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REALISTIC horror/survival game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I personally loved this game, but there are many who are going to hate it. What made it so appealing to me (and unappealing to others) is how realistic the gameplay is. They set the game up to be a realistic survival game; you die in one shot, you have no idea what's going on, and all your actions effect other characters later in the game. There is nothing in this game that isn't going to be explained by the plot (no magic health drinks, no laser beam guns). Also, for the most part your characters have no weapons, and their only tool is the ability to see through the eyes of their foes (sightjacking). I thought it made the game amazing, it took time, concentration, and planning verses constant button mashing. There is also a certain fear the game instills in you when you have no way to defend yourself. One thing you can use to your advantage; your health regenerates (though, your foes will have this ability as well) as a cause of the red waters surrounding the village (the same waters that are turning the villagers into the undead, and giving you psychic abilities). So, if you do get shot and manage to survive, you can run to a safe place and hide out for a couple seconds 'til you're good to go again. Your foes aren't superman either (aside from being undead), they die just as easily as you, so it's nice when you finally do get a weapon (keep in mind, they do come back to life after a few minutes). The scenery doesn't change much (you are trapped in the village after all), but it is meant to be an advantage to you. You can get use to your surroundings, making it easier to make your way through the game as you progress (you're going to have enough trouble staying alive, don't need to add being constantly lost to the mix). The individual missions themselves are meant to be relatively short(1-15 min.), making up for the constant dying.

There are people who say this game is only for 'hard core' survival game fans, and I don't find that to be true at all. It is challenging, and you just need to have a little pateince. It's actually a very fun game. If you can make your way past the first couple missions I promise you'll get addicted. Well, unless you like games that require no thought process. Other than those people... you'll like it.

Oh the rage...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: November 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Never has a videogame made me so angry. Do not be misled, this game might look very spooky and chock full of Survivor Horror Genre-goodness, but in fact it is one of the most soul-sucking, brain-deadening games you will ever have the misfortune of playing.

To begin with, the "options" menu that you constantly have to go to in order to perform even the most mundane of tasks (example: It takes 5 or more different steps just to sit in a parked truck) is downright idiotic. WHY do I have to press the action/related buttons over 10 times just so I can drive a normal motor vehicle? Was this vehicle secretly built by aliens with technology far beyond any human capacity? Or were the devlopers just experimenting with new forms of gameplay torture? (I personally believe the later. Think what you will about the aliens)

Secondly, it is ridiculously easy to die in this game. Go ahead, you can dish out the "But it's scarier since it's so realistic! People don't use health drinks/first aid kits/etc. in real life!" Then I will pull out my hair and tell you to try playing the game for 30 minutes straight. Even 15 minutes is a challenge since you will die dozens and dozens of times within the first 5 minutes and get so frustrated you will want to elbow-drop your PS2. I swear, these characters would die if they stubbed their toe, that is how easy they are killed. Even if you manage to get to the end of a mission, when you are so close to the end of one measly, simple "Get from point A to point B" mission, you will most likely run into a bad guy and die instantly. Then the whole cycle of frustration and enraged PS2 destruction begins anew since you will most likely be taken back to the begining of the same stupid level.

Lastly, the voice overs. Given all the above game woes, it is even more difficult to find any enjoyment in this game given it's awful (British?) voiceovers. Most of the characters sound as if they are talking about Afternoon Tea rather than some funky river of blood.

Overall, I have yet to play a more terrible game. This game is sitting in my bookshelf collecting dust because I cannot play it for more than 15 minutes at a time without being thrown into a murderous rage, and would not be able to convince anyone to buy it off me since I feel compelled to tell anyone who will listen just how bad 'Siren' really is.

Save your money

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 12
Date: August 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game on the grounds that it was a survival horror game that took place in Japan. I like Asian horror, and the supernatural elements that follow in that genre. Sure, this game featured zombies, which are by this point a staple of the Western surival horror tradition, but I was willing to take my chances. I liked the idea of a lonely mountain village whose waters turned to blood during a ceremony every year, only to turn the inhabitants into braindead creatures of the night.

Well, while the same atmosphere present in that brief description wasn't entirely lacking from the game, it was not the same type of bone-chilling spookiness that I was hoping for. In fact, the gameplay ended up being pretty tedious, and I found myself getting increasingly aggravated as I played, rather than creeped out.

