The best game in SH series
is a great game and my favorite of all silent hill games.

Effortlessly great.
Clearly, a lot of hard work went into making SH2 the sublime experience it is. The most impressive benefit of Konami's labour is that, in-game, you're never conscious of it. This is the most effortlessly great game I've ever played.

Atmospherically, SH2 is a masterpiece. This is true cinematic gaming; a psychologically and emotionally manipulative experience. Although there's far more here than simple scariness, that concern is taken care of with sublime skill. It goes far, far beyond the stock cliches of funhouse scares, in its attempts to unnerve you. It's also capable of inspiring a far more diverse range of emotions than simple fright; story and atmosphere combine to put unease through a kaleidoscope. If you're at all a fan of atmospheric adventure gaming, SH2 is a must-play.

Just as significantly, SH2 features a story of superb depth and maturity. This is a game concerned with human nature. Primarily the darker side, for sure. But more than intelligent enough to employ balance and contrast; crafting a story just as capable of depicting beauty as it is atrocity, which will echo in the player's mind long after the game's end.

There are rough edges; just not very relevant ones. Combat is mostly functional, but is occasionally too ambitious for its own good. The dialogue can be genuinely clumsy at times, though the game's never-faltering atmosphere (and moments of truly excellent speech) more than lessens the impact. And the gameplay is essentially Resident Evil 1996, but no matter; it's just the solid framework on which the true brilliance of the game hangs. Overall, SH2's weaker points are all heavily outshone and compensated for.

In short: fans of quality adventure gaming, please buy this game. You won't regret it.

And make sure to play in an empty house, after 10:00 pm, wearing a good pair of headphones. :)

A classic in horror-survival
This is definitely a Konami's finest SH game out of the series, and probably the only one without any flaws at all. The characters are few but deeply depicted with carefully layed out background. Graphic was amazing to experience, and lighting effects and sounds are just about to boost up the atmosphere in the right direction. And to top it all, the game is not a sequel but a standalone and fully based on a dramatic sad love story keeping you guessing right until the very end. A true classic alright.

However, I must say I was expecting to be able to play this game with Japanese voice-acting, instead, you can only change subtitles to English or Japanese. Furthermore, I was always looking forward to finally try this "Born from a Wish" extra Maria scenario, and I must say it was quite disappointing, even ruining the great picture of the original Silent Hill 2 script. So, you may as well get the original SH2 only if you can find it, you don't miss anything of importance.