Siren

"If you think you can handle it, then heed the call of the Siren."

Siren may look like your average action/horror game, and indeed that was what I thought of it at first. Then I read about the special features you have available, and I thought that sounded pretty interesting. When I played the game, I found that Siren wasn't your average survival horror clone, but a unique experience in its own right, even if it isn't for every horror fan.

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics are definitely one of the higher points of the game, which are well rendered and incredibly detailed, making the environments that you're exploring very lifelike. A lot of the time, you'll either have a lot of mist to deal with or be exploring in the darkness. The lighting and smoke-type effects work very well here and increase the spookiness of the atmosphere. When you're 'sightjacking' an enemy, the way it switches to something like a TV with a bad reception that changes as you adjust the antenna is also a unique touch.

Sounds: 9/10
The sound department also does well here for the most part. For the most part, the game is silent with only environment sounds like footsteps, the wind blowing, water flowing, etc. can be heard. The game also uses sounds like a horror movie to increase the scariness factor, which will definitely make you jump a bit. The sound of the enemies yelling to one another about your presence is also a nice touch. The only thing flaw I have is that while there is some mood music, it could be added a little more to increase the feeling of fear and desperation.

Controls: 7/10
If you're expecting a Resident Evil style game, or something in that vein, forget it. This is where things really get different. Instead of running around trying to kill everything that moves, your goal is to pretty much survive where ever you are, which usually means getting to where ever you need to go to. Moving around and performing actions are simple enough, thanks to a well done control scheme, and being able to do things like yell to distract your enemies is also a good touch.

On the subject of your enemies, these aren't your typical zombies. They're shibito (literally meaning 'dead body') but they're far from shuffling moaning corpses. They still possess a bit of intelligence and will tend to whatever it is they're supposed to do, like farmers farming, snipers patrolling or keeping a lookout, and other things of that sort. However, if they find you're there, they'll stop at nothing to eliminate you.

Unfortunately, while you can obtain weapons in the game, most are simple objects like a poker or a crowbar, although a few firearms are available here and there. However, defeating a shibito does not mean it's dead. It will always get back up. This is where sightjacking comes into play.

When you sightjack, you move your analog stick around, and if you get a view, it means there's someone in that direction. You must then try to figure out, from landmarks and the way they're moving, where they're located and what their movement patterns are. You can assign them to the face buttons and access them at any time, which is very handy. However, this control scheme may feel unusual to many players, which can easily turn many players away from this game.

Story: 10/10
It's not your typical zombie-thriller, so it's not a typical story about a man made virus leaking, or any of those other typical stories. Instead, it takes place in a small village in Japan called Hanuda. A sudden earthquake occurs and the sound of a strange siren (hence the title) is heard. After that, the mountains are replaced with a large sea of red water, which turns anyone who touches it into a shibito. They are attempting to summon a great evil of some sort.

Instead of being some chosen person who is selected to take them out, you play as multiple characters in different locations over the course of a three-day period, and it doesn't go through each character in order on one day and then move to the next day. Instead, you could be playing a person on the first day, and then skip ahead to another person in the middle of the third day, and then backwards. While it's rather linear at first, as you progress through the game, you can get the option to go back and replay previous scenarios.

Replay: 7/10
The ability to replay old scenarios in order to find more information and intel items to unlock more secrets of the story is a nice feature, and there's always something about going back to a scenario you had trouble with and trying to find a new way to solve it, or going back to a scenario you found easy and trying a new approach to see if it's easier or harder. Unfortunately, the bizarre control scheme can easily turn many people off, so that deducts some from the replay value.

Overall: 8/10
Siren is truly a unique game that, in spite of an unusual control scheme, sets a new standard for horror games with a different emphasis, unique ways of avoiding your enemies, and an immersive world full of scares everywhere. If you think you can get past the clunky control scheme and are in the mood for some scares, then definitely heed the call of this Siren.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/06