Dead Space Trilogy Review

*Warning- this will contain massive spoilers for the Dead Space trilogy...so if you haven't played through any of these games yet...what are you reading this for? Get out there and check them out!*

Hello dear readers and welcome back to the game corner once again. I apologize that it’s been quite a while since the last time I updated- the pursuit of my Master’s degree often takes precedence to the more fun things I’d rather be doing with my life. At any rate, during my short holiday break these past few weeks, I decided to sit down and play three games I had previously played at different time points over the course of the past 6 or 7 years: the Dead Space trilogy. To my recollection, these three games are the most recent games I’ve played and actually enjoyed, given that I usually stick to retro games.

These games are awesome, 'nuff said.

So what is it about these games that makes them so damn awesome? Playing through all three of them again in succession has given me plenty of time to think about why that might be, and I think the answer has less to do with the actual game and more to do with the smaller elements that the game was built from. But first, let’s discuss the premise of the series. 

It’s a pretty simple set up to start off with; in the distant future, a deep space mining ship called the Ishimura, which is designed to break apart planets and harvest the leftover metal ore, has dropped out of communications and a small crew is sent in to reestablish contact and fix any problems the ship may be having. Among them is a hapless engineer named Isaac Clarke whose only job is to make a few repairs to the massive spaceship, though he does have a bit of extra incentive- his wife Nicole is among the crew of the Ishimura. However, upon boarding the seemingly derelict ship, the crew is attacked by horrific monsters that can slice a human to pieces faster than Jason Vorhees in a summer camp full of teenagers. Isaac is separated from the other surviving members of the crew and must fight his way through the onslaught of monstrosities to reunite with them, find out if his wife is still alive, and escape the nightmarish ship.

Along the way, Isaac acquires several engineering tools to use as weapons to fight back against the creatures, and luckily for him, their weakness lie in severing their limbs and then stomping the ever loving shit out of them. The monsters, termed “necromorphs,” can attack in a number of ways- slashing, climbing on walls, firing projectiles, and even blowing themselves up to damage you. 

Isaac is no Master Chief- just an ordinary guy caught in a bad situation. Thankfully, he's got a number of engineering tools at his disposal to deal with the problem.

As you’d expect, the monsters become stronger and harder to kill as you progress through the game, so you’ll have to rely on obtaining items called power nodes in order to upgrade your weapons, which you’ll either find in small quantities scattered around the ship or available (at a very high price) in numerous stores where you can also purchase new weapons, ammo, power suits, and health items. You can also use nodes to upgrade your suit’s air capacity, stasis and telekinesis abilities (used to slow down and shoot objects at monsters, respectively), and hit points. 

Through the 12 chapters of the game you’ll have to complete a variety of objectives such as repairing the ship’s vital functions, protecting it from a wave of asteroids, sending out an S.O.S. beacon, and destroying huge necromorph infestations. You’ll also have to navigate zero-gravity environments, dodge malfunctioning machinery, and even trek through the vacuum of space as you progress.

As you approach the end of the game, it is discovered that the necromorph outbreak seems to be stemming from a strange alien artifact that was discovered during the planetary mining operation and brought aboard the ship. The object has been deemed the “marker” by a group of fanatical religious zealots called scientol- er, I mean, unitologists, who intend to bring forth their version of judgment day by unleashing the necromorph scourge upon humanity. Isaac comes close to returning the marker to the planet it was found on, only to be betrayed by Kendra, a member of the crew he came aboard the Ishimura with who he’d also been working together with over the course of the entire game. Kendra intends to bring the marker back to Earth for the government; however, Isaac at last finds his wife, who helps him take back the marker and return it to the planet once again. 

In the last act, the biggest twist of all occurs when it is revealed that Nicole has actually been dead the entire time and Isaac has been hallucinating every encounter he has had with her since boarding the ship. As the planet starts to come apart beneath him, the marker summons the biggest, nastiest, ugliest necromorph of all, which squashes the traitorous Kendra like a pancake and traps Isaac in its grasp. Once you slay the beast, you escape the planet safely and all loose ends are tied up…right? No sir- just like all the great horror movies, a cliffhanger occurs before the credits roll when a bloody vision of Nicole jumps out from behind Isaac inside of the ship he has escaped in.

