As I mentioned before from the SH2 page, you start out in a crazy situation already. You receive this letter and out of complete desparation, you head to the town of Silent Hill. Knowing only that your dead wife is there waiting for you somehow. And so the adventure begins.

Moments after the first cut-scene ends, you find yourself strolling along a forested pathway. And not only does the adventure begin, but it begins on a swift note.

Within minutes of taking control over James, walking down this pathway you discover that you're not alone. Only, you never get to actaully see what's been making these half growling, half gagging noises off in the distance. At this point in time you're really starting to wish that James would actually RUN instead of that jogging stumble that he sort of does when you feel the need to escape what could be your untimely demise.

As basic as this part or beginning is, it really got me going. I mean already, 5 or 10 minutes into the game and I'm wishing I could save and stop playing.... ALREADY!! And so at the end of the path you come across your first 'save' spot, so that's just what I did. I saved, only I couldn't get myself to put it down just yet. (And beleive me when I say that I've wanted to stop playing on more than one or even a dozen occasions throughout this game.)

Continuing on, we run into the first character you'll meet: Angela Orosco

Oddly enough, you run into her in the midst of a dark, fog ridden cemetery of all places.

Don't be fooled by your first impression of her. Yeah she may only be a teenager and she seems like a sweet person, but as the game goes on her purpose for being in Silent Hill becomes oh so clear!

Anyhow, your first encounter with Angela ques a cutscene. Where she'll go into some detail about looking for her mother, who is apparently lost within the town of Silent Hill as well. She warns you that the town is filled with creatures and that it doesn't appear to be safe to explore. But James' fire is fueled by his heart, he must continue on. No matter what lies ahead.

Again, as I mentioned the further the game goes on the more you learn about Angela. And the more you learn the more you realize how mentally disturbed this young girl really is.

There's a cutscene in the game where you find her lying in front of a huge wall-like mirror and she's holding a knife. After a brief conversation with her, she ends up screaming and exiting the room. Leaving the knife behind, which James takes control of. All of the scenes and or run-ins you have with Angela, I felt, were both very moving and very disturbing. At first I thought she'd just be somewhat of an 'intro' character, informing you of the terrors within Silent Hill. She ends up being one of the better characters of this game. Not that she saves the world or anything but that she really adds an element of dementia that no other character really does. That's not including Pyramid Head of course, but we'll get to that later.

Great example, take the stairway scene for instance. That scene by itself, has got to be the epitome of what Silent Hill's evil can do to a young mind. That of Angelas especially!! She is, by all means, definitely one of the best characters of the Silent Hill 2 world. I don't want to go into any further detail because I wouldn't want to be held accountable for spoiling the 'stairway' scene. I feel that that's one of the many scenes you'll need to experience all on your own.


Venturing on of course, we run into the next character James seems so lucky to meet: Eddie Dombrowski
Upon entering a room at the time you first come across Eddie, you hear what sounds to be like gagging or vomiting noises from another room. When you finally enter that room, you find a rather obese fellow hunched over a toilet bowl puking his guts out. This is your first official run-in with Eddie, congratulations!! You've just met one of the dumber characters of the SH2 world.

Yet again, don't be fooled by his idiocy. What lies beneath our chubby friend turns out to be pure evil in the end. Here's yet another character that I thought for sure was going to be nothing more than a 'comic relief' of sorts.

And again, as the game pushes on, you learn. You learn not to trust the cover of these 'books', so to speak. I mean here's a guy that seems as though he would forget his head if it weren't sewn on. I remember thinking, "ok, finally, someone somewhat normal in this game". Again I was horribly wrong.

As I mentioned before, you'll end up running into Eddie a couple of times. Towards the end of the game you really start to figure out just how demented Eddie really is. You come to find out that he'll end up killing some people along the way and you eventually end up doing battle with Eddie. But before you end up battling with Eddie, James confronts Eddie about his evil deeds. Eddie then turns the tables and assumes that James is one the bad people that have made fun of him his whole life. The fight ensues and eventually James takes Eddie's life.


The next 'runner-up' in the world of SH2 is a little girl by the name of Laura.
What I remember most about running into little Laura constantly, is pure annoyance! But, however, there is way more to this little ball of 'brat' than meets ones angered eye.

From stealing keys from James to locking him in a room filled with grotesque monsters, Laura has angered and annoyed me time and time again. One cannot count how many times she has made me want to reach into the tv screen and strangle her little neck.

Yet, believe it or not, Laura happens to play somewhat of an integrate part to the key that is Silent Hill 2. The search for Mary of course! Let it be known that as the game moves forward, James begins to find out that little bratty Laura has knowledge of Mary's existence.

It turns out that Laura was in the same hospital as Mary and that she had spent a lot of time with Mary during her own time in the hospital. James later finds that Laura possesses a letter that Mary had written to her at a time when Mary's health was dramatically declining. Which in turn, gives James that much more hope that Mary really is in Silent Hill.


Now, let us explore the key character(s) of Silent Hill 2. Maria(Mary)
At the time that James first encounters Maria, he confuses her with Mary. Mistakenly calling out to Mary. Maria's astonishing resemblance to Mary can really make a case for what state of mind James is really in. Confused and lost, it's almost as if James sees a version of Mary that he's ultimately been longing for.

In James' first initial contact with Maria, it seems as though she immediately comes on to him. All throughout the game, the sexual presence that Maria seems to possess tends to make itself present, more and more as the game moves on.

To me it felt as though Maria was a form of torture to James and that there were two main parts to that torture. In the case that Maria seemed to 'come on' to James, made me feel that this part of the torture was to distract James. Making him feel wanted. In a way that was more of a sexual attraction, something that maybe Mary did not possess. Since James was in the midst of searching for his deceased wife, it seems that this part of Maria was trying to stop that from happening. Almost as if this part of the torture was to make James forget about Mary.

Here is how that second part to the torture comes into play. As the game moves along, it's almost as if the sexual presence in Maria begins to dwindle away. Nearing the end of the game, James gets to observe Maria being slain on a couple of occasions. James watches helplessly as Maria is killed, not once, but twice.

On top of all the madness, on top of all the demented people he comes across all the creatures he encounters, the town and it's insanity, James continues to be tortured! But to an even further extent. So even though James overcomes the first part of the torture that is Maria, he now has to watch this person that he's somewhat gotten close to be repeatedly and morbidly slain. Simply adding to the torment and the torture that is, James searching for his deceased wife....Mary.