Search 2 does not expand on the events and story of the first game. Instead, the same game elements are applied to a different setting, the Dixmor Insane Asylum, where the staff likes to beat up and experiment on the inmates rather than treat their disease. A power outage one day allows the patients to mutiny and wreak havoc on the asylum. The player can take on two roles: Dr. Daniel Lamb and Leo Kasper. Although the story begins at the asylum, the action quickly shifts to other settings.
The game mechanics are primarily focused on stealth, with later stages offering more of a traditional third-person shooter feel as additional weaponry becomes accessible. To be successful in gunplay, you must use a lot of cover, moves, and sometimes stealth. There is a radar system, adversaries have varying levels of awareness, and killings are best carried out from the shadows. Players can distract adversaries by throwing things or making noises into the USB headset to entice them away from their pals (PS2). A small mini-game must be completed to hide in the dark. The character’s location will be exposed immediately if it is not finished on time.
Players can commit executions in three types, as in the original game: hasty (white), violent (yellow), and gruesome (red). These contain graphic violence such as strangulation, beatings, gun violence, and lighting them on fire, among other things. However, some of these killings are suppressed, with blacked-out scenes or the camera turning away. In the Wii version, players must use the Wiimote and Nunchuk to simulate the gestures required for a kill.
All of the variants are very similar. The Wii edition has three exclusive weapons (a bottle, a mace, and a razor), while the other two editions include a samurai sword not seen in the Wii game. The Wii version is the only one with a short tutorial to acquaint the player with the controls. Other minor modifications in the Wii edition include more detailed scenery, more dialogue, new hunters (Sexual Deviants scene), some weapon placement changes, a new maintenance hole execution (in Ghosts), and more animations for Daniel and Leo, particularly in close combat.
