Why the Silent Hill franchise boasts one of the greatest videogame heroes of all time

PSU.com writes:

"Silent Hill 2 is often revered as one of the most influential horror games of all time, and more importantly, one of gaming’s most polished offerings in terms of storytelling. Yes, it plays like your rudimentary third-person adventure game, and its iffy combat leaves a bit to be desired; however, the guts and guns belie the stunning emotional weight of its narrative, of protagonist James Sunderland’s compelling journey in the perpetually-foggy nightmare of the iconic, cursed town."

[fsfsxii]

SH2 was awesome. How James was confused the whole game, and Maria shows p, and how the little girl acts, it was the perfect Horror game

[NastyLeftHook0]

helll yes it was.

[FlyGuyHung]

Silent Hill 2 was the first SH game i played and no other SH games have ever been able to live up to it for me. I remember reading theories about what the endings mean for weeks after playing it. ...I even downloaded the soundtrack.

Epic game is epic.

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

I honestly thought Silent Hlll 3 was just as good as 2.

[HarryMasonHerpderp]

One of the best games ever made in my opinion.
It touched on so many topics and different emotions such as molestation, suicide, love, loss, depression and even hope and glimpses of happiness. It's a game that's stuck with me since the very first time I played it in 2001 when I was 13 years old. There are so many tiny details and meanings placed in the game by the developers. I just love how the creatures all have a meaning behind them and their appearence. It's a shame we don't get more horror games like this anymore it was truly something that had never been done before story wise.

[Reverent]

I remember that for literally weeks after beating it, I had crazy, hellish nightmares about all of those topics you just mentioned. No other game, movie, or any form of media whatsoever has ever been able to do that to me since.

[hadouken182]

Stand out article

[Cam977]

The moment when James realises the reason for Pyramid head when he is down on his knees was nothing short of incredible. That was certainly one of the best moments in the series for me. What he says is just so... Epic I guess.

[FaSCoRP]

I still have to play it

[grifter024]

Love the game. I think though the reason he was so well thought out and one of the reasons James has stood the test of time would be... a different kind of hero.

This was one of the first big games that actually had you as a player do something so evil that you were thrown for a loop and throughout the game tried to figure out why or to atone for it.

This wasn't just another "Save the princess," Type games it was a "Save the princess....whoa what are you doing James," type deals. You wanted to find out the reason he did this when it seemed throughout the game he loved Mary the entire time.

Then the ending was well done all of them to be honest but I still like "In Water," Just because it was sort of a fitting ending. The ritual seems like James finally snapped and just wanted mary back no matter what. My opinion of course.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

I have yet to play SH2. The first one I played was Homecoming which was alright. I love horror games.

[Reverent]

I really hope you give SH2 a chance then.. Homecoming is an absolute embarrassment compared to SH2.

[TXIDarkAvenger]

I was recently gifted MS points so I'll buy the collection via Marketplace and check it out.

[rezzah]

While it was it was an excellent game, I still enjoyed SH3 more.

[xXBlondieVanHarlowXx]

I'll probably get stoned for this (and not the good kind of stoned) but my favorite was Silent hill 4: The room. I loved Silent hill 1, 2, 3 and Downpour (5 was ok). But four was my fav. No idea why. Henry was kinda lame compared to James and the story wasn't as complex as 2 & 3. Maybe it was simply because it scared me more than any of the others? Or that i played it first? I dunno either way go easy on me N4G >_<

[Reverent]

I don't think there is anything wrong with that opinion. While I prefer SH2, I can completely understand why you'd prefer The Room. The claustrophobic style of that game made it intense, especially when the darkness actually took over the room, your only safe haven in the entire game. I can definitely understand how that game can be more scary to some than others.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

What you talking about Willis? Henry Townshend was a badass in my opinion. I always felt his disconnected personality was pretty cool because he was a recluse so interacting with other people always lead to a strange affair.

I chuckled at Reverent when he mentioned the word "safe" in Silent Hill IV.

[rezzah]

I think what SH2 has over SH3, and this seems the primary reason for why people like it, is the psychological effect.

It deals more with emotions and trauma.

SH3 stood out more with disturbing images/environments.

[Kyosuke_Sanada]

Random Fun Fact: It was based of Jacob's Ladder which was also the inspiration for the first Silent Hill.

Jacob: James Sunderland
Jezzie : Maria
Mary: Sarah

Trust me watch the movie and you can almost tell instantly how similar they in looks and personalities.

[Barry_Burton_84]

Glad to see there are so many people out there who enjoyed Silent Hill 2 (and James as a protagonist, for that matter) as much as myself. Cheers.