Board 8 > Future plays through immersive, plot-driven games - Part 1 (feat. Silent Hill 2)

(+) Yeah! (+)

HUGE SPOILERS FOR FUNNY ENDING


















HUGE SPOILERS FOR FUNNY ENDING OVER

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caps

So, back to my playthrough. I left off after Maria died and I left the hospital.

Well, looks like Silent Hill is all otherworldly and stuff and rather dark. Well, ain't that great. So I decided to wander around a lot and really scope out items, mainly because the enemies don't really scare me as much anymore. I used to see an enemy and go kill it, make it my mission to kill it, rather. I couldn't explore in peace unless every last monster was dead. But, nahhh... now I can just run around and explore, and bust a cap if an enemy surprises me or something. I still get a scare once in awhile, but it's usually due to a camera angle change and there being an enemy RIGHT NEXT TO ME that I didn't see a second earlier.

Got some puzzle pieces (keys, wrench, etc.), found myself in a tunnel at one point with ninja monkey monsters trying to hurt my feet. Are they... biting me? Grabbing me? Tickling me? I couldn't really tell. But, in any case, I quickly realized these guys weren't really worth engaging in SILENT HILL COMBAT MODE, so yeah, run ***** run.

Holy crap, guys, finding all of these items is nuts. I'm back to actually attempting to find the items on my own, (though I use a guide if I end up getting stuck, which happened a few times). Luckily, I was able to figure out all the PUZZLES on my own, just sometimes needed help finding the item to actually solve it. At least they circle parts of my map sometimes to help me out.

Digging up clues like a boss, etc.

At least this time Maria isn't in the way.

And into the Historical Society I go.

Creepy paintings, hey look it's Pyramid Head. These stairs go for a very long time. Talk about descending into hell. That had to have been more than a minute of running down. Recycled areas for the win!

This place is tight. Like, tight quarters. And no map. At least nothing that I found. Well, gee, that's cool. There aren't too many monsters around... I think. I'm getting a ton of rifle ammo and I don't have a rifle. This sucks. Where's my rifle. Maybe I should go back and try to find it
Oh, I just jumped down a well that clearly was a very large drop. So much for going back. Took me awhile to realize my rod of doom could pierce through the wall. Escape artist, this guy! So, eventually, I end up getting a key in this little room and my flashlight dies.

I spent a good while trying to figure out what to do, and eventually turned to a guide to use my BATTERY.

HOLY WTF these things, I hate these things, I hate them so much.

Ow.

What the hell is the combination...?!

OW.

DID I MISS SOMETHING EARLIE
OW!

It took me a long time to realize the guide was actually confusing me MORE here when I turned to it, 'cause it said there were 3 highlighted numbers and I swore there were only 2. I eventually got the door to open and probably used 3 or 4 healing items because of those ****ing bugs.

--
Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

Yeah, i got the In Water ending. Just look the other ones up on youtube.

You're also going to want to read a plot synopsis to help piece together stuff you may not have noticed.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

So now I'm in this... prison area. And I've jumped down so many holes, what the hell. How deep into the Earth am I, anyway. I actually don't remember this area too well. I think I ran into Eddy in here, and the creeper was acting like a psycho murderer ax killer. This dude is messed the **** up, yo. Oh tee hee just kidding I didn't actually kill him, he's just dead. Yeah man whatever yo lez go git sum ****ez.

Dude you are so ugly.

Going past these prison cells is a little bit creepier than I'd like, especially since it sounds like they are "scurrying" like the crawling straightjacket guys do. That sound is not okay. Just throwing that out there.

Eventually, I find the items necessary to solve a puzzle outside (err, it's not outside, but it's in this BIG square area that took me awhile to find anything useful in). Then a scary scream. That's reassuring. ****ing Eddy, probably.

At some point, I ended up wasting ten minutes trying to figure out how to open this hatch. I kept using my horseshoe, but it wouldn't work. Little did I know I needed to combine it with a Wax Doll AND a lighter? Damn it, Konami. Whoa, creepy morgue. PSYCHIC ELEVATOR.

Really, we're going down even further? What the hell...

--
Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

The bigger what the hell is that you jump down what has to be a couple of miles worth of holes, do the Eddie fight, go forward a little bit, and...you're back on ground level

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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable

It's all simbolic. James' fondness for holes.