Nicole was dead the whole time? *M. Night Shyamalan voice* What a twist!

In all, I love this game. It actually seems like it was tailored to fit my personal list of science fiction/horror favorites. Looking at everything together, the game on a whole seems like what you would get if you threw Resident Evil, Doom, and the movies The Thing, Event Horizon, and Alien into a blender, which just so happen to be some of my favorite video games and movies ever. There’s enough challenge to keep you satisfied, enough backstory to keep you interested, and definitely enough horror to keep you on your toes while playing late at night with the lights off.

Next came Dead Space 2, which was certainly a worthy sequel of its predecessor. In the years following the events of the first game, Isaac has been captured by a secret government organization and brought to Jupiter’s moon Titan, where he is forced to constantly relive the visions in his head in order to build a new marker. The markers are seen as sources of unlimited energy, and the organization strives to harness that energy by having those exposed to the power of the markers reconstruct new ones based on certain neural codes that become embedded in their brains. A bit of a confusing plot, yes, but it doesn’t detract from the overall game.

As you’d expect, another necromorph outbreak puts a damper on everything, and Isaac must once again fight his way through waves of monstrosities in order to escape the city on the moon and destroy a marker once again. The same gang of necromorphs is back, as well as some new ones thrown into the mix. The same goes for weaponry and power suits. Isaac himself is also given a bit more characterization, actually speaking and interacting with other characters, unlike in the first game when he was a simple silent protagonist. 

You’ll find yourself wandering the abandoned city on Titan, going in and out of train terminals, a Unitology church, and even an elementary school where you’ll have to fight off some necromorphed children. Also, in the latter stages of the game, you’ll even have to board the Ishimura once again! In addition, the zero-gravity mechanics have been revamped, allowing you to freely float through space as opposed to having to jump to predestinated spots like in the first game.

The zero-G mechanics were just one of the many improvements made in the 2nd game.

The terrifying atmosphere of the first game is back with a vengeance as you are stalked (literally, in some instances) by bloodthirsty necromorphs.  Isaac is also constantly tormented by bloody visions of Nicole, who repeatedly reminds him that he let her die and his sanity may be slowly slipping away under the power of the marker. In the end, Isaac comes to terms with his wife’s death and storms the government complex, where he destroys another marker and once again puts an end to the necromorph outbreak.

It’s pretty hard for me to choose whether I like the first or second game better, as I enjoyed them both so much in different ways. I’d probably go with the first one for nostalgia’s sake, but 2 just does everything a great sequel should do and more. However, Dead Space 3 took the series in a much different direction, which leaves it as the black sheep of the trilogy and does not quite live up to the shining example its predecessors set.

This time, Isaac joins of team of military insurgents and scientists who have discovered the home planet of the original markers, where hundreds of years earlier a team of archaeologists discovered it and unwittingly released an outbreak of their own. Together with his team, Isaac crash lands on the snowy planet and embarks on a mission to end the scourge once and for all.

As opposed to the first two games where you’ll have to fight through the confined and claustrophobic corridors of ships and space stations, you’ll mostly be running around in the wide open landscapes of the alien planet you land on..which…doesn’t translate well for the type of game we grew to expect from the first two. You’ll periodically have to venture through buildings, especially during the various optional missions presented throughout the game, but a good chunk of the game is spent running around outside- definitely more than I'd like to, at least.

You're gonna be looking at a lot of this in the 3rd game.

Another major complaint I have is what they did with the weapons/rig upgrade system. As I mentioned previously, the first two games have you very gradually upgrading your setup by collecting power nodes as the games progressed. Each weapon had its own individual set of ammunition and required a substantial amount of effort to acquire enough nodes in order to upgrade them completely. The third game, however, threw this system completely out the window in favor of a new one in which all the weapons in the game are constructed from various raw materials (for example, scrap metal) that you’ll find all over the place. These replace the concept of credits, the currency you find and spend at stores in the first two games.

