much help. She tells James that he never loved Mary because Mary likely confided in her about seeing how badly Jame's visits were hurting him emotionally. It is interesting, the connections they do share, though.
By the way, uh, yeah, spoilers. Wouldn't want to spoil an 8-year-old game to maybe 1 person who's never played it and probably isn't interested. Hmm, would it be EdenMaster or DMiller? Anyway, let's make this a heavy-spoiler-zone. I don't think anyone aside from me cared.
Quote:Doctor Baldwin is believed to be Brookhaven Hospital's director (and the person who leaves James several notes, messages, and a wrench), and the original Japanese text (along with many subtle clues in the game) indicate that Mary very likely stayed for a short time at Brookhaven near the end of her life. Baldwin is a figment of James's mind, not Maria's.
I'm a little fuzzy on the timeline. Did James take Mary to Silent Hill for the last time she was able to go home and kill her? That wouldn't make sense because she told him in the flashback that he never brings her there, and wanted him to promise that he'd bring her back. She would know there was no going back. So perhaps the murder (euthanization?) took place near where they actually lived. The fact that flashbacks of that are spliced between their video at the hotel is a little confusing.
Quote:He is in Silent Hill to ultimately either dispel his delusions or surrender to them. In all endings but Maria, he opts for the former.
After I beat the game again, I decided it wasn't worth it to play all the way through just to get the rest of the endings - that's why I youtube'd them. I really want to try the "Extra" difficulty mode, and am annoyed I have to play through on "Easy" just to get it. I'll probably throw the action difficulty on the hardest setting just to compensate. In any case, your statement isn't true for the fact that James also hasn't moved on from his delusions in Rebirth. Well, I suppose he gets his wife back and forgives himself for her death, but at the same time, it's still a way he is holding onto baggage. Cool ending to throw in there, though.
With regards to the Maria ending, I thought it was cheesy... before I saw the rest of it. What a great way to make the ending chilling, by having her cough and foreshadow James repeating his guilt and anger and self-loathing and loss.
Quote:Maria sees the same monsters because she is, in fact, one of them herself. She is as much a creation of James' psyche as any nurse or mannequin. (Much the same as Lisa in the first game). This is, however, not explained by the Maria ending.
Perhaps the town was able to manifest her? Perhaps he's gone insane and is hallucinating her (or the town implanted something inside him to delude him into seeing her)?
Quote:This was a popular theory years ago, but it's not entirely correct. The people in Silent Hill 2 are, mostly, being tormented, but only because they feel the subconscious desire to be tormented. Other characters (Laura, for example) are not being tormented. A memo found in the Hospital indicates that people who experience Silent Hill's otherword can see very dramatically different things, and mentions a patient who finds happiness within it.
I didn't pick that up about the memos, I'll have to read them again.
Quote:That particular instance is kind of off, but at what point after was there any example of similarly strange acting? I found it much better than Harry's strange turns of phrase, the game's questionably-translated script, and those weird pauses in between each line of spoken dialogue.
Having played through it again, I've changed my mind and now agree with you. I'm not sure why I was so hard on it, I guess I was just expecting cinema-like acting in a video game. :) I'm glad I beat it again, seeing it all a second time in context was very nice. I'll probably put this away for a while, but I know I'll come back to it and gradually unlock Extra.
Also, I really appreciated the music this time around. The music which plays when James confronts both r.p.t.s is perfect.
Silent Hill 2 - Weltall - 13th June 2009
Sacred Jellybean Wrote:Alright, I beat the game again with the intention of getting Maria's ending, but I actually got the Leave ending, which I enjoyed a lot. Video game hint websites say that to get the Maria ending, you must not let a lot of damage be incurred to her. I didn't know how to do that when running down the hallway at Brookhaven Hospital. It didn't seem possible to both progress to the next cutscene and prevent the Pyramid Head from assaulting Maria. Thank you for that post, Ryan, it was very insightful.I'll tell you, to be honest, the best fool-proof way to make sure this happens is to play on Hard mode, because here it is essential you never allow the r.p.t. to even touch Maria.
I've never tested this method on easier modes (both because I don't usually shoot for that ending and, because if not, it's hardly necessary), but on Hard mode, the only way to ensure her survival is to arm the handgun. As soon as the r.p.t. initially appears, shoot him exactly ten times. Count your shots so you don't automatically re-load (and ensure defeat). As soon as the last shot is fired, run until you get to the part where the hall doubles back on itself (it's shaped like a long sideways U with the curve facing east). Make sure you're in front of Maria, reload through the menu manually, then fire off ten more shots, counting again as you do. After the last shot, run like hell. The hits do not damage the r.p.t., but they do slow him down enough to where he cannot catch you. At least, not until he's supposed to.