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http://i.imgur.com/wl4c3.jpg

Just keep jumping down those holes.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Labyrinth.

Pyramid Head.

Water.

Tight turns.

Pyramid Head.

Maze of ladders.

Maria in a cell speaking riddles to me and being alive.

Pyramid Head.

GREAT KNIFE AWW YEAH BUSTER SWORD SMASH.

Maze of puzzles.

Maria's ... dead again. Dude. Really. Why do I keep reliving her death. This is some messed up psychological crap for James.

Anyway, this section was pretty cool and complicated. Totally used a guide. Would have taken me forever. I'm starting to notice that sometimes, I'll try investigating something only to have it not register, so I won't think that wall or bookcase or whatever is worthwhile, and then I'll later find out there was a key there or statue or whatever that I needed. Registration is a little weird and annoying. Without guide, I'd have no hair here.

Also, the fact that I can reload in the menu is total hax and makes these guns overpowered. Actually, as a whole, this game is pretty easy. I've only died once thus far (accidentally got smacked by Pyramid Head's 1HKO in the apartments) and other than that, the atmosphere is a lot scarier than the game is hard.

Wait, what. Why is a door eating my head. And why is Angela calling the door a parent? The ****?

Anyway, this fight was pretty easy. A few shotgun blasts and it was dead. I mean, I got a hit a couple times, but I have like... 18 first aid kits and 20 health drinks or some ridiculous amount. I have 230 handgun bullets, 180 shotgun shells, and like 50 rifle bullets, dur hurr, for a gun I just got somewhere down here. This game is tooo easy.

DUDE PYRAMID HEAD STAY AWAY FROM ME IN THESE WATER CHANNELS.

Can I buster sword you...?

I'm afraid to try.

A corpse puzzle thing. This one was pretty easy to solve, actually. Got a key of the persecuted, time to go use it!

And now Eddy (oh my bad, it's Eddie) wants a piece of me. Dude, really? I have a shotgu
ow.

That handgun shot HURTS. Wow. Okay, I'm glad I have health items. Got a couple shotgun blasts in, and then I tried my buster sword.

FINISH HIM!

HA! Got you. Now he's running away like a little *****. I get some ammo on the ground and go after him, and now he's, like, way psycho. Maybe it's the pressure from the earth, i mean, we've got to be a few miles down or some crap. Messin' with his brain~

Anyway, this fight was pretty easy. At least he ran after me and was actually about as fast as I was (unlike every other boss thus far), but ultimately, it took like 6 or 7 shells to down him from my shotgun. Then James has a big ol' emotional moment about killing a human. Man, I don't think Eddie was a human, I think he was a figment of my imagination or something, because I still think James is wacky himself. But to even imagine up something as "off" as Eddie is a special, special thing.

... And I'm on ground level? Is the southern part of Silent Hill on an enormous mountain, or something? Time to row across this lake and go toward this bright light in the distance. Wait, am I rowing the right way? I can't tell! Okay, wait, the light is getting higher. That's good. I'm doing it right. Proceed.

--
Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

James loves holes.

--
"I have a place to live because of FFXI, I lost my virginity because of FFXI, and that's why it's my #5 game of all time" - RPGLord95

That lake freaked me the hell out after reading that earlier newspaper about the skeletons that would reach up and grab you

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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable

From: DeathChicken | #110
That lake freaked me the hell out after reading that earlier newspaper about the skeletons that would reach up and grab you

Yeah it was genius. It puts the idea in your head. Then they make the lake crossing as atmospheric and creepy as possible. That's what makes SH's horror so clever and subtle - something NOT being there is often just as scary as something jumping out at you, if not more so.

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http://i.imgur.com/LjoWT.png

Okay, so this hotel and on was just sad. The enemies pretty much stopped being scary here. Sure, there were a few tombstone door thingies (I guess they are regular enemies now), but now I can stomp them underneath my foot. Sure, I had to run past some mannequins without any weapons... but that wasn't very difficult unless I got stuck and glitched out on a wall (which did happen once).

Other than that, this was just atmosphere. And sad. And a whole lot of realizing that I killed my wife by suffocating her underneath a pillow. That was easily the best scene in the game, him watching that video tape. It was the only time in the game the transition between in-game cutscenes and FMV completely worked for me. I thought a lot of the transitions were sort of weird throughout the game, but here... it was good. And those cuts between her smiling in the hotel room and her dying underneath the pillow... rough stuff.