This time around you can only hold two weapons at a time, as opposed to the four you could carry previously which is a pretty big downer right off the bat. Also, every weapon consumes the same ammo, and depending on how much raw materials you’ve collected, you can construct different add-ons for each weapon to take out enemies in different ways and deal extra bits of damage to them. You can also find upgrade circuits, of which a maximum of 4 can be added to constructed weapons in order to increase damage, clip size, reload speed, etc. You have the option to construct weapons entirely on your own or do so based on pre-set blueprints you’ll find along the way. 

In theory, this system seems pretty cool- being able to construct a multitude of weapons to deal with necromorphs in different ways, exploit different weaknesses, use in different areas- the applications had a lot of potential. However, the entire thing was not implemented very well, in my opinion. For starters, I only found myself really needing to construct two weapons over the course of the entire game, which handily did away with enemies with little effort. After I was set and maxed out with the two of them, my inventory became tremendously packed with an excess of raw materials and upgrade circuits I had absolutely nothing to do with. In the first two games, maxing out a weapon felt like a real accomplishment after grinding away in order to get your grubby hands on one little power node; by contrast, the third game just made it feel way too easy and cheap. True, it does take a little while to accumulate enough raw materials, but not nearly as long as collecting many power nodes.

Also, the universal ammo didn’t really sit well with me either. Extra ammo and health can easily be constructed at any time and with little effort, even on the higher difficulty settings. Compare that to the first two games, where on the harder levels, both are extremely scarce and you’ll be struggling the entire way just to keep one weapon fully loaded and your health full- it really felt like a tough challenge.

There are a few new enemies, but it's mostly the same entourage we've gotten used to, and by the third game, it's gotten a little bit old. The second game had a lot of the same enemies as the first, but it made improvements with newer enemies- the third can't quite say as much. You'll also periodically have to fight other humans- yeah, humans! Some crazed unitologists follow you to the planet and occasionally pop out to fight you, which is just pretty lame if you ask me. I mean, if I wanted to shoot at other people, I'd go play one of the 9 million Call Of Duty games that get crapped out every year.

Lastly, another big thing that bugged me about 3 was the story. It’s just so convoluted and uninteresting. True, the previous two got confusing at certain points, but they were captivating and really drew you in, whereas the third one just feels more like a chore of getting through. And they really got drama-happy in the 3^rd one- Isaac is now stuck love triangle between a woman he met in the 2^nd game and some bland, uninteresting military guy whose name I honestly can’t even remember, and the rest of the characters are just as forgettable.

These characters...are...not interesting.

And just one last little nit-picky detail...all the standard versions of the game are called "Limited Edition," and a regular edition doesn't seem to exist at all. Not really a big deal, but for someone like me who likes to very specifically categorize the games they own, just a minor annoyance. Yeah, I know I have a problem.

In all, 3 still manages to be a good game and worth a playthrough…it’s just very sub-par compared to the excellent example the first two set. The series has been on hiatus for several years now, but I'm holding out hope that it will make a comeback one day. I just hope they don't needlessly reboot it like so many different games have been as of recent years. On an unrelated note, I just hate that word "reboot" so much.

Anyway, so that does it for my review of the Dead Space trilogy, hope y’all enjoyed. And if you haven’t played any of these games, get out there and pick ‘em up- they’ll be well worth your time.

The Top 10 Rarest Games I Own

Hello dear reader, and welcome to another installment of my video game discussions. Today I won’t be reminiscing on anything in particular like I usually do- rather, I thought I’d change it up and talk about my video game collection a bit. Now, it’s nothing like some of the more tremendous and spectacular collections known to the world, but over time I’ve amassed a pretty decently sized pile of video games, consoles, and other memorabilia that would probably make any other collector give a thumbs-up, I’d like to think. Right now it’s hovering around 500 games across 25 or so different consoles, and that includes handhelds.

