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More problematic than actually just surviving, though, is working out what on earth you are supposed to be doing. The game is split between several playable characters, each of whom have separate "missions" to complete, and all are played non-chronologically at varying times within the game's 3 day timescale. The levels usually require a very obscure set of conditions to be met before you can accomplish each mission, and sometimes, the same stage will also feature a further, hidden puzzle that needs solving so that different characters can proceed through later missions. The menu for this is a kind of 3 day plan-o-gram with slots for all the characters at different days and times, with coloured lines linking them all up...it's quite a mental feat to piece all this together to work out what is going on. One really annoying aspect of the game is that if the hidden conditions to "open up" later missions are not met in the levels you have already completed, you are forced into a loop of replaying the same levels over and over again until you realise that there is a part of the river you did not think to look in (if you went that way), or a spot on the ground that the game prompts you can be dug up (if you happen to be standing in exactly the right place). Many players may suffer immense frustration whilst playing when they find they are never allowed to go anywhere new. I know I did, and it leads me to believe that only a truly dedicated player is going to put in the amount of work needed to make it through to the end.
This is a real shame, because the general concept and story behind the game is truly original, and there are some genuinely unsettling scenes to be encountered, which should startle even survival horror veterans. The graphics are amazing, characters look and move like real people, but sadly the obviously authentic Japanese setting has been weakened by the saddling of all the speaking characters with British (sometimes even cockney) accents, which is a terrible mistake. Still, the other design strengths just about manage to make up for it. Characters have recognisable personalities and all play differently. You'll soon find yourself with favourites and don't be surprised if you occasionally find yourself moved to sadness at their plight, or terrified along with them.

In conclusion, this is a teeth-grittingly hard game to play. Combining all too easily killed characters with obscure puzzle hunting, in levels where you have no pointers towards what to do or where to go, is a triple whammy that the game struggles to win you over with. Otherwise it is so near to being the most terrifying game on the PS2.

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Original IdeaJan 02, 2005
By bean-fiend
"Siren" is a game I was looking forward to for a long time. Horror is my favorite type of game because it is one (and possibly the only) genre that games can pull off far better than any other medium. "Siren" is a good attempt at frightening the player and, while it is not always successful, it is certainly unlike any other horror game you've played up to now.
The story revolves around a small Japanese village in which the residents have become 'shibito' - zombies. The player controls more than a half-dozen still-human characters who are trying to escape from the village. The 'shibito' can't be killed and they frequently carry firearms. They won't hesitate to chase you at full speed, either.
The game's biggest innovation is the so-called 'sightjack' whereby the player can see through the eyes of the zombies within a certain range to determine a path through the level. This is a necessary ability, as the 'shibito' are very, very dangerous and have nothing better to do than kill your character.
The sounds the enemies make are perfect- some 'shibito' mumble to themselves or utter high-pitched howls. When in 'sightjack' mode the player can hear them breathing and whining. Levels have no music, which adds to the realism and intensifies the fright from hearing a zombie come after you. All this adds up to a very scary scenario.
But "Siren" drops the ball in other ways. Much of the game takes place during the daytime, where all of the enemies are easily visible. Clearly being able to see the monsters at a distance is not scary. The nighttime levels, in which many characters (and many 'shibito') carry flashlights, are much better.
Many, MANY 'shibito' carry firearms, which significantly ups the difficulty level of the game, but also makes it less scary and more frustrating. Being shot at in "Siren" is about as scary as it was in "Metal Gear Solid"- which is to say, not at all. Only occasionally does a player-character have a gun, and using it on the 'shibito' only puts them down for, on average, thirty seconds or less. Very often, the player has no weapons, melee or ranged, making a face-off against six gun-toting 'shibito' in a confined space extra annoying. It's also impossible to kill any enemies. This was a good idea, but becomes too frustrating when there are so many 'shibito' in each level. At the very least, the player should be able to pick up a downed zombie and throw the body off a cliff, or something to that effect- perhaps not killing it but removing it from the level.
The only really awful thing in "Siren" is the cutscenes. The story itself is rather weak considering how long it will take a person to complete this game, and it is told in some of the most terrible cutscenes ever put into this generation of games. First off, the designers used real actors' faces for the parts, which probably seemed like a good idea on paper: their lips will move realistically and creating realistic expressions will be possible on a smaller budget. But the reality just looks laughable- more like someone putting their face into a hole above a cardboard cutout at a carnival. Then, since "Siren" was released in Europe before the