Quote:And thank you for that, too. I read every word of it. That's a very fascinating interpretation, I definitely hadn't thought of it that way, but there's certainly a lot of evidence to support it.It's definitely my favorite pet theory. D= You're welcome.
Quote:I can prove that I did by telling you that (inferred) might work better as (implied). But it's very well-written overall, and I enjoyed it, so kudos.
Thanks again. Though, those two words, in this context, can be used interchangably. :D
Quote:Mary's will? For James to visit again? I'm behind you on that, but in the sense of her thanking him and telling him she'll always love him and apologizing for his torment (for which she feels responsible, even though she was also victimized) and ultimately that she thinks he should live his life and move on, Laura's not much help. She tells James that he never loved Mary because Mary likely confided in her about seeing how badly Jame's visits were hurting him emotionally. It is interesting, the connections they do share, though.The very reason she is so helpful is because every time she has a conversation with James, she ends up saying things that make no sense to James. The reason this is the case is because he has deluded himself into believing a huge lie about the entire last three years of his life. She knows the truth about things (except the big, final piece of it), and each time they meet, she reveals more of it. Each time, this makes James call his own assumptions into question. After their penultimate encounter in the hotel restaurant, James' delusion is tattered and hanging by a thread that will be severed as soon as he finds that video tape.
This is why I consider her an extension of Mary's will: though perhaps it's not an intentional thing, Laura serves to steer James towards the truth of what happened, and guide him out of the fog of lies within which he has trapped himself. Without doing this, he will be unable to move on with his life.
Quote:I'm a little fuzzy on the timeline. Did James take Mary to Silent Hill for the last time she was able to go home and kill her? That wouldn't make sense because she told him in the flashback that he never brings her there, and wanted him to promise that he'd bring her back. She would know there was no going back. So perhaps the murder (euthanization?) took place near where they actually lived. The fact that flashbacks of that are spliced between their video at the hotel is a little confusing.
The implication, through the circumstantial evidence and what nots, is that Mary did have a brief stay at Brookhaven Hospital. She is noted to have displayed suicidal tendencies and deep depression. These symptoms worsened because, as we find out near the end, Mary had at one point blown up at James, chastising him for visiting and bringing flowers. It is at this point when the emotional trauma became too much for James, and because of this, he no longer visits Mary in the hospital. When she goes to Brookhaven, she goes alone. She writes her long letter while here, and this is where the pertinent lines of the beginning make sense:
Quote:I'm alone here, now. In our special place. Waiting for you. Waiting for you to come see me.Her letter further mentions that she is given a temporary discharge so that she may have one last visit home. At this point, James goes to Silent Hill to retrieve Mary. They go home, and it is here that James perpetrates the single most pivotal act of his life. The ensuing trauma, on top of everything else, drives James into a full-blown psychosis. His mental defenses overcompensate by reconstituing his memories and experiences into a form that is less painful for him. The euthanization takes place in their own home, and only hours before the beginning of the game. As the Rebirth ending shows her body (though not clearly), she is most likely in the trunk of his car.
Quote:In any case, your statement isn't true for the fact that James also hasn't moved on from his delusions in Rebirth. Well, I suppose he gets his wife back and forgives himself for her death, but at the same time, it's still a way he is holding onto baggage. Cool ending to throw in there, though.Well, yeah. The Leave ending is really the only one in which he truly sheds the baggage and moves on as he really ought to. What I mean, though, is that in the Maria ending, even though he is made aware of the fact that he had deluded himself, he decides that he requires the safety and comfort his delusions provided him, and thus opts to replace his wife with the clever lookalike. In the other three endings, he has shattered the delusions and recognized them for what they are, though he still has choices to make in how he deals with this truth. The Rebirth ending shows him possibly deluding himself in other ways, certainly, but the initial batch of lies is still out of the way. His ultimate fate is never decided for certain, but I strongly suspect that, in the Rebirth ending, he does not get what he thinks he's getting . . .
Quote:With regards to the Maria ending, I thought it was cheesy... before I saw the rest of it. What a great way to make the ending chilling, by having her cough and foreshadow James repeating his guilt and anger and self-loathing and loss.
