Rate the Game: Week 85

[M-A-G]

Back at it again this week with another Rate the Game! The good people of TPWW continue to amaze me as I learn more and more about their tastes and habits in regards to gaming. Take last week's Darkstalkers; I thought for sure it'd have been a more well-known and familiar game but I was wrong. I think the most important thing we all realized, though, was my Felicia shirt is damn sexy. Oh, and I guess we need to know where Darkstalkers ends up on our list. Let's take a gander....

<select><option selected="">Rate the Game Results

<option>1. (TIE) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (4.8)</option>
<option>3. Hitman: Codename 47 (4.75)</option>
<option>4. Super Mario Bros. 3 (4.7)</option>
<option>5. (3-WAY TIE)Chrono Trigger, Portal, Red Dead Redemption (4.5)</option>
<option>8. (TIE) Mega Man 2, Donkey Kong Country (4.44)</option>
<option>10. Super Mario Bros. (4.41)</option>
<option>11. God of War (4.4)</option>
<option>12. (TIE) Metal Gear Solid, BioShock (4.33)</option>
<option>14. Perfect Dark (4.3)</option>
<option>15. (TIE) Shadow of the Colossus, The Last of Us (4.28)</option>
<option>17. Super Street Fighter 2 (4.15)</option>
<option>18. Sonic the Hedgehog (4.14)</option>
<option>19. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (4.125)</option>
<option>20. Super Mario 64 (4.07)</option>
<option>21. (TIE) Grand Theft Auto 3, The Legend of Zelda (4.06)</option>
<option>23. NBA Jam (4.05)</option>
<option>24. (7-WAY TIE) Super Mario Kart, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Super Metroid, The Simpsons, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Donkey Kong Country 2, Resident Evil 4 (4.0)</option>
<option>31. Final Fantasy 7 (3.94)</option>
<option>32. Mega Man (3.89)</option>
<option>33. (3-WAY TIE) Contra, Castlevania, Devil May Cry (3.86)</option>
<option>36. Half-Life 2 (3.85)</option>
<option>37. Half-Life (3.83)</option>
<option>38. SimCity 2000 (3.8)</option>
<option>39. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (3.77)</option>
<option>40. Batman: Arkham Asylum (3.76)</option>
<option>41. (TIE) Double Dragon, Max Payne (3.75)</option>
<option>43. Tetris (3.69)</option>
<option>44. Mortal Kombat 2 (3.67)</option>
<option>45. (TIE) Diablo, F.E.A.R. (3.66)</option>
<option>47. Mortal Kombat (3.65)</option>
<option>48. Doom (3.625)</option>
<option>49. StarFox (3.61)</option>
<option>50. Resident Evil (3.58)</option>
<option>51. (TIE) Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi (3.5)</option>
<option>53. Dead Space (3.4)</option>
<option>54. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (3.39)</option>
<option>55. Resident Evil: Nemesis (3.38)</option>
<option>56. (4-WAY TIE) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Condemned: Criminal Origins, Crash Bandicoot, Wolfenstein 3D (3.33)</option>
<option>60. Gears of War (3.27)</option>
<option>61. (TIE) Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Borderlands (3.22)</option>
<option>63. (3-WAY TIE) Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, Darkstalkers (3.2)</option>
<option>66. Pac-Man (3.125)</option>
<option>67. Killer Instinct (3.11)</option>
<option>68. (TIE) Virtua Fighter, Rock Band (3.09)</option>
<option>70. (4-WAY TIE) Time Crisis, Tekken, Earthworm Jim, Metroid (3.0)</option>
<option>74. Guitar Hero (2.875)</option>
<option>75. Streets of Rage (2.84)</option>
<option>76. Altered Beast (2.8)</option>
<option>77. Dead Rising (2.71) </option>
<option>78. (TIE) Silent Hill, The Sims (2.6)</option>
<option>80. Tomb Raider (2.55)</option>
<option>81. Halo: Combat Evolved (2.5)</option>
<option>82. Twisted Metal (2.42)</option>
<option>83. Gran Turismo (2.3)</option>
<option>84. Ghosts n' Goblins (2.14)</option>
</select>


Hmmm...it almost approaches that dark territory on the list but it's average enough to enjoy some company with Quake and Duke Nukem in the number 63 spot with a 3.2. Sadly it looks like it will continue to live as inferior to Capcom's other top franchises.