The hotel isn't nearly as memorable as some other areas, though, so I don't remember individual areas too much beyond the one-man-only elevator, lobby princess music box, and Room 312. I ended up running into Laura again, and I'm still not entirely sure what her role in this whole thing is, even after beating the game. I mean, she tried to kill me earlier, right...? Why am I not more upset at her for this?

Angela in the burning stairwell was pretty epic. No, *****, you can NOT have your knife back. That's what I would have said, anyway.

Okay, okay, so stuff happens, and then I get to watch Pyramid Head(s) kill Maria in front of me. Again. It's pretty clear that Pyramid Head is me. I mean, I've got to assume that, right? I'm reliving my guilt for what I did, killing her over and over again, projecting the awfulness of myself onto another being and yet forcing the real me to watch it. Does this mean that I raped somebody in my life? Because I could have sworn Pyramid Head raped a monster earlier.

Anyway, HOLY 2-on-1 PYRAMID HEAD ATTACK! Buster Sword et buster sword. Or, err, wait, they have a big ol' ****ing spear. That's not fair at all. This was the first time in the game I used my hunting rifle. Pew pew pew. Run! Pew pew. I got hit a few times here... but I have like 25 healing items... this isn't nearly as scary as running around without a flashlight to even view my map.

Eventually, they go seppuku on me (suicide was their only option) and spear themselves. I get some gems from them and proceed. Big long conversation with Mary. That poor woman... James, man, you mean.

Back outside now, climbing stairs (I guess with as much as I descended in this game, it's only fair that I have to ascend for awhile now), and a big cutscene with Mary. Or... is that another version of Maria? Or my guilt? Either way, she's mad, and she's turns into what sort of looks like the burnt chainbed girl from the Silent Hill movie who barbed wire'd everyone in the church. This battle was weird. I got strangled once, otherwise, she didn't touch me. I got hit by her little flying insect guys a few times, but it didn't seem like I took much damage at all. Went ahead and used my hunting rifle again. Eventually, she fell.

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Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

Cue my "Leave" ending, it looks like? This is pretty tragic. So let me get this straight. Mary was sick, she couldn't be saved (I listened to those headphones to hear what her doctors were saying), she was going to die at some point, she was getting sickly and slow and ugly, and she was taking it out on James and sort of ruining his life by her being sick. She wasn't fun to be around anymore, she wasn't herself, and James just felt weighed down by her continued illness. So, he basically killed her to "free her" of her eternal pain, but it was really fueled by his own rage and desire to just end it and stop having to deal with her.

Do I have it right, basically? 'Cause that's some ****ed up ****.

I listened to Mary's full letter to me, her professing her love and how much she doesn't blame me for what I did to her. Sort of touching.. but also really sad in a sort of horrible kind of way. Then I see James take off with Laura, and that's that.

I'm still not exactly sure what Laura / Angela / Eddie represented in this story, but I'm getting that Pyramid Head is me. I think that's the deal. For a first run playthrough with essentially no knowledge prior to playing, that's what I got.

Final thoughts... interesting game. Compelling story, mainly in the latter parts of the game. The scene with the videotape was an absolutely wonderful piece of narrative tragedy. Buster Sword and Rod of Doom are awesome. I loved the voice acting for Mary during her reading of the letter at the end. Pyramid Head was very intimidating and very interesting and unique, I really enjoyed him. Or it. The atmosphere of the game was the BEST part of it, and I felt alone in this horrible place nonstop. What a great atmosphere and tension. However, I wasn't a fan of the voice acting as a whole, didn't care for the gameplay, it was pretty easy (and would have just been an absolute NUISANCE rather than actually "challenging" if I had stuck with the 3d controls). The camera was actually okay (I heard it wasn't great) for the most part. I wasn't quite as drawn in as I wanted to be, because it was difficult for me to care about James. The atmosphere itself was immersive, but I didn't really have a chance to REACT to this world like I wanted James to react. Everything felt sort of "this is happening because it's happening." Not "this is happening and HOLY **** this is happening." The game wanted me to accept it from the get go as what it it and what it would attempt to do, and I wanted it to draw me in a little bit more. I wanted to go from a guy suppressing his guilt looking for his wife to a guy realizing that monsters are trying to kill him to a guy slowly unraveling. I felt like the narrative was a little too "forced" in terms of point A to point B.

