Silent Hill 2is a horrific experience in a good way. Players will go through the streets of the titular town and explore its many buildings from grocery stores to apartment buildings to find a lost loved one. That’s the goal of the hero, James, who has been called to Silent Hill by his dead wife Mary.
James isn’t alone in his search though and that’s not referring to the various NPCs he will meet. In the journey, players will come across five weapons. Two of them are melee-based and the other three are guns. How do they rank inSilent Hill 2? Let’s find out.
6Wooden Plank
A Basic But Easy Tool For Whacking Nightmares
The Wooden Plank will be the first weapon players find inside a dilapidated building in Silent Hill. It will be an automatic get during a cutscene wherein the first monster, a Lying Figure, will reveal itself to James. The Wooden Plank is more than a piece of plywood as there are nails in it.
It’s easy to use despite James grunting every time he swings it like he was heaving boulders up a mountain. The range is short though and it will take quite a few hits to take anything down. As a first weapon, it’s fine, but it is nowhere near as effective or cool as others on the list.
5Pipe
Like King Arthur’s Sword Except Stuck Inside A Car
The Pipe will be the third weapon players uncover and like the Wooden Plank, it will be automatically obtained. It will appear stabbed into a car during a chase sequence with Maria. The two get surrounded by monsters in thick fog in a residential neighborhood and have to navigate their way to find Maria’s hiding place which turns out to be a strip club.
It’s a big upgrade over the Wooden Plank formelee weapons in a game. It’s lighter but hits harder and it has a longer reach too. The range isn’t as good as a gun of course but it’s still satisfying to beat monsters with the Pipe and James still sounds like he could have a hernia at any moment.
4Hunting Rifle
A Good Range Plus Lethal Stopping Power
TheHunting Rifle will be the last gun players can get inSilent Hill 2which is located in the Toluca Prison. It’s optional although players should be able to find it easily. As the final weapon during the first playthrough, players may think it is the strongest. Technically, the range is the best in the game and the bullets have an immense amount of stopping power for a rifle in any sort of shooter be it pure action or horror.
The drawback is that it is slow to maneuver the Hunting Rifle. If players are a good distance away from their enemy, they will have no problem aiming without getting interrupted by an attack. However, it’s still easy to miss a target because many monsters are fast, and, again, the Hunting Rifle has a slow aiming speed.
3Handgun
An All Around Trusty Weapon
TheHandgun will be the second weapon players obtain inSilent Hill 2. It is technically optional but it’s hard to imagine players missing it in the apartment that is full of bullet holes as if the owner had infinite ammo like classic shooters from the 80s and 90s. While the stopping power is not as strong as the Hunting Rifle, the ease of use makes the Handgun a great mid-tier weapon.
Handguns are great weapons inshooters, horror games, action games, and so on. Players can aim it quickly and pop off a few rounds and may be able to take down a monster like nothing. Strategically, players can also cripple a monster by shooting the legs and then going in for the killing blow with a melee weapon. It’s a safe weapon with a good amount of ammo in the cartridge that will aid players throughout the nightmare.
2Chainsaw
When Players Need A Quick And Messy Finisher
TheChainsaw is a secret weapon that players can only discover after they completeSilent Hill 2and start a New Game+ campaign. It’s hidden in the Silent Hill Ranch which wasn’t a major factor in the first playthrough. This Chainsaw does not require gas or any type of ammunition to use.
It’s heavy and doesn’t swing as fast as the Wooden Plank or Pipe, but it will kill most things with a single slice. It’s as satiating as killing a zombie inLollipop Chainsawor a Locusts inGears of War. As lethal as the weapon is, because it is a melee-based players will still be in the danger zone which is why it isn’t the best ranked overall.
1Shotgun
Blasting Through The Competition
Theshotgun is one of the quintessential weaponsin any horror game as it presents group-stopping action. While there aren’t as many horde-like encounters inSilent Hill 2, they do happen. Now, the Shotgun in this game can be retrieved in the hospital to dispatch all those knife and pipe-happy nurses.
The range is limited compared to the Hunting Rifle and the Handgun but the spread range is without a doubt key to making this gun so great. From a distance, the Shotgun isn’t that strong either but a few blows up close will make even strongenemies like Pyramid Headthink twice about messing with James. It’s hard not to pick the shotgun as the best weapon in any horror game as they are iconic to the genre from video games to movies. It just so happens thatSilent Hill 2’sShotgun is just that good.