But what's in store for us this week? We've got the bowl to answer that question for us. Take it away....

<iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/s6qHs4ryS16FeOD1AS" width="480" height="269" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/s6qHs4ryS16FeOD1AS">via GIPHY</a></p>

Oh, now you're just mocking me, bowl. Where was this shit last month? Anyways, for the second week in a row we're tackling some horror. Probably one of the most well-known entries in the world of horror-themed gaming in one of the most disturbing horror franchises out there. It's the sequel to Konami's PlayStation surprise survival horror hit, the psychologically frightening Silent Hill 2! How did this follow up resonate with you, if at all? Was it a masterful attempt or did it fall flat? Is it a worthy entry to the series? Go forth, TPWW and share your thoughts and memories and maybe even any restless dreams this game may have given you. See what I did there? Anyways, do what you all do best in these things and have a good one. Until next week!

[ClockShot]

Never played.

[Lock Jaw]

Never played it.

[M-A-G]

:nono:

[Sepholio]

M-A-G I dunno how you've happened upon such this unlucky streak of games coming out of the hat, but I've got some news for you: I ain't played this one either. Silent Hill was never my thing.

[Destor]

the important thing mag is that you liked it

[M-A-G]

M-A-G I dunno how you've happened upon such this unlucky streak of games coming out of the hat, but I've got some news for you: I ain't played this one either. Silent Hill was never my thing.

It's so good though. :(

[M-A-G]

the important thing mag is that you liked it

"Liked" is understating it. I put Silent Hill 2 on that short list of games that I submit as proof of the medium being a legit art form, like a painting or a piece of music. It's one of the "deserted island" games I'd want to have with me.

[DAMN iNATOR]

I've recently played through it as part of the SH HD Collection via PS Now. It gets a 5 from me.

[M-A-G]

Ugh...the HD Collection. Although it really is the only way most people nowadays would be able to play it without coughing up a lot for a PS2 copy. I hope they at least attempted to fix all the issues it had when it first dropped for the previous generation.

[DAMN iNATOR]

I wouldn't know having not played the original version. But I did choose the original voices as opposed to the new ones they had recorded. I wanted to at least try to have the experience of the original as much as possible.

[drave]

only played the first one

[M-A-G]

I wouldn't know having not played the original version. But I did choose the original voices as opposed to the new ones they had recorded. I wanted to at least try to have the experience of the original as much as possible.

The original PS2 versions of both Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3 were essentially free of any sort technical issues, from the graphics to any sort of bugs. The HD Collection was handled by a bunch of glue-sniffing baboons who wouldn't know ports from a fucking hole in the ground. The PS3 version and, to a lesser extent, the Xbox 360 version were riddled with a shit ton of issues that pissed off a lot of the fan base. Everything from freezing to bad textures to the wrong audio being used to poor cutscene rendering to slowdown made it infamous for being one of the worst ports ever among the community. And that's not even touching all of the issues with the voices and all the legal hooplah surrounding it.