Don't count on a lot of variation in any given level when your character dies and needs to restart at the beginning. And you will die--a lot. The levels start out relatively tense, but quickly devolve into predictable algorithms when you learn where your enemies are located and how quickly they're going to lumber to another spot so you can run to another location and hide. Perhaps it's presumptuous for me to be judging the game on these parameters when every single other game ever released also had enemies that are located in a given area, who have a preconceived attack pattern, etc., but it's a little different when you don't plan your dash and/or attack just right and the (armed) zombies spin around and shoot you with a hunting rifle from sixty feet away. Gee, whiz. Thanks.

You have no option but to play level one as one character, and the next as whatever other character the game wants you to be, and the next as a different character, again, completely chosen by the game, and so and and so forth in that fashion until you get annoyed and turn off your console. It's all laid out in an extremely easy-to-use visual grid thing with lots of colors and baffling half-rectangle shapes indicating that two characters had their own individual zombie conflicts on a particuler night, and it all makes for a wonderfully maddening, confusing mess that is sure to leave you ready for more running-and-hiding-before-getting-shot-in-the-back-of-the-head-because-you-didn't-see-that-zombie-in-the-bushes-behind-you fun. In addition, the game also features a cast of 10 different playable characters, which ensures that you will have 10 different people you wish would stop trying to voice act and just die already.

It's pretty moot to even mention it by this point, but the voice acting is terrible. This can be said for about 90 percent of games, but even so, this voice acting is particularly insulting. "Daddy, let me be a character in one of your video games!" "Well, all right, but only if you promise to not emote or sound good, ever."

The good thing that I can say about this game is that the sightjacking ability is a revolutionary and peculiar idea that we don't see pop up in games all that often. That doesn't mean that it's particularly useful for gameplay, since you probably won't be able to make it through a level in only one try, but hey, it's a novelty, and I'll take it.

If you are going to bother with this game at all, I'd advise using your sightjacking capability and seeking out the patrol pattern of ALL the zombies in a given area, even if they eventually find their way over to you and kill you while you're just standing there reading their minds. At least this way, you know where they're going to walk and how long it takes them to do it. So when you start over at the beginning of the level--which, again, you WILL be doing several times--you can have a better idea of which route is the safest to escape.

If dying that often and painstakingly figuring out where these clunky lobotomy patients are going to walk next doesn't sound like a great time to you, though, you might want to skip it. If you're looking for a good Asian horror title, I can't possibly recommend the "Fatal Frame" series to you enough, but then, if you're looking into "Siren", you've probably already played those and are looking for something similar to fill the survival horror void inside of you.

And, no, "Siren" ain't it.

In some ways better then Silent Hill

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: May 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I picked up this game 2 days ago, and have so far put 7 and a half hours into the game. (the first 3 missions alone took me at least a half hour before I got on) People are comparing this game to Silent Hill, which I do. Silent Hill's story disturbed me and still does. I spent countless hours freaked out after just thinking about Silent Hill. Siren however, hasn't scared me yes. It is scary to have to sneak around, having the Shibito find you and stalk you, but the idea of Siren dosn't frighten me. That may be due to me being an American and not Shinto/Buddhist Im not sure. But where Siren really shines, is the gameplay. Silent Hill is mostly wandering around, attacking some weak enemies healing up on your 30+ first aid kits. Occasionally getting hurt, but in Siren, its all wandering around, sometimes fighting if you have to but the safest way to get around Hanyuda is to crawl with no flashlight. The Puzzles in Siren are fun to do, (I liked the kite string puzzle in the abandoned house) I think Siren is definetly one for the patient people. But Its worth it, so Buy/rent whatever and still play Silent Hill!

Not scary and little frustrating

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: September 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I am a big fan of horror/survival horror games. I own all RE, Silent Hill, Clock Tower, Fatal Frame, Alone in the Dark, Dino Crisis, etc games. As a matter of fact I bought my consoles to play these type of games. (Well, also love Diablo 2 on the PC). BTW I am a hardcore gamer that am not in my teen years. As a matter of fact I am already "a Dady" and hope my little girl will grow to love gaming as well (but not as much as school, I hope, or else forget about gaming altogether... :).

Ok, with some background info about my experience on these games, lets talk about Siren now. I have played this game and it has not been realy scary so far. It has mostly been on the frustrating side. It is a pain in the neck to go through a level and get killed over and over. And this happens real quick, meaning within the first few levels.