Overall, I liked the story, thought the gameplay as a whole was mediocre and way too easy, loved the atmosphere, loved the enemy designs, thought the characters were mediocre (but that's really just Eddie and Angela's fault), and liked the experience. Not my favorite game ever, but certainly one that should be played. Cool stuff.

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Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

XIII_rocks posted...
From: DeathChicken | #110
That lake freaked me the hell out after reading that earlier newspaper about the skeletons that would reach up and grab you
Yeah it was genius. It puts the idea in your head. Then they make the lake crossing as atmospheric and creepy as possible. That's what makes SH's horror so clever and subtle - something NOT being there is often just as scary as something jumping out at you, if not more so.

Absolute truth. I had read that newspaper, too, and I was worried. In fact, the lack of enemies in the hotel really worked to the atmosphere's advantage.

--
Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

Angela and Eddie were people who were 'just like' James. Silent Hill called to them and manifested their own guilt and fears. Some things you probably didn't pick up on:

1. Laura has no guilt, so the town appears like a normal town to her.
2. Everyone sees the monsters differently. All of the monsters James sees are representations of James' personal guilt. Eddie sees them as the people who mocked up. The one monster you see that isn't created by James is the Abstract Daddy, the monster you protect Angela from, which is a manifestation of her abuse.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

KamikazePotato posted...
Angela and Eddie were people who were 'just like' James. Silent Hill called to them and manifested their own guilt and fears. Some things you probably didn't pick up on:

1. Laura has no guilt, so the town appears like a normal town to her.
2. Everyone sees the monsters differently. All of the monsters James sees are representations of James' personal guilt. Eddie sees them as the people who mocked up. The one monster you see that isn't created by James is the Abstract Daddy, the monster you protect Angela from, which is a manifestation of her abuse.

Ah, gotcha. Interesting.

--
Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

However, I wasn't a fan of the voice acting as a whole,

This is definitely hit or miss. I actually like the voice acting because I felt like it added to the atmosphere of the game - everyone and everything in it are messed up, so the voices being a little 'off' made sense t me. Sometimes it was just plain bad acting, but yeah.


The atmosphere itself was immersive, but I didn't really have a chance to REACT to this world like I wanted James to react. Everything felt sort of "this is happening because it's happening." Not "this is happening and HOLY **** this is happening."

This is something that confused me when I initially played it but really appreciate when I finished it. James doesn't really react to a lot of the stuff he sees because, in truth expects it. He basically wants Silent Hill to punish him, so he doesn't particularly care when it does. Some of the transitions are jarring, but I felt like that also added to the weird atmosphere. Also hit or miss and I can see why it would be a Miss foe you, but yeah.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Other things...

1. The events of SH2 take place 3 days after Mary's death, not 3 years. Laura hints this at one point.
2. I forget where it's hinted, but it's very likely that Mary's body is in the trunk of James' car.
3. If you haven't watched the other endings, I would strongly recommend it, specifically the 'In Water' and 'Maria' endings.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Pyramid Head is pretty much James, yeah. He's like the other monsters that are James' guilty personified, but on a much greater magnitude. His subconcious based the image of Pyramid Head off of the painting of the executioner in the Silent Hill historical society you saw in the game, when he visited SH years ago.

Mary is a manifestation of both James' guilt and inner desires. She's what he, deep down, wanted Mary to be - carefree, slutty, vapid. Of course, Pyramid Head is there to remind him of what he did by killing her repeatedly.

A lot of James' inner guilt is based on sexual themes that have been repressed due to Mary's condition. You've got the nurses, the monster just made out of legs that Pyramid Head molests, others.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

KamikazePotato posted...
Other things...

1. The events of SH2 take place 3 days after Mary's death, not 3 years. Laura hints this at one point.
2. I forget where it's hinted, but it's very likely that Mary's body is in the trunk of James' car.
3. If you haven't watched the other endings, I would strongly recommend it, specifically the 'In Water' and 'Maria' endings.

1) Yeah, I noticed when Laura said she was eight years old, something was up.
2) Didn't catch that, nice. Probably at the beginning, I'd assume. That would make sense that in the "In Water" ending, it sounds like he's driving off with her into the lake, right?
3) Done.

