Course original System Shock also goes pretty silly with it by letting you turn all the settings down to "0" which basically completely trivializes the whole game. No enemies will attack you unless you hit them first and all the doors are open so you just run to the end and win in like 30 minutes...

The reason I bring this up is that Silent Hill 2 relies a bit too much on the monster ambushes. It's effective the first few times but when it happens so often it just becomes comical after a point. "Gee, I wonder if there's gonna be a barfy guy around this corner. Yup."

Agreed, unless it’s a specifically built experience. Most games should give you the freedom to completely tailor your play style so long as it doesn’t break the game.