So rather than talk at length about every little thing I own, I’ve narrowed it down to what I think are the coolest and rarest games I own. Now, keep in mind I’m basing this off of a number of factors- price, condition, and ability to actually find the game either online or anywhere else at any point, chief among them. Also, for the purposes of simplicity I'm not including import games I own (that is, anything that isn't NTSC), though I do own some very rare imports as well. So, without any further delay, I present to you the top 10 rarest games in my possession.

10. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, SNES, CIB

We start off with a game that isn’t insanely rare but is certainly quite desirable, especially CIB. My particular copy might actually be in the nicest condition out of any CIB game I own; it is just absolutely gorgeous. The box has some very slight shelf wear in the corners, but that’s about it. The game and the manual are totally mint, and in all it looks nearly as close as it would if you picked it up off the shelf of a Toys R’ Us back in 1996. It hasn’t changed all too much in price since I paid what I did for it, but considering the condition, I believe I got a fairly good deal.

9. Conker’s Bad Fur Day, N64, CIB

Ah, the infamous Bad Fur Day. In what other game can you drink beer, piss on enemies, and jump on a sunflower’s tremendous tits? Like Super Mario RPG, it isn’t a particularly difficult game to get one’s hands on, and I think the price tag speaks more to desirability than rarity. And also like Super Mario RPG, my copy is very, very nice. Again, the box has some wear in the corners, but no glaring deformities, and the manual and game are very good. I actually overpaid for this one, as it was one of the first games I hunted down when I first started collecting and wasn’t paying too much attention to getting a good deal, but it’s still a great game to own CIB regardless.

8. Mega Man X2, SNES, CIB

This game would normally be much higher up on the list if it weren’t for one pretty big flaw- my cartridge is in pretty bad shape. The box is very good, and the manual is decent, but the game has a big rip in the label and some dents and discoloration in the plastic. It drops the value considerably, but even so, CIB this game is not very easy to procure. One day, when I have the money to spend (which will probably be never), I plan on getting a better cartridge and bumping this game up higher on my list.

7. Blackthorne, Sega 32X, CIB

Here’s where we’re starting to get into more obscure territory. This one isn’t obscenely expensive or anything, but it’s quite rare. I own almost the entire North American library of Sega 32X games, so you’ll see a few others on this list as well. Anyway, this one is just absolutely mint. The box is almost perfect, as are the game and manual. Considering that fact, I got it for a very good price years back, and it has gone up as of recently.

6. Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, Sega 32X, CIB

As I just mentioned, more 32X goodies. Another one that’s not all that difficult to find, but you’ll have to fork over a hefty sum once you find a good condition CIB copy. Mine isn’t all that great, but it’s definitely not bad either. The box has some decent wear in the corners, but the manual and game are fine.

5. Earthworm Jim: Special Edition, Sega CD, CIB

Another one that won’t be absurdly expensive should you come across a copy, but good luck doing so. As of writing this, I only see one copy listed on Ebay. I actually had no idea this game even existed for the Sega CD, but I promptly snatched up a copy once I found out. And I’m glad I did- this game is just awesome. The Sega CD version added two extra levels not seen in the Genesis or SNES versions, the graphics are smooth, the music is great, and it’s an all around great game to play. Also, it has the greatest bad ending any game has ever had in the history of video games. My copy is in very good shape too- the gigantic oversized Sega CD box that tends to break very easily is in very good shape, the manual is fine, and the disc is great aside from some negligible little scratches.

