Silent Hill 2

i just beaten this game a few days ago. i didn't want to write a review until i played the game to completion, that way i can review the game from top to bottom. i remember back in 2001 when original Silent Hill 2 was released. i followed the game online at the time on my dial up connection at college. at the time, i didn't have a computer at home so i was sitting in my engineering class browsing video games including Silent Hill 2. when it released, i immediately bought it. i think it was around Oct 2001. i also played Silent Hill on PS1, so i wasn't unfamiliar w/the franchise. when i played Silent Hill 2 on my PS2, my mind was blown! it became my most favorite video game of all time! even to this day still think of Silent Hill 2 bc it had made a huge emotional impact on me. i played the game hundreds of times and got every ending. the game was not only emotional, but had a story that any human can relate to. it's not a story about you good, they bad, in Silent Hill 2, it's a stroy about a man's guilt, remorse, sorrow, love, and redemption. it's very unique and even modern games doesn't even come close to Silent Hill 2's caliber in story telling. Silent Hill 2 is psychological horror and the beauty of Silent Hill 2 is that different gamers will interpret the story differently. this is a game that will live inside my heart forever. when they announced they will remake Silent Hill 2, i was VERY skeptical that they can pull it off. i was very afraid they will screw it up. how can anyone remake this classic?! it's impossible i thought, but i eventually gave it a chance. i even bought a PS5 just to play this remake. i don't play PC, so i had to get me a PS5 so i can play Silent Hill 2 remake. that's how much i love Silent Hill 2. it's a game i would buy a console for. no other game would make it do that bc recently i been a Nintendo gamer but for Silent Hill 2, i'll buy a PS5 just to play it. first thing first, the graphics; yes it is great. that's not surprising bc it's a PS5, so yes graphics great! the improved graphics makes Silent Hill 2 remake even scarier than original. there are some glitches, but they're minor and not a deal breaker. the camera had also been updated. no more "tank controls" like in original. now you get a modern "behind the shoulder" camera system like you find in Resident Evil 4. it works wonders! now i can see down the hallway into the darkness. so graphics are great and the modern camera system doesn't take away from the horror aspect of the game. now lets talk about the combat. Silent Hill 2 is not an action game. james is not going to be armed to the teeth like a commando. he's not going to climb a 20 foot tall monster and blast it's face and shove a grenade down its throat like in those action horror games like Resident Evil 4. James is just a regular dude. with that said, in this remake, there is now a dodge feature which did not exist in original. in this remake it is IMPORTANT that you dodge enemy attacks and if you fail to do so, you will die. so be sure to master dodging. the combat have been vastly improved over original. everytime i get into a fight w/a monster, it was grueling and one mistake can cost me my life bc in this remake, the enemies are way tougher than original. my only complaint is w/the R3 button, the R3 stick is used to move the camera and pressing down on R3 is how you toggle your flashlight on and off. during combat, many times in a very dark room, i would accidently toggle my flashlight off while moving the camera to center on an enemy. having my flashlight turned off during combat w/a very tough monster in the dark has cost me to mess up many times during the game!!! i wished they would have thought this through when designing the game. it's a big problem throughout the game. besides that issue, combat is very satisfying and at same time heart pounding and terrifying. the boss fights have also been improved. bosses in the remake are a lot tougher to kill than in original. now lets talk about the city of Silent Hill bc Silent Hill imo is a monster, the final boss, it is what makes the game scary. it is full of mystery and to be frank, the main character in Silent Hill 2. in this remake, Silent HIll have been expanded. it is beautiful to explore and at same time ominous and eerie. it is like a ghost town. there are sections of Silent Hill you can explore that you couldn't in original. my favorite locations are the apartments, hospital, and hotel. they are very scary to explore. i love it!! as of writing this review, i want to replay this game just so i can explore Silent Hill again and i would bc there are 8 endings i want to get. it's not open world, but it's still big enough to satisfy any explorers. now lets talk about the meat and potatoes of Silent Hill 2 and that is the story, which is the most important thing about this game. the remake respects the original but adds to it. they added some extra story content behind Angela, Mary and also Maria. all these characters are great just like they were in original. the story in this remake is just as emotional as they were in original. when you play this game, you will fall in love w/the characters that you meet. the iconic stair of fire scene w/angela towards the end of the game always brings tears to my eyes. any fans of Silent Hill 2 will know what im talking about. there's also 8 endings to get! so replaying this game is a must!! now to finish up this long review, i want to discuss the controversy this remake had prior to it's release. people were saying that Angela has been "uglyfied." im not going to lie, the original Angela looks prettier than remake Angela but remake Angela will not break your eyes when you look at her. she's not THAT ugly...i say remake Angela is "cute" or "girl next door.' i also feel that original voice actor for Angela did a better job at portraying Angela's pain and anguish than the voice actor used in this remake, that's just my opinion. i also have no issues w/remake Maria..some fans were complaining that the new voice actor for remake maria didn't do as good a job than original voice actor did in original but i don't agree w/that criticism. i had no problem w/remake Maria and i still find her as attractive and flirty as she was in original. i also did not like the new design for Eddie. i feel they made him too gross. in original, he looked like a normal fat overweight guy but i this remake he looks like a blob. that's how i feel about him but i could live w/it. other than this, i got no complaints about these remade characters. so is this game woke? many fans thought this was the case before this remake was released and i was curious myself that's why i wanted to beat the game before writing this review. no this game isn't woke. i don't see it. it's a great game and a great remake!! Blooper Team did a great job!!!! you need to play this remake right now!!!