11th March 2015, 6:24 AM
I love that Silent Hill stories are introspective. Character studies are only as interesting as its characters. The first game doesn't much break this mold, it's more like a creepy movie than a character study. I play it to be thrown into an environment of chaos, terror, and helplessness.
In this vein, the second game was weak, but it excelled as a character study for James Sunderland. It didn't have the same stilted voice acting as the first (which btw does not detract from that game, it only adds to the sense of unreality).
Silent Hill 2 is about grief. James has gone through more grief than any other man he knows. His life has been broken since he lost his wife. This is a motif that the first plays on, but instead of exploring Harry Mason's feelings for his missing wife, he's on a mission to save his little girl from the hellish reality of the town.
Introspective stories are important. The full range of human emotions are important, and a chance to meditate upon them is healthy. Stories such as these may help us exorcise our own demons, and if not, at least appreciate those feelings of loss, grief, even guilt.
One thing I noticed in your post DJ is that you believe no good SH games exist after 4. Have you played Frozen Memories for Wii? It's quite good. Not the strongest entry in the series by any means, but I enjoyed it more than 3. SH3 is like they tried hard to capture what made the first two games great, and overdid it. The delivery is off. I'll pick it up again one day, but meh.
ETA:
The movie sucked. Poor acting, and the story was kind of neat but ham-handed. The atmosphere was decent, that's about all. The director Gans I think also directed another movie, Brotherhood of the Wolf? Which also sucked. The second Silent Hill was even worse, total waste of time. If Gans was overseeing it, he failed twice.
In this vein, the second game was weak, but it excelled as a character study for James Sunderland. It didn't have the same stilted voice acting as the first (which btw does not detract from that game, it only adds to the sense of unreality).
Silent Hill 2 is about grief. James has gone through more grief than any other man he knows. His life has been broken since he lost his wife. This is a motif that the first plays on, but instead of exploring Harry Mason's feelings for his missing wife, he's on a mission to save his little girl from the hellish reality of the town.
Introspective stories are important. The full range of human emotions are important, and a chance to meditate upon them is healthy. Stories such as these may help us exorcise our own demons, and if not, at least appreciate those feelings of loss, grief, even guilt.
One thing I noticed in your post DJ is that you believe no good SH games exist after 4. Have you played Frozen Memories for Wii? It's quite good. Not the strongest entry in the series by any means, but I enjoyed it more than 3. SH3 is like they tried hard to capture what made the first two games great, and overdid it. The delivery is off. I'll pick it up again one day, but meh.
ETA:
The movie sucked. Poor acting, and the story was kind of neat but ham-handed. The atmosphere was decent, that's about all. The director Gans I think also directed another movie, Brotherhood of the Wolf? Which also sucked. The second Silent Hill was even worse, total waste of time. If Gans was overseeing it, he failed twice.