4. Resident Evil Gaiden, Game Boy Color, CIB

The weird little experiment of a Game Boy game, Resident Evil Gaiden will take you quite a while to find a CIB copy. I tend to see sealed NIB ones listed fairly often for extraordinary prices, but rarely ever have I seen one just CIB, which is a tad odd. Anyway, this has some distinction to me in that the box and manual I have are actually the originals that I owned from when I first bought this game when it was new. Usually they were just thrown out, but this one somehow stayed flattened in my closet for many years until I one day found it and then realized how rare it’s become. I lost the actual game, but I have since re-purchased it and completed this gem at a steep discount from buying it again CIB. Unfortunately, because it was flattened underneath a pile of junk in my closet for many years, the box isn’t in too great a shape. Which is a shame, but nonetheless doesn’t change the fact that this is a very difficult little item to come by.

3. World Series Baseball Starring Deion Sanders, Sega 32X, CIB

I know what you’re thinking- a rare sports game?? Seriously!? Yes sir, this game is stupidly rare CIB. Go on and look for yourself, I’ll wait. Done yet? See what I mean? Out of my entire 32X collection this was one of the hardest ones to find, for whatever strange reason that makes it so rare. Even so, my copy isn’t all that great- the box has a pretty good bend in one of the corners and some considerable wear on the sides, though the manual and game are very good. Nonetheless, prepare yourself to search for quite a while and hand over a good chunk of change if you’d like a CIB copy.

2. Mega Man X3, SNES, CIB

Now, I was going to say here that the game itself isn’t all that rare, but HOLY SHIT this game has jumped up quite a bit in price as of recent. Most copies of loose cartridges were listed at 200+ on ebay, which is waaay more than what I paid for it. And I didn’t even see one CIB copy upon searching, which makes me wonder now what that’s going for nowadays. Either way, get ready to sell a vital organ or two if you want this one CIB. My copy is a bit worn in places, but overall is in pretty good shape. Considering how rare it is, I’m happy just to own it.

1. The Amazing Spiderman: Web Of Fire, Sega 32X, CIB

Yes, if you know a thing or two about the Sega 32X library, you might have seen this one coming. If not, let me shed a little light on the subject. This was the final game of the 32X’s very short life span of only 36 games in North America. I don’t know how true this is, but it’s rumored that only 1,500 copies were produced. I wouldn’t doubt it, considering how hard it is to get your hands on CIB copy for a reasonable price. From what I’ve last seen, they’re up to around $400-500, which is thankfully way less than what I paid for it a few years back. My copy is an absolute sight to behold. It’s actually still mostly shrinkwrapped, with a slight tear in the top so that the inner cardboard slot that holds the game can be taken out. It even still has a hanging tab attached to the back of it. I’ve only taken the game and manual out once just to verify the condition and test the game out, but from what I’ve seen, they’re absolutely mint. This one is definitely the centerpiece of my collection, and I’m certainly not one to shy away from showing it off whenever I get the chance.

Silent Hill 2: A Retrospective

*A word of caution, I’m going to spoil the hell out of this game, and pretty quickly, so just be aware as you read through. Enjoy!*

I’m a psychologist, and aside from all of the fortune and fame that came along with that title (and by “fortune and fame,” I mean working at a supermarket while I slaved away for my Master’s degree), I entered into this field because I love trying to understand the inner workings of the mind. Philosophers, biologists, physiologists and psychologists alike have spent thousands of years debating over it and not one of them has ever definitively been able to define what the mind is or where it comes from. And the mind can be a scary place…especially when we lose it.

Enter the Silent Hill franchise. If there’s three things to know about me, it’s that I love horror, psychology (particularly psychopathology), and video games. And what happens when you throw those three things into a blender? You get a magnificent mixture of what both entices and terrifies us to the core simultaneously.

I believe that a profound fear of insanity lies deep within us all. Do we not flock with morbid curiosity to the latest news stories of psychotic killers who commit heinous acts of violence for no apparent reason? Why is it that we scrutinize, with excruciating detail, the actions of those who kill without conscious or any sense of right and wrong? Because we fear becoming them. The armies of journalists that converge upon the scene will always interview a neighbor or a friend, and among all the news footage you’re almost certain to hear, at some point, “I never thought they would do something like this. They were just a seemingly normal person, kept to themselves. I’m shocked, they must have just snapped.” 