In my experience the map is useless. I cannot figure out where in the map I am located at one particular time so I noticed I ended up runing through the same place a couple of times killing the same shibitos more than once.

The concept seems neat, however, the fact that it is "mission" based takes away some of the suspense and continuity of the story line normaly found in this kind of games. In my oppinion they could have done the same thing by using a more general introductory cinematic to show why all the characters are stucked there in the first place (remember RE2?). Then let the game develop itself in parts for each character.

Anyway the game is not bad, the graphics are not amazing at all, I know the PS2 is not the most powerfull console out there but I bet they can squeeze the graphics up a notch to get them closer to Resident Evil on the game cube.

Sound, well, not impresive, for that there is nothing like the Silent Hill series.

My recommendation is, if you are a fan of these kind of games, then at least wait a bit for the price to go down before you actually go to buy it or better yet rent it first.

I am sure that some people with all the time in the world and infinite patience will definitely like it and make it one of their favorits, still, I don't see how it could ever be above any RE, Silent Hill or Fatal Frame Games. Great concept but could have been better executed.

My opinion.

Not Silent Hill, But Very Original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I didn't know what to expect from this game initially, all I knew up until I bought the game yesterday was that it was from the creators of the original Silent Hill. I must say that I am not disappointed. Think Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid with a nice dose of Japanese culture and mysticism and that's as close as I can get to describing this game. I like the survival horror-stealth concept that this game presents. It's definetely original and I think this game will do well. If you lack the ability to be patient I suggest steering away from this one. It's primarily brains and not brawn. If you want a suspenseful experience this is the way to go.

Spooky.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 15, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Okay, before I get started, just let me tell you I bought Siren purely because it was $10 and I only had about $11 left on a gift voucher I was given. So I wasn't really expecting much from it.

However, I was seriously surprised.

What caught my eye about this game is the beautiful cover art. The version I have is different to the one on sale here, and my versions cover is a picture of the beautiful young Miyako Kajiro, who has a large role in this game, standing infront of an eery red background. This beautiful kind of artwork carries its way into the game, with the water and even rain being blood red.
Another thing that drew me into this game is its plot. I won't go into it here, because so many of the other reveiws cover it, but I'll will just let you know, you'll either love it or hate it.

The sight-jacking concept is what really makes this game origional. I have never played a game that will allow you to get into the mind of an enemy and understand what's going on. The only downside of this is that you can't move while you're sightjacking someone, so you have to just guess where they are when you're on the move. It's also very difficult to know WHERE to hide from them, as their sight is unpridictable.

Another downside to this game is how slow it is. If you're not a patient person, then this game is SO not for you. This game will take pateince, nerves of steel and alot of smarts. Waiting for the Shibito to finish a patroll may take severall minutes.

If you are anything like me, you'll lose yourself and just shoot the companion you're meant to protect.

Another MAJOR crap part of the game is the voicing. The game has been dubbed in the crappiest voices ever. The once Japanese characters have now been given the voice and sometimes personality of the british. This drove me, quite literally insane. These voices are so bad, that they will either ruin the game for you, or they'll make you laugh so much that the game loses all seriousness.

The voices are actually SO annoying, that I found myself shooting the companion I was meant to protect because I hated her voice so much and she wouldn't SHUT UP.

Anyway, this game, is very hard. Unless you've played horror survival games before, this game is nearly impossible. So think about playing maybe... Silent hill or Residant Evil before this one. Of course, if you're up for a challenge...

The game is also IMPOSSIBLE to compleat without dying, alot. I will warn you now. If you don't like losing, or trying things again, AVOID THIS GAME. You will need to go though things again and again in order to get furhtor.

The characters faces are apparently pictures of real people that where placed on the characters. I quite like this effect. Although leaving the faces a little flat, I think it's quite an origionall touch to the game, adding a bit of a reminder that this game is not real... just so that you can sleep with the lights on, kiddies. However, I've noticed that alot of people don't like it. It's up to you.

The sound? Perfect. I think, apart from the voices, the music and sound effects, and the voices of the Shibito where perfect. The develoupers nailed it. The sound seriously creeps me out. This is coming from the girl who thinks that massicire scene in Kill Bill vol. 1 is hot.

