The different PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of games remind me of the different versions of movies when DVD players first came out. Some DVDs do not have any additional content at all (such as Mission: Impossible), while others are packed with worthwhile content that make the DVD a must-have purchase. The same is true for games. Games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X and Genma Onimusha include levels, areas and/or gameplay additions that were not present in the original versions of the games. The latest Xbox-enhanced game is Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams. There are a lot of subtle differences in this version, but the main draw is the addition of a new playable character: Maria. Maria comes equipped with a new weapon and a unique scenario all her own: Born From a Wish. I won't spoil any of the game's details for you, because if you haven't played through the standard scenario with James, you should not know anything about Maria's quest.

Who says that graphics aren't important? One of the things that makes Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams so spectacular is the mind-blowing shadow effects. As with the first game, the majority of Restless Dreams takes place at night. An overabundance of fog has been used to create an "atmospheric effect" (the developer's words, not mine), but it's the incredible shadow and lighting effects that will make your jaw drop. Once you locate the flashlight in the apartment building, it feels like you enter a whole new world. Every object in Restless Dreams is amazing. Shopping carts, beds, boxes, and gates -- anything that exists in this world is as real as polygons can get. If you turned on a flashlight in real life, what would you see? Walk around your desk and watch the shadow change. Nothing special, right? This is reality -- and in reality, shadows are worthless because they exist naturally. But in video games and movies, they don't exist naturally. They must be programmed into the game so that they react with each and every movement that you make. Somehow or other, Konami managed to create shadows on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox that are more realistic than I could have possibly imagined. This is one time where the graphics are just as important as the gameplay because they enhanced the experience to a level that could not have been reached without them. Even now, four months after Silent Hill 2 landed on Sony's next-gen console, no one has released a game with shadows as breathtaking as this. Not even Luigi's Mansion could top Konami's masterpiece! Luigi has some impressive shadow effects, but they're not nearly as realistic as the shadows in SH2.

I'm not sure why, but I burst into laughter when I saw the billboard for Silent Hill Farms. Can you imagine a farm in Silent Hill? The milk would have a strange reddish hue (I'm sure you can figure out why); ground beef would be replaced by ground anything-that-moves; and the eggs wouldn't be edible, but they'd try to eat you.

No new songs are listed on the back of the box as an Xbox extra, but I'm almost certain that the song that plays at the beginning of Born From a Wish is new. There might be a variation of that song in James' scenario, but this one is best. Restless Dreams has a dark and creepy soundtrack that will get in your head and stay there from start to finish. The theme song will likely last with you even longer. From the moment I heard it in the trailer Konami released in early 2001, I was hooked. It's filled with more depth and emotion than most of the music composed last year. Not just video game music -- but movie soundtracks as well. There were a lot of great movies last year, but how many of them had truly memorable soundtracks? I can only think of one at the moment, but I can think of several games that had soundtracks with enough power to make me cry. Silent Hill 2 isn't that powerful, but is still one of the top five soundtracks of 2001.

Obviously, Restless Dreams is the best version of Silent Hill 2 available. The main scenario is terrific, and the added bonuses are nice additions that fans of the series will love. However, that's where the problem comes in. The people who will enjoy Restless Dreams the most are the ones who already own the game for PlayStation 2 (myself included). Gamers who never played SH2 before will not be able to appreciate all of the subtle differences, but they will be able to appreciate the graphics and the gameplay just as much as everyone else, so newcomers should not be turned off. If you're a diehard fan and bought the "other" version of Silent Hill 2, don't feel bad. For one thing, you got to play the game about four months before anyone else (the Xbox wasn't even out yet when SH2 was released). So enjoy the game that you have and rent Restless Dreams. That way you can experience all of the new content without having to spend the additional fifty dollars.

Graphics: 9.5 
Lighting, shadows and tigers, oh my! Actually, you can scratch that last part about the tigers, because you won't find any in the not-so-peaceful town of Silent Hill. What you will find is a bunch of deformed humans, awesome shadow effects and some of the most detailed backgrounds ever seen in a video game.

Sound: 9
Are the weak sounds of today's horror flicks not creeping you out? Don't worry -- you're not alone. Fortunately, Silent Hill 2's sounds will creep you out. Everyone who plays this game will be disturbed. Some people will be bothered more than others. Silent Hill 1 bothered me so much that I could not stand to play it for more than an hour or two at a time! However, I was able to play Restless Dreams for as long as I wanted. I'm not sure if it's because I've grown so used to the survival/horror style that it no longer bugs me, or if it's because SH2 isn't as scary. Regardless, Restless Dreams is a creepy good time.

Difficulty: 6
Restless Dreams has some of the easiest battles I've ever fought in a survival/horror game. Most of the enemies only take a couple of shots to be killed. The harder level difficulties increase that amount, but the real challenge is the game's many puzzles. Some of these will drive you insane! But they're not as frustrating as the latter puzzles of the first game, so I doubt you'll have too much trouble beating Restless Dreams, especially if you've beaten other survival/horror games.

Concept: 6.5
The story is the same, but there isn't as much original content in Restless Dreams as I had hoped for. The bonuses are great, but Silent Hill 2 has already sold over a million copies (worldwide). Chances are, most of the people who buy Restless Dreams will be SH2 owners who wanted to experience the extra content. That's a bad reason to buy this game.

Overall: 9.1
This isn't a substitute for a sequel, but Restless Dreams was released pretty quickly. A sequel could NOT have been developed in a couple of months! But a new scenario could, and was developed for this Xbox-exclusive version of the game. By comparison, it took Capcom, one of my favorite game developers, a very long time to release Resident Evil 2 on the Nintendo 64 and it did not include any extras whatsoever. Unlimited ammo is not what I call an extra. It's what I call a cheap gimmick to simplify a hard game for a younger audience. Konami has always chosen the proper console for each of their games though, and Restless Dreams is no exception.