And within us all, we fear the point at which we one day, without warning, might just “snap.” What pushes a human being over that proverbial edge nobody really knows, and that is truly scarier than anything any Hollywood screenwriter or novelist could dream up. The fear of crossing into that dark side of the mind lives within us all, and the Silent Hill games exploit that fear relentlessly.

Read part of this short memo that can be found within Silent Hill 2. I think it sums up my point nicely:

“The potential for this illness exists in all people and, under the right circumstances, any man or woman would be driven, like him, to "the other side." The "other side" perhaps may not be the best way to phrase it.  After all, there is no wall between here and there. It lies on the borders where reality and unreality intersect. It is a place both close and distant.”

The “other side.” A place without rhyme or reason, where our darkest fears come alive. There is no distinct boundary between that side and the side where we feel safe, and as such we can cross over into our own personal nightmare at any time and without warning. This sentiment is at the heart of the Silent Hill series and is one of the primary reasons the games achieve the level of horror that they do.

I’ll be focusing on Silent Hill 2 here for two reasons primarily. Firstly, it’s my personal favorite out of the entire series, and secondly it was the first I played out of any of them, and luckily for me it has almost nothing to do with the first game. Actually, the third game is more or less the true sequel to the first, but that’s neither here nor there. I will be referencing Silent Hill 1 and 3 at points, though I won’t be talking much about them or any of the games beyond those two for that matter, mainly because I really haven’t played any of them save for 4 and Origins. So let’s start from the beginning. Or, my beginning, anyway.

The year was 2001, and I was on a full-on Resident Evil kick. I had just gotten a Playstation 2 and was enjoying the hell out of Resident Evil Code: Veronica X. I couldn’t get enough of the survival horror genre. I vividly remember the first time I had ever heard of Silent Hill 2- through this commercial.

Something about those horrific images struck a chord within me, deep down. It looked unspeakably terrifying, but at the same time I was helplessly drawn to it. I liken it to watching a scary movie through your fingers- you want to hide, but at the same time you just can’t look away; you need to see what will happen next. I needed to see, so I mustered all the courage within me and purchased the game. I remember being in the car with my mom as we were driving home from the mall, just sitting there with the game in my hands and staring at the box, wondering what the hell I was getting myself into. I think it was the first time in my life I was actually hesitant to play a new game that I had just gotten. I couldn’t have even imagined the nightmare I was about to be dropped into.

The game tells the story of James Sunderland, an utterly broken man who has been devastated by the death of his wife Mary three years prior. However, his life is disrupted once more when he receives a mysterious letter from someone claiming to be Mary, who in it beckons him to return to their “special place” in the town of Silent Hill. James is shocked and bewildered, but with nothing left to lose in his life he returns to Silent Hill to find the truth. At the end of the game, it is revealed that James killed Mary with his own hands, as a means of ending both her suffering from a terminal illness and his own misery at helplessly watching her endure the agony of a slow death.

In many ways, Silent Hill 2 is much more driven by its story than its gameplay. There are the typical survival horror-esque elements of collecting ammo, fighting monsters and solving puzzles, but the prime narrative of the game is centered around digging deep into the truth of what really happened to Mary, and subsequently, what is left of James’ sanity. That’s not to say that it’s more like an interactive movie than a game; rather it’s a lot less action-oriented than games like Resident Evil are.

I read a great quote in a magazine I forgot the name of a long time ago which I think sums up the relationship between Resident Evil and Silent Hill perfectly. Resident Evil instills a sense of fear in the way that a movie like Alien did. It’s a primal fear of being hunted by voracious creatures that is, in the only way a video game can be, more grounded in reality. If Resident Evil is to Alien, then Silent Hill is more analogous to a movie like The Shining. In Resident Evil, there is a semi-tangible explanation as to why you’re fighting these monsters, whereas in Silent Hill, there is no solid explanation as to how they got there. Once again, it’s the psychological fear that is at the core of Silent Hill, a place where the natural laws of the world no longer apply and our own deep, dark fears come alive.