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Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

Oh, and if you check Mary's letter to James in your inventory at the end of the game, you'll find that nothing is written on it.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

That would make sense that in the "In Water" ending, it sounds like he's driving off with her into the lake, right?

Yup.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

The specifications for getting each ending (if I remember correctly) are:

Leave:
-Keep your health up for most of the game.
-Don't do the other stuff to get the other endings.

In Water:
-Have low health through most of the game.
-Examine Angela's knife a lot.
-Examine some journal/newspaper on a roof that talks about...something.

Maria:
-Don't let Maria take a lot of damage.
-Don't listen to the headphones recording.
-In the hallway where you hear Mary's narration, go to the end of it and exit the room before she finishes talking.


There's some other stuff I'm missing, but yeah. In Water is the most common ending.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

I always forget about that stuff. Not all of it, but stuff like the letter going blank at the end I forgot about.

It's amazing just how deep the game goes in terms of symbolism. I mean it's terrifying so it works on that level but in terms of just being...smart, I guess? It's one of the best ever.

--
"To be fair to Herman Cain, we can't all be as wise as Slowking when he's wearing the Shellder of knowledge. Look it up, b****es." - Jon Stewart

Yeah. I can't name everything SH2 does off the top of my head - the detail that went into the game is insane.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

It blew my mind when I found out that every enemy - not just PH - were designed to represent some part of James' psyche (well, except Angela). I just thought they were grotesque...parodies of reality, like the nurses and mannequin legs. Because that's always a bit more creepy than a routine eldritch abomination.

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http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5261/5567070428_ee1dcd3590.jpg

The scene with Angela contemplating suicide in front of the mirror is even crazier when you realize that, on her end, the entire place is on fire.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

f***.

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http://img.imgcake.com/Nevest356/1dollagifas.gif

BY THE WAY future, glad you enjoyed the game. It's a hit or miss game in general!

Any idea what you're playing next off of that big list of yours? Pretty much every game on it is a game I love, so I'll be there when the next topic goes up!

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Hell, it goes back to the very beginning, with James beating that straightjacket creature to death. While surrounded by police tape

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We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable

The first cutscene of the game is James washing his face/hands and taking a long, hard look into a mirror.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Yeah, lots of great intricacies in Silent Hill 2. It was definitely worth my time. I can't say that I loved it, but I enjoyed playing through it.

I'm not sure what I'll attempt next. I want to do something wildly different. The only other games from my list that I currently own are:


- Alpha Protocol (PS3)
- Bioshock (PS3)
- Bully (PS2)
- Catherine (PS3)
- Dead Space (PS3)
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (PS3)
- *Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem (GC)
- Hotel Dusk (DS)
- *Killer7 (GC)
- Koudelka (PS2)
- L.A. Noire (PS3)
- Mass Effect 2 (PS3)
- Max Payne (PS2)
- *Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (PS2)
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS)
- NIER (PS3)
- Portal (The Orange Box, PS3)
- Portal 2 (PS3)
- *Silent Hill 2 (PS2) -- COMPLETE
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PS3)
- *Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (PS3)
- Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)
- Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)

Probably shouldn't do Max Payne 2, yet, since I need to play Max Payne 1, first. Killer7 could be way different. Eternal Darkness, I'll wait on that, since I just did a mind**** atmospheric game. I guess Uncharted 2 would make sense?

--
Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

Uncharted 2 sounds good.

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Killer7 is a gigantic mind****, but in a different way

--
We are thought, and reality, and concept, and the unimaginable

Killer7 is just indescribable. I wouldn't play it right after SH2.

By the way, I don't know what your definition of 'cheap' is, but NIER is going for pretty cheap on amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/NIER-Playstation-3/dp/B002BRYIJY

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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.

Yeah, for sure, a lot of these guys are going for pretty cheap on Amazon. I'm going to wait for the things that are over $30 to come down before I purchase them, though.

--
Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

Not a fan of Killer7. Found it boring.

Great mindf*** of a story though to be fair. 7/10 I'd say.

--
Official ~Trendsetter~ of Board 8

Fair assessment, it sounds like. I think I want something radically different than Silent Hill 2, so Uncharted 2 might be the way to go.

--
Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9

All right, starting to Uncharted 2, making a topic.

--
Women come and go, but Metal Gear is forever.
And, then there were 9 ... ~ Noble 9