I agree. It also means that Laura's (and Angela's) judgment of his character is accurate; he didn't love Mary and he just wanted her out of the way. I think it also displays the possibility that James is only further hardened and callous. The way he responds to her coughing (you better take care of that) suggests that if events repeat themselves, he is going to handle it in the very same self-destructive manner that led him here in the first place. He's not going to think its his problem, and he's going to make sure that it won't be.
Quote:Perhaps the town was able to manifest her? Perhaps he's gone insane and is hallucinating her (or the town implanted something inside him to delude him into seeing her)?
I've never been a believer in the idea of the 'town', or some supernatural representative thereof, exists and manipulates events, mostly because the games have done a remarkable job of implying so much of that without ever showing it as actually happening. :D
But, she is, literally, Born from his Wish. Her sub-scenario begins at the same instant James steps away from the mirror in the Rest Stop from Hell and steps out into the fog.
There are also aspects of Mary that manifest in Maria, which is responsible both for her appearance and for the memories she has that only Mary can know (the ones about Laura, in particular). Popular opinion has it that Maria's sexy appearance is the result of James' repressed libido. I think it more accurate (and appropriate) that this element is minor, and that the real catalyst is Mary's self-image. The disease wracked her body and left her looking monstrous. Though perhaps not quite in such a slutty fashion, Maria is reflective of Mary's desire to look attractive and healthy once more.
Maria's behavior, however, is entirely derived from James' psyche.
Quote:Having played through it again, I've changed my mind and now agree with you. I'm not sure why I was so hard on it, I guess I was just expecting cinema-like acting in a video game. :) I'm glad I beat it again, seeing it all a second time in context was very nice. I'll probably put this away for a while, but I know I'll come back to it and gradually unlock Extra.That truly is an awesome track, as is the one playing in Room 312 at the conclusion of the video.
Also, I really appreciated the music this time around. The music which plays when James confronts both r.p.t.s is perfect.
Also, since writing this, I've come to have an extra appreciation for the voice acting, for a particular reason.
I never mentioned it here because I never felt there was much interest, but in 2005 and 2006 I wrote a full-length novelization of this game. I did so mostly as a lark. It would be a way to hone my talent, and people seemed to like the initial few chapters. Eventually, it grew into hundreds of pages and almost fifty initial chapters, and in the process, I became something of a minor celebrity among Silent Hill fandom.
Late last year, a woman named Dena Natali decided to feature Silent Hill 2 in a youtube show she does about gaming. As a part of this, she opted to feature my novelization within part of the video. I agreed to this when she asked my permission, and pretty much just waited for four months. I thought this was a neat gesture, but I had no idea that she had something more in mind.
Come to find out, while making the last part of this video series, she had contacted Guy Cihi, who was James' voice actor. Through means I still don't know, she convinced him to read my novelization, and got him to narrate a portion of it for her video. I later contacted him myself to verify that this shit was for real, and he confirmed it. So, alone among perhaps almost all amateur writers of fanfiction and video game adaptations, I got to hear the words I wrote spoken by the character's own voice. Needless to say, I thought that was pretty damned cool.
If you care to read it sometime (I'm re-writing it because the original draft is old and too rough for my liking), you can find it here. The video in which Mr. Cihi narrates the passage (from chapter 6) you can find here.
Silent Hill 2 - Dark Jaguar - 14th June 2009
That's pretty amazing! However, you aren't alone. As of late video game fans and their fan fictiony works have been getting more attention than normal from the old guard that originally made the works they are fans of.
Take AGD interactive, formerly "Tierra Studios". As I've posted before, they're the fan group that made full remakes of the first two King's Quest game. Notable here is that during the course of the projects they were able to talk with Ken Williams, one of the major programmers behind those two games (it seems that Roberta Williams, the main brain behind the series, wasn't available, they're both retired at any rate). Along the way, they managed to snag an unexpected bonus. While getting voice acting for their fan remakes, they got the voice actor for King Graham used for the actual King's Quest games (namely 5 and 6, as the first 4 didn't have voice acting, and Graham didn't appear in 7) and he agreed to do the voice work for Graham for the remakes. This is especially notable in the case of their remake of KQ2 because they practically rewrote the whole game so it's basically one big fan fiction nod to the entire series with references to fan theories about the Black Cloak Society and their relation to other characters and so on.
AGD didn't go further, but Infamous Studios, another fan group, remade KQ3 and once again got the talents of that same guy to do Graham's voice there. Unfortunatly they couldn't get the original voice actor for Alexander. Now there's yet another group remaking KQ4 and apparently that guy is yet again willing to go the distance for them.
It's pretty interesting how the net allows fans to get chances they didn't have before.