TL;DR: A recreation of Silent Hill 2 made by people who clearly love the original. A deep and thought provoking story with fun gameplay that is sure to appeal to survival horror fans everywhere. Having experienced the original Silent Hill 2 in the old days, I feared that a remake would fail to grasp what made the original so special, choosing instead to follow in the footsteps of less well-recieved titles in the series such as Homecoming. The emphasis on the improved combat leading up to the release only added to my concerns. I am happy to say that these fears did not come to pass. While the remake does place a greater emphasis on combat compared to the original, it still keeps the tone and atmosphere of the original. The town of Silent HIll is now even more immersive, to the point I wish I was able to explore the town even more before moving on to the later areas. I do feel as though the quantity of enemies could have been toned down somewhat, but it didn't really detract from the experience. The story is mostly the same as the original, with some new and interesting additions. What I found most surprising is that the game does more than simply ape the original game's story, it almost assumes the player is familiar with it, given some of the tidbits and endings. If you played the originals, I HIGHLY recommend playing this remake. I do not think I would have appreciated what the developers have managed to do if I had only played this title. Overall, I do not think there is much more that I could ask for in a remake of a cherished game that has become such a icon in the survival horror genre. Whether you are a fan of the classic or a newcomer trying to find what all the hubub is about, this remake is sure to be a memorable experience.