The Shibito themselfs are what I can only assume are very creepy to those who... don't find the Macabre beautifull like me. Their eyes are bleeding, their faces are gruesome, their eyes and mouths are hollow... if one of these guys showed up at MY house, I would scream SO MUCH. Their voices range from angry screaming to almost dog-like mumbling. I was playing this game with a friend and we both swear we heard one saying something about his mother cooking dinner. So if you're getting too jittery, just hang back and listen to them. Sometimes it's good for a laugh, other times the grunting is truely creepy.

Anyway, this game is VERY good. Originall, beautifull and creepy all at the same time. You'll either love it or hate it.

A nuanced, difficult, wierd, rare, creepy joy!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought this over a year ago and it still sticks out as a great game. Stuck in the used bin, I figured I'd give it a try. Now, retail stores and Amazon seemed to have restocked it and anyone who likes creepy games from Silent Hill to Kuon will find this to be a more nuanced and thoughtful (and complex) game. Get it now, this will undoubtedly be one of the classics!

You guide several characters through missions in various parts of a village overrun with zombies over several days and jumbled up chronologically. It is a hard game...and that is why it is such a great game. It takes a while to finish and it can get tedious, but not so much as to dissuade you from finishing. One reviewer, who hadn't finished, said it was easy. It is easy to finish one mission, but you often have to replay a mission in order to do something to unlock a mission for another character (eg. A character with a random key has to open an icebox to allow a second character to play through the same area). The spiderweb of the storyline gets complex, so accept it.

Ultimately, the main enjoyment I got was trying to figure out the story. It is complex, but does make a fair amount of sense once you see all characters' perspectives...this format allows a lot of "oh, now I get why that happened" moments. Sadly, there is no great resolution to the story (and sort-of two endings)- but it is an experience. And hopefully Siren 2 will soon be here.

If you are able to get into a story and accept why a video game can be spooky, then this is a must buy. Good and CREEPY! Turn off the lights, turn up the volume, and enjoy. (I love the scene where the principal goes crazy...!)

Pros and Cons of the game to make your own decision

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

A lot is and has been said about this game.
Opinions about it are different and I guess that's exactly what makes the game more attractive, because it creates different feelings depending on who is playing it.

Rating this game is really difficult due to this, so I guess it is better for everyone to decide for themselves if it works or not for them invidualy.

I have always thought it is not a good thing to compare two games, because every one is different, even certain sequels are different from the originals sometimes, so comparing them is not a good thing, besides there is no such thing as a perfect game, so don't make it even worse comparing it with a game you consider better, because there will always be worst and better games. Always keep in mind that first impressions matters, and it includes previous games. As a reference, I found TWISTED METAL: BLACK great, but when I got previous versions of the game they were not even close to the fun and exitement I got with BLACK. If I had played one of the previous versions first, I would have probably never given a chance to BLACK, because I would have had a bad first impression about the series. So give the game a chance and find for yourself if you like it or not.

Of course, things that are important for a certain group of people, is not that important or even irrelevant for other group, so I'll express my personal opinion about the game and please, feel free to agree or disagree with me about it.

The game itself requires some patience, so if you are a patience person you might not care about it, but if you are not, you will find it terrible. Luck comes in handy also. I have read a lot of gamers find it "REALLY HARD" but I also read it was "NOT THAT HARD AS THEY SAY" by some others. The real thing is that it is not a game for everybody and you can either hate it or love it, so take your chances with it.

Some disliked the English accent, some didn't care about it. The fact is that it is irrelevant for the game play, but it can affect the general feeling of the game, since it is supposed to be scary and some may find the voices funny or even laughable, which of course, decreses the scary feeling of the game! Subtitles are included here... there are non.
This is not a problem if you are a native english speaker or you can speak the language, but if you have some hearing problems or you are not that good at listening english, this game is not for you. Some puzzles must be solved by hearing things.

This game includes a feature called the sight-jack. Some say this is what makes the game diferent, but some didn't like it at all. I wouldn't say it makes the game different, but it makes it SIREN. The idea is that all shibitos share this special power that allows them to share their points of view. The deep thing about it is that since your characters can use it, it means part of them is turning into a shibito. Knowing you are becoming one of the creatures you are trying so desperately to avoid, is part of the scary feeling of the game, however, not a lot of people seem to realize their characters are becoming shibitos.
These simple, yet easy to bypass things make Siren a different game, because the fear comes from things inside the game (images, situations, darkness, etc.) but also from things not clearly IN the game.

