Games
Sony
Microsoft
Nintendo
Other Platforms
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
xx
Aliens in the Attic
xx
Astro Boy: The Video Game
xx
Backyard Football '10
xx
Bakugan Battle Brawlers
xx
Band Hero
xx
Ben 10: Alien Force - Vilgax Attacks
xx
Cabela's Outdoor Adventures 2009
xx
Cars Race-O-Rama
xx
DanceDanceRevolution X2
xx
Disney Sing It: Pop Hits
87
DJ Hero
xx
FIFA Soccer 10
50
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
71
Guitar Hero 5
xx
Guitar Hero: Van Halen
xx
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
xx
Jurassic: The Hunted
xx
Madden NFL 10
70
Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy
xx
Marvel Super Hero Squad
xx
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
72
MotorStorm: Arctic Edge
xx
NBA 2K10
xx
NHL 2K10
xx
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010
xx
Rock Band Metal Track Pack
xx
Scooby-Doo! First Frights
xx
Secret Saturdays: Beasts of The 5th Sun, The
xx
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
xx
SingStar Motown
xx
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
xx
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up
xx
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.
Silent Hill 2

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 34 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 57 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game >
Game Info
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Genre(s): Horror, Adventure, Action
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Release Date: September 25, 2001
Summary
Players assume the role of James, who receives a cryptic letter from his wife (who has been dead for 3 years) beckoning him to meet her in Silent Hill, a place that holds great meaning for the couple. The mystery of the letter compels him to return to the surreal horror and all-too-real danger in Silent Hill.
Also On Metacritic
GAMES: Silent Hill Silent Hill 3 Silent Hill 4: The Room
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central Game Revolution GamePro GameSpot IGN
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
FHM
The team have used the superior pixel-pushing capabilities of the console to make this a truly terrifying game.
Read Full Review >G4 TV
Seldom has sound, vision, and control worked in such perfect harmony. Most players will find themselves wanting to play SH2 right after they finish it the first time.
Read Full Review >Hot Games
Some really sick stuff. The imagery and grotesque design of the enemies is disturbing, and the grainy film stock adds an element of brutal realism to an already upsetting game. Needless to say, we loved it...Not only disturbing and scary, it’s actually a lot of fun.
Read Full Review >Core Magazine
While Silent Hill 2 retains the same basic format of the original, the story is decidedly more coherent and the graphics have been upgraded immeasurably.
Read Full Review >Yahoo! Games
It's scary, beautifully imaginative and just when you think it's got as mad and twisted as it possibly could you're treated to a stranger puzzle, harder opponent to beat or even just a deeply twisted environment to explore.
Read Full Review >Electric Playground
Amid its many puzzles, creepy scares and flurries of combat, Silent Hill 2 has moments that are so human and painful--forget about “horror” for the moment--that they elevate the experience from a mere “videogame” to a jarring, unsettling look at pain, loss, despair and dread.
Read Full Review >Into Liquid Sky
It uses a combination of sight, sound, imagery and imagination to create the scariest game on any home console. Turn off the lights, grab your controller and enjoy the horror of Silent Hill 2.
Read Full Review >GameShark
Things like reducing the on-screen fog, the chance to pick up a chainsaw as a weapon and multiple endings really make it a lot of fun to go through a few times.
Read Full Review >GameSpy
If "Resident Evil" was likened to "Night of the Living Dead," then think of Silent Hill 2 as "Twin Peaks," minus the damn fine coffee, but plus the atmospheric gloom and cast of insane deviants, with the entire mixture then taken out back into the woods, shot, hacked into small chunks, and buried.
Read Full Review >Gaming Target
It's not often that monsters of many types can freak you out. It's not likely you'll find a plot as sickening or bent as the one in this game.
Read Full Review >Game Revolution
I'll take SH2 [over "Resident Evil"] any day. Turn out the lights, turn off that damn radio and you'll see what I mean. It eats into your brain (mmmmmm.....) and you won't even notice how jittery you've become until the cat suddenly jumps into your lap and you fling your controller at the ceiling.
Read Full Review >TotalPlayStation
As far as sound effects go, they are some of the best ever found in a videogame.