Silent Hill is a place that presents itself differently to all those who enter its boundaries. For example, note how in the first game, the nightmare world is an expression of the inner pain of a girl who suffered constant physical torment after she was severely burned in a ritualistic fire and kept alive by a cult in order to bring about the birth of a God. This world is a place of blood, rust, sickness, disease and death. Both protagonists of Silent Hill 1 and 3 see the world this way throughout both games. The nightmare world in Silent Hill 2, however, is quite different. It is instead a reflection of James’ depression and inner torment over the loss of his wife. Instead of the predominantly red color scheme of 1 & 3’s “other” world, his personal “other” world is often just dark and gray. Everything is crumbling away, broken, decaying and burnt out.

This too goes for much of what James encounters in the regular world, too. Through an abandoned set of apartments, a broken down prison, and even a closed down bowling alley, each is a decrepit and long-abandoned structure that is neglected and falling apart before you. The other two primary locations, which are a hospital where Mary stayed while she was dying and a hotel where the couple once spent some of their happier times, are intact in the real world but fade into these crumbling structures as James crosses into the other side. The only other location, the labyrinth, is a sort of mixed zone between the real world and the dark world, but I’ll get to that in a bit.

This point is further illustrated in an area where the second and third games intersect, when in 3, you find yourself outside of the park where James goes to search for Mary in 2. In the second game, you simply stroll into the park where you can explore to your own content. However, in the third game, the park is closed down and inaccessible. In the third game, this place serves no meaning to protagonist, so it only makes sense that it would be just another simple background object, as opposed to in the second game, where it serves great purpose to James. The town literally presents itself differently based on who enters its boundaries and what their motivations are (and yes, I'm aware that probably has more to do with the plot and graphical limitations of 2 and 3 than anything, but I like to think it was deliberate).

There are a number of recurrent themes in Silent Hill 2 which are just so well presented as the game progresses. There’s that of the descent into madness, which encompasses a good portion of the latter half of the game. Let’s take a look, for a moment- upon entering the Silent Hill historical society building at about the halfway point of the game, you’ll need to descend a set of stairs that seems to stretch downward into eternity. I’ve actually timed it, and you’ll be running down them for about a full minute. Next, you must jump down into a well where you’ll find yourself seemingly trapped, until you find a weak spot in the bricks to break through. Then, you must descend another hole that literally looks like a hallway flipped on its side, complete with doors on the walls, as if the world as you knew it is being warped into something else around you. You’ll then find yourself in Toluca prison, where you must navigate through more puzzles and monsters until you come across yet another hole through which you must escape. Now, you’re in the prison’s basement, where you’ll find- yes, you guessed it, another hole to jump into. Is this starting to sound ridiculous? Well, it gets better- at the bottom of that hole is once more another hole! And in that one, yet ANOTHER hole! And finally, in that hole, you’ll find something different- a mysterious elevator. But where does it go? Why, downward, of course. The elevator goes down for what seems like miles, but when it stops (seemingly at the Earth’s core, at this point), your descent is complete. 

So let’s review here. That’s one long set of stairs, followed by a series of six holes to jump into, followed by an elevator that descends into an abyss. And if that weren’t enough, when the elevator reaches the bottom, you’ll find yourself in an extremely surreal area simply known as “the labyrinth,” which almost looks like the halls of an ordinary home with several ladders dug into the floors leading into water-filled underground pathways. And as you work your way through the twisting maze of the labyrinth, entering and exiting strange rooms that are so out of place and bizarre (i.e., the “flesh” room where you fight the doorman boss), and finally emerge on the other side, you’ll find yourself…right outside the historical society building, where you first entered.

