Super Street Video Game Reviews
Game Title: Siren
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Genre: Horror-Survival
Platform: PS2
Rating: 
It's dark, damp, creepy and the clock just struck midnight. An ominous Siren rips through the quiet mountain town of Hanuda awakening its citizens just as they are surrounded by a giant, red sea. Many of its citizens cannot resist the call of the Siren and are lured into the red waters only to emerge as "Shibito"--the living dead. Players have three days to figure out what happened and survive the horror that infects this tiny mountain hideaway. In this cool psychological thriller, Sony has pumped up the survival-horror category with Siren, a wickedly, scary game that will have players gripping the controller tight while sitting on the edge of the couch.
In order to get into the "edge of the seat mode," Siren starts the game by giving limited information and immersing gamers into the dark, scary world that Hanuda has become. There is a sense of impeding danger, fear and confusion as players must jump into the mystery and try to stay alive. Explore the environment for clues (and weapons!), hook up with other survivors and move stealthily through situations to stay alive. Players have to remember to avoid being caught and munched on by the Shibito and to be very careful of the red sea, to succumb to the call of the siren also gets players that Shibito status.
The game has an intricate story line and players must piece together the story of Hanuda's downfall by completing missions and collecting facts and information. In an effort to still tweak the freak factor, the game is not presented in a linear way, and its missions are played out of order. It's a sweet trick that always leaves players unsure and unaware of what is coming next. Once several levels are completed, pieces of the puzzle drop into place and begin to make sense. Gamers will see how characters and locations are related and ultimately what part they each play in Hanuda's ruin. To help keep things straight, the game has a great feature called "Scenario Link Navigator." This is a diagram of stages played and it gives players links and clues of how the missions relate to each other, and becomes essential the farther into the game a player gets.
Players have a unique ability called "Sightjacking." When "sightjack" is activated gamers "steal" the viewpoint from either humans or Shibito in a player's general surrounding. Use this tool to see if any danger coming or what kind of situation lies ahead, but be careful and don't take too long. "Sightjacking" is a psychic talent players have and while in that psychic trance, players cannot move and are completely defenseless and open to attack. As long as gamers remember to hide a bit, this is a handy ability to frequently exploit.
In keeping with the overall trend of advanced AI characters, Siren's zombie-like enemies are no longer just drones walking a pattern. Stealth is the key in this game because Shibito are attracted to sounds, lights, and movements. If gamers accidentally knock over an object and it breaks, it's time to leave, because some undead company is heading right for the sound. No one's perfect and if it happens, don't worry. We know we said this is more psycho-thriller than bloodfest, and it is, but remember the whole point of the game is to survive. Shibito are everywhere so encounters will be frequent, avoid confrontation if it's possible, but when it's not gamers must destroy the Shibito with whatever weapon is available.
Every horror games needs some blood and guts to amp up the action and Siren is no exception. Players can carry pistols, a shotgun, or any other type of weapon available in the interactive environments. These tasty, skull-mashers can be familiar things like crowbars and wrenches and by holding down the 'x" button for few seconds, they can deliver a devastating blow. After so much pent-up anxiety, expect to unleash a world of hurt on their zombie asses, even if it isn't always necessary to get a clue or to move forward. But, we guarantee it does release the tension factor a notch or two.
Fans of horror-survival will definitely like Siren for the absolutely creepy, terrifying atmosphere that awaits all players in Hanuda. Developers did an excellent job of playing up the psychological factors and balancing it with enough gore to keep the game from getting too slow or boring. Siren offers tremendous depth of gameplay as the mystery of Hanuda is a twisted, complex story that needs to be slowly pieced together. Nothing is skimped on in this game, and players can count on fantastic graphics and sound effects, interactive environments, and smart enemy AI to keep it all deliciously tense and exciting. Siren gets 4 .5 nukes.
Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!