Read Full Review >GameZone
With a unique and interesting story, mind-blowing graphics, incredible soundtrack, great gameplay and FIVE endings, it’s hard to find fault with Silent Hill 2.
Read Full Review >GamePro
SH2 makes more effective use of shadows, lighting, and sound than 99 percent of the Hollywood horror movies made in the last 20 years.
Read Full Review >IGN
It's an experience that, excuse the Chaucerian, is sure to freak the crap out of you.
Read Full Review >Game Over Online
Beautifully crafted. The story-driven gameplay is compelling and the atmosphere is a visual and aural masterpiece.
Read Full Review >PSX Nation
With solid puzzles, a great story, creepy settings, the most disgusting monsters ever and puzzles that simply rock, Silent Hill 2 has gained my respect in the survival horror genre.
Read Full Review >GamerWeb Sony
The game is one of the longer offerings Konami has offered on PS2 to date...[but] you'll still be left wanting more when the game is over.
Read Full Review >Official U.S. Playstation Magazine
To fully appreciate Silent Hill 2, you have to let it take over your life for a while. [Nov 2001, p.162]
Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
Flawed, frustrating and contrived, but as an experience it's one of the most emotionally engaging games in existence.
Playboy
Quite simply, mature PS2 owners craving a creepy game that's perfect for playing with the lights out and speakers cranked, pick up a copy of Silent Hill 2 and you will not be disappointed. Clean underwear not included.
Read Full Review >Gamezilla!
It was a little slow at times and the control issues were frustrating, but the great story, incredible atmosphere and just plain creepiness made it all worthwhile.
Read Full Review >Electronic Gaming Monthly
SH2’s unnerving mood is so immersive, almost deafening, that it overshadows some of the technical faults…This game will scare you. [Nov 2001, p.212]
Cinescape
While the voice acting isn't a total waste, it seems like the writers decided to have the characters babble on about nothing at times.
Read Full Review >Maxim Online
If the grainy, David Lynch ambiance doesn’t make your nads retract in terror, the four-legged headless guys in combat boots and leather thongs certainly will.
Read Full Review >GameCritics
The pacing can be a little languid at times, and the combat and movement controls could use some tweaking. Also, this game feels a little linear and lacking in extras when compared to the original.
Read Full Review >Next Generation Magazine
The action, though, is simply repetitive, as even the most common creatures must be bludgeoned repeatedly to “kill” them (and there are a lot of creatures). [Nov 2001, p.100]
Total Video Games
The graphics at first may seem to be a little too grainy, however the atmosphere created from it is pure genius.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
A much prettier, somewhat smarter but less-compelling game than the original.
Read Full Review >Four Fat Chicks
Overall, the Silent Hill 2 experience is worth having, if just for the freak-out value. It's not that compelling a story, and the puzzles aren't too difficult, but it's gorgeous to look at and listen to.
Read Full Review >TotalGames.net
From the stable that gave us "Symphony Of The Night" and "Metal Gear Solid," more is rightfully expected.
Read Full Review >All Game Guide
Suffers a bit from being too close to its predecessor in terms of gameplay, but it does manage to scare up enough dread to be a worthy game for fans of the genre.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
Instead of the brain-bending adventure with scares and gore that I had so desperately hoped for, it turned out to be a sloppy, monotonous bore that nearly put me to sleep.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 57 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Jacob S. gave it a10:
While the gameplay is a little meh (what do you expect from an old survival horror game) the story and atmosphere more than make up for it. It is by far the best of the Silent HIll series, with a truly unique and disturbing story. Team Silent is still trying to match it's glory, but have fallen short everytime.
Grant Z gave it a9:
Silent Hill 2, is quite possibly one of the best horror's to grace the Playstation, creepy, tense and has good sound. However it's not as good as the original mainly because, the main protagonist is hateful. I cared about Harry Mason, he couldn't run right FGS, then James comes along, killing his own wife, and wondering why a massive man with a pyramid for a head and a huge sword is coming after him. Still it's a pretty epic game, let-down by some graphical glitches, it was my entry into the series, and i love it still. Story is just tacky. BUT WOOOO, it introduced us to the infamous Pyramid Head. "Hello Nice To Meet You" I LOVE HIM. "MARRY ME PYRAMID HEAD!!!!".
