Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 5

Here comes… here comes the bee-hive. And by that I mean the top 5 games on my top 100 games list. What a ride its been. I hope we all had a good time. I sure have. But, aside from that, I’ve had fun reliving some memories from my entire life. People belittle video games but they’ve always been there for me, through the entire time I’ve been alive. Moments in my life are punctuated by specific games, so, you know, they’re great markers for me, historically. Anyhow, space wasted. Let’s go.

5: Silent Hill 2 (PS2/Xbox)Developer: KonamiYear: 2001

Back in the day there was an electronics store in Hastings, NE called “On Cue” – it sold DVDs, CDs, video games, magazines, and just about everything you could think of at one time or another. It was the best goddamned store in the world in my opinion because, in the middle of nowhere, NE, there weren’t many options for out-there music and movie purchases; if Wal-Mart didn’t have it, no place did.

In this store I got my Playstation 2, my first copy of a PC magazine containing news about Half-Life 2, Metriod Prime, and the first Kingdom Hearts. It was where I picked up both Warcraft III and its expansion, Homeworld2, and Jedi Knight II. To say it was a huge portion of my teenage gaming life would be a rather large understatement. But one game that came from this location was more important than any other: Silent Hill 2.

I couldn’t say what it was about the game that made me want it so bad: despite the fact that the original has a place on my list, these days, back in ye olden times I didn’t really appreciate it as much as I could have (I would actually suggest that I love it, now, because of 2 and 3). But, lo and behold, I got the game and took it home. Now, it should be noted that in the final days of high school, my time away from the school building was spent watching Buffy on DVD, listening to music, and sleeping. Until the early hours of the morning, I simply wasted away into nothingness while the minutes flew by. So, during the hours of 9PM-3AM, I booted up Silent Hill 2 for the very first time. And I’ve never been able to work up the nerve to move through it a second time.

To say the game is scary is… well, putting it lightly. The game is balls ass horrifying. For me, the game is the creepiest, most mind-fuckingly surreal experience of my entire gaming life, and a franchise entry that will likely never be topped. My first encounters with the Legs-on-Legs (not their real name), the Pyramid Heads, and James’ own insufferable guilt and conscience will never be forgotten, in the long, twisted hours that I damaged my own psyche, just by playing the game. When all was said and done, I’d been granted access to one of the greatest narratives in the history of video games. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how complex, deep, and touching the game is, not to mention vile, quease-inducing, and gut-wrenchingly real.

how am i not myself?

Its dated as hell, now, and on subsequent attempts through the game I’ve never managed to get past the part where I know the Pyramid Head is going to just SHOW THE FUCK UP on the hospital roof (you can hear the sound of his blade dragging on the ground. I don’t wanna deal with that ass hole!), but the fact remains that the eerie, fog-coated town of Silent Hill has never had a better outing and likely never will. James’ story is so tragic and so dark (dark as living hell, actually) but that’s what makes the game what it is: an engaging storyline with a character we can initially connect with, right off the bat. It allows the story to take center stage, not the scares which, while ultimately what people talk about, are not the primary focus of the game.

All in all, Silent Hill 2 is an exemplary game for the PS2, the SH franchise, and story telling in games as a whole. My hope is that a PS3 high-def re-release will be announced… some day, so a new generation can experience this masterpiece of game-making. Give it a whirl, if you will; you’ll be scared shitless, that’s for damn sure. In the meantime, just remember: it’s all in your head. And to you, On Cue… may you rest in peace you magnificent bastard.

Classic Moment:
Have to be escaping the hospital with Maria. You’re running with her down a twisty, turny series of tight alleyways only to have her fall behind. The AI won’t follow unless you’re close, and – since you can’t see for shit – you have no idea how far back she is so you have no choice but to turn the fuck around and go looking for he—OH MY JESUS SHIT PYRAMID HEAD RUNNING RIGHT THE FUCK FOR ME OH JESUS CHRIST HOLY FUCKING JESUS! OH MY GOD!

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Added April 14, 2017
Someday I’ll manage to play through this a second time. How I got through it that first time is beyond me.