[M-A-G]

Here; if you've got the time and/or patience these videos are probably the best analysis and breakdowns of what went wrong with the HD Collection. The first tackles the technical aspects; the second tackles the voice acting and other changes the people behind the port wanted to make to the games creative-wise. You can ignore the little skits; these guys are weird that way. They mainly tackle the PS3 version but I can vouch for the Xbox 360 version having some of these problems.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wya4XhTPMcc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TxYkNUyBhS4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[M-A-G]

An addendum video. This is an interview with Guy Cihi, the guy who originally played James in Silent Hill 2, being conducted by the guy who played Eddie in the same game. Some of the questions he answers deals with the amount of care and effort everyone behind the originals put in to make them what they are.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ymOVhMrdpH0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[M-A-G]

Yeah, I'm a fan boy. Sue me. :o

https://i.imgur.com/QP5DodN.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/rk9bdOm.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DzgyRZu.jpg

[M-A-G]

LOL, this video actually sparks a question for DAMN iNATOR: what ending do you remember getting?

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9bfhSxkPreo" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[DAMN iNATOR]

I ended up with the "Leave" ending. Thank fuck for trophy lists or I never would have remembered lol.

[M-A-G]

Nine times out of ten that's the ending most people usually get. The subtle little ways to get the others was pretty clever. True, you do end up getting a memo that provides some hints on how to get them but the fact that the game reads your actions and formulates a response without you knowing is kind of cool. Then you have stuff like the Dog and UFO endings, which are...interesting. :|

[DAMN iNATOR]

Yeah, I checked out all the different endings on IGN's website after finishing the game and they definitely sounded interesting. However, I'm a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to games -- not a good mix with PS Now since games only stay on there for a set amount of time before leaving to make way for other games. So as much as I would've enjoyed trying to get a few alternate/non-canonical endings, I just had like no time because of what I said above and having a huge list of backlogged games that I've never played plus occasionally a new or upcoming new game. It was a fun time while it lasted, though.

[M-A-G]

I'm not sure if Silent Hill 2 has a canonical ending as they never called back to it in future games. It's not like the first game and the third where the latter game can only happen based on one possible ending from the first. A lot of the fan base pick the In Water ending as canonical because they feel it's the most dramatic but I've always pegged the Leave as the one that makes the most sense based on the story. It feels like a rip that some of the endings only happen with the special edition version but I love it too much to dwell on that. I'm going to guess you didn't have access to or didn't get around to playing the Born From a Wish scenario with Maria?

[DAMN iNATOR]

I don't recall seeing it as an option to play, no. And the thing with PS Now is it (stupidly) doesn't allow people while in a game on the service to go to PS Store to download add-ons. You have to do it from the dashboard. I can't count how many times I've had to be at the main PS4 screen just to download a new DLC for TESO, for example.

Also, I know this poll is about SH2, but I did start SH3 HD, and never got very far. I do hope to have a chance to play through it someday and at least beat the story once. However, I've also heard that fans of the series seem to agree that's where the series begins its gradual decline in quality.

[M-A-G]

Most fans go with either 2 or 3 as the best one. 4 has a bad rap because of the drastic change in the gameplay but the story, at the least, lines up with the lore. Once it got out of the hands of Team Silent starting with Origins, it's been like watching one of your friends puking into a toilet non-stop. You're not really missing much if you didn't play Born From a Wish. It's just a shorter campaign with Maria as the protagonist. You do get to explore an area James doesn't but it's not really required to get what's going on in the main campaign.

[OssMan]

My friend swore by this game and I streamed all of it during lockdown, I made fun of it a lot but came around to liking it in the end

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[M-A-G]

Am I a bad person for introducing my nieces to these games? I remember the oldest one refusing to stick James' arm in that one hole in the apartments with the green stuff coming out of it because she thought something was going to come out and she was already scared shitless. :lol:

[DAMN iNATOR]

Side note: WC Gaming just listed this as #2 in a video titled "Amazing Video Games You Should Only Play Once", though I will say I certainly debated going in for a "New Game+" run to see if I could get any of the other endings, before deciding if I ever got curious enough,vI could just look them up on YouTube.

It must've made some sort of impression with me just at first glance, too, as I very rarely play horror/survival horror games. However, although there were a few moments, there weren't nearly as many scares I had as opposed to expectations going in.