The missions are sometimes confined in reduces places, but sometimes the missions take place in the open, however, all of the missions take place in a relatively small area. This is sometimes seen as a disadvantage. However, you need to get used to the areas in order to complete successfully your missions and in order to use properly the sight-jack feature. If you don't know the area, it is useless to know a shibito is looking at a long dark corridor if you don't know where this corridor is.

So keeping the areas relatively small makes it easier to get familiar with them.

Then comes the map. Things in the map are like things in a mirror, they are closer than they appear. Another questionable thing about the map is the fact that you are never shown on it, so there is no way to know where exactly you are unless you are facing some strategic-easy-to-identify places. This may be seen as another disadvantage, however, it helps to promote the fear, since sometime you really don't know where you are, specialy if the area is new or you are not familiar with it. So you must find out if you find it annoying or challenging.

The game itself tries to be very realistic. Sometimes it makes it, sometimes it doesn't. The fact that you can be killed with a single well placed shot, is very realistic, what is unrealistic is that the shibitos with rifles can fire right between your eyes killing you in one shot from really long distances and with fog all around, making them impossible to see beyond their noses. Even with sight-jack you can not be that accurate.

Two more examples of realistic vs non-realistic features:
Noise and light atract shibitos, however, there are certain parts of the game where yelling, turning on a freezer or smashing a door will not take the attention of a certain shibito, but a slight sound, like breaking a piggybank (which by the way is muffling the breaking sound with a towel) will...
The other one is the fact that you don't have a life bar or magic potions to full your stamina and can take different amount of hits before you die. Depending on where you are hit or how hard you are hit can get you killed faster or slower, which is a realistic thing, however, what is not realistic, is the fact that you can be hit with a hammer and not have a broken leg or arm that prevents you from walking/running or attacking. This is maybe a good thing for playability, but it rests credibility to the realistic portions of the game.

Another thing are the unlocking of secondary missions or additional stages. Some complain that the way to get secondary missions or additional stages are non-sense. I must admit sometimes they are, but also they are not as difficult as they seem. Most of the time the secret to find in places you are not allowed to go for that particular mission, and bang! you find the requirements or items to get or unlock new missions. Some times you must do certain things with the items found to unlock them, but most of the time they are not as difficult to find out.
Once again, it depends on many thing to make this easier or more difficult. If you know where the shibitos are and you are familiar with the area and the paths the shibitos follow, you can practically get anywhere in the map without a problem and get or find all the items required to complete/unlock new missions.

The company of other characters is, most of the time, a burden more than a help. It is true, sometimes your companions might work as decoys or help you to unlock/complete a mission, but giving commands to them or have them follow you is not always an easy task, since they will allow to be seen by shibitos and will not try to defend themselves unless you tell them to run or hide.
However, knowing you have the responsability of someone else, adds a feeling of extra caution in the missions and sometimes includes more frightening, knowing your companion can be the cause of your death.

The fact that you don't always have weapons to fight the shibitos make you take stealth tactics, which makes the game slow, however, adds a sense of fear, since you know you are in disadvantage against the armed shibitos. Now, when you have a weapon, no matter how hard you try, you just can't get rid of shibitos, the bad thing is you can not get rid of their weapons, or take them/exchange them. Besides, your ammo is limited while theirs is endless.

The fact that to complete a mission you must achive certain aims first is sometimes confusing, since they are not always clear about how they can help to complete the mission, and besides, if you die and have collected some important items or unlocked new missions, they are lost and you must try the whole mission again in order to keep them.

Those are the things I can remember so far, if I remember more I will edit this to add it.

I hope you give a chance to the game and get to your own conclusion about if it is a great game or not.

Survival Horror at its best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Siren is an extremely complicated game that involves a lot of thought to play and piece the story together. At first, I really didn't like this game but as I kept playing, it really is a fantastic game. The characters look really well, and I really like all of the ten characters that you control and encounter. Also, the story is very well put together just like a movie. One thing that isn't so good about this game is that you die very frequently. Most characters are unarmed and you have to sneak through the level without a weapon. When you do find a weapon, it is very satisfying to shoot a Shibito or whack him with a wrench. Sightjacking is also very good in this game. Seeing through the eyes of the enemy is very helpful yet very creepy. There are also many moments where you will jump really bad when you see one chasing you. Puzzles are fun to figure out, and they are pretty tough too. Although this game is very hard, the story line and addicting gameplay will keep you wanting more to see who you play next, and what disturbing thing you will encounter next.

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