This Person gave it a9:
Silent Hill 2. The cult-hit, the game you hear mentioned over and over again when talking about horror games or deep stories in games. Considered often the best game in the series with the very first one. And for a good reason. Forget Resident Evil's "Monster-through-the-window"-scares, gore enough to fill a pool and hi-tech weaponry, Silent Hills focus on so called "Psychological horror", where the very disturbing images, settings and audio make you feel uneasy and disgusted. Most of the time it's the what you can't see but you hear that scares you the most, and that's what Team Silent knows. The game's nearly totally covered in either thick fog or darkness where the only light source you often have is your flashlight. Add creepy, disgusting and most importantly very... original sound effects and music track, and you'll find yourself being spooked by even complete emptiness. What about the story? Well, where SH1 mostly focused on "demonic-forces" pouring from the "possessed", suffering mind of certain victim of horrible past, SH2 offers a bit different kind of, "more gentle" story where it's not always clear what is "real", while still implying every thing's not just a dream, the "forces" of the town apparently just working in the background. All the characters have some sort of tragic past and are experiencing the town in their very own way, making the line between "reality", "delusion" and the "otherworld" blur even further, leading to some serious mind-screwing at best. Judging by some review here, not everybody has payed enough attention during the game, they either played it just once by rushing it or they have not researched about all the symbolism and gentle hints of the game that it offers. Add 6 different endings depending on HOW you play the game and what you have done while playing it, unlockable bonuses and a beautiful but sad and disgusting story, SH2 offers a great mature horror experience that does not just throw blood and guts at you. I also do recommend the other games in the series, especially the first and third ones, both of which present a quite a bit more "aggressive" experiences, still having some psychological-teasing and symbolisms.
Lam L gave it a7:
The date is 2009. I have heard so many awesome things about this game. XPLAY and others have called it the #1 scary game of all time. I still try and go in with an open mind and self awareness. Months earlier I played SH: Homecoming and liked it enough callin it good but not really a next gen experience. Of course my 1st exposeure to SH was the 2006 film, which I think is brilliant. The fact is I was a little disappointed in this last gen game. It played exactly like SH: H except the controls were more clunky. I thought the fog was better, and the town seemed more believable than in SH:H. Really, this makes SH:H look worse in my eyes. But the experience never raised itself to something sublime. I'm aware if I played it in 2001 when it was released I probably would have given it at least a full point higher. But still, to a new gamer coming it to it for the first time today it kinda delivers underwhelmingly. Next Gen horror games I like are "F.E.A.R.," "The Darkness" (my favorite, and a review here on metacritic actually described it as a next gen 1st person SH- I agree), "Condemned 2," "Dead Space." I realized there is a lot of shooting in my favorites. Somebody, please make a horror game that's really really good but the emphasis is not on shooting. I'd be the 1st in line.
Art V gave it a10:
My favorite game of all time. The graphics in the CG cutscenes were revolutionary at the time (it is now 2008 and I have just beaten SH: Homecoming). The best soundtrack of all time. The best story of all time (and I do not think that any other game will create the same emotions that this game stirs up EVER. Play this game with the lights off and pay attention to all cutscenes, notes and surroundings for the best experience. I am a 22 year old male and I seriously almost cried at the end. The story IS THAT GOOD!!!!!!
Herr T gave it a6:
Most reviews of this game totally ignore the fact that the story is so obnoxiously poor that you lose interest in completing it. The first game took place in an actual town overrun by sinister forces; this game takes place in a guy's psyche, as he deals with his guilt for euthanizing his wife. You watch your sidekick in this adventure die a few times, each time she returns acting as if nothing's wrong, and the game goes on, because it adds to the "dreamlike" setting. From this point on, the games don't really correlate to each other. I don't want to play some guy's dream. I don't want to make it to the end to find out it wasn't real, that it was all a dream, or that the protagonist is schizophrenic or whatever. It's stupid storytelling and Team Silent basically screwed up their chance of making the series remarkable starting with this entry.
Dante399 L gave it a10:
This game is not just a game, it is something beyond that. It is a creative and a beautiful story which is told in the most brilliant way. Fans of horror stories will love this game; because it is a mixture of Stephen King's, Dean Koontz' and James Herbert's stories!