Another consistent theme is that of James' longing for his wife, present in the character of Maria. James meets Maria early on in the game, in the park where he expected that he might find Mary. Maria is nearly identical to Mary, except much more heavily sexualized and deliberate. The fact that she's running around a town full of monsters wearing fairly skimpy clothes and holding the keys to a strip a club gives us that impression pretty clearly. In the hospital, she starts to get sick just as Mary did, and eventually is stabbed and killed by the Pyramid Headed monster (I'll get to him shortly) there. James is once again cast into misery upon realizing that he failed in protecting her and couldn't save her from the massive dark cloud of impending death. But it doesn't get any better for him there- later on, he finds her alive and well, only this time imprisoned and beyond his reach. He tries once again in vain to save her, only to have the wound painfully torn open again upon finding her dead. Finally, at the very end of the game, she is killed once more before his very eyes by Pyramid Head, again. His own mind forces him to relive the death of Mary over and over again through Maria, though he continually deludes himself into thinking he can change what has already been done and save her.

And finally, there's the theme of James’ own self-persecution due to the guilt he feels over killing Mary himself. Though he consciously blocks out this memory, the town has a number of ways of manifesting that guilt into reality…none better than the most famous of all the Silent Hill enemies, Pyramid Head. Before I discuss Pyramid Head though, I’ll read you a few quick passages from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5^th ed., or DSM-V, on major depressive disorder (MDD) and how it is operationally defined. One of the diagnostic criteria for MDD is as follows: “feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day (not merely self-reproach or guilt about being sick.”  Also, a specifier (a sort of “added feature” that may present itself in tandem with the primary disorder) of MDD is “with mood-congruent psychotic features”, which is defined as follows: “the content of all delusions and hallucinations is consistent with the typical depressive themes of personal inadequacy, guilt, disease, death, nihilism, or deserved punishment.”

Though I’m obviously referring to real-life examples here, these are the sort of themes that manifest themselves in the physical world within the game world of Silent Hill. James’ depression is so great that it not only consumes his life, it manifests as an unconscious desire to punish himself for the crimes he has committed. Nowhere is this more obvious than in our old friend Pyramid Head, who relentlessly stalks James throughout the entire game and forces him to relive the painful moments he has turned a blind eye to again and again. There’s debate among Silent Hill fans as to whether Pyramid Head is exclusive to James’ mind or if he is part of the town itself; personally, I believe that he is part of the town. He takes the form of the classic executioner with the hooded head, as evidenced in both the painting in the historical society and in the image on the gallows in the prison. He follows James right up until the end of the game, and in an utterly shocking moment, another pyramid head appears to fight you! This is once again a manifestation of James' guilt, this time however over being powerless to stop the death(s) of Maria.

And as a side note, yeah, about that the painting in the historical society…oh man, that moment when you walk in and see that painting for the first time…what an absolutely chilling experience. I distinctly remember my blood running cold the first time I saw it. And this game just had so many moments like that. Finding Pyramid Head’s lair in the labyrinth, emerging into the nightmare hospital, hearing the execution in the prison yard…there were so many moments that just radiated within me as pure fear.

Gameplay wise, it’s not a very difficult game, even on the harder difficulties. Some of the puzzles do get extremely cryptic on the harder levels, but in general I never felt as though it was the kind of game that was very challenging to get through. Personally, I think the greater challenge as a player was to get through the game without shutting of your console and burying the disc in your backyard because you feared the evil might somehow escape from the disc and bring the nightmare world into your own reality. Well, at least that’s how it was with me. 

Despite my intense fear, this game is still such a joy to play and it always finds ways to disturb and creep me out even to this day. It always makes me want to dig further into the lore of Silent Hill and the history of the town’s dark past. I think the 1st and 3rd games focused more on that aspect, making it more about cults and demons and Gods from other planes of existence (and to my knowledge, that’s what other games in the series that I haven’t played have done as well). 2, however, takes the concept of “demons” and makes it more figurative and abstract, and that's why it's always been my favorite. Silent Hill is more of a state of mind than an actual place. A state of mind where anything can happen and all of the fear, anxiety, guilt, and shame we feel is free to run loose and torment us. It makes us feel as though we are all in the grips and paranoia and insanity itself, and that is truly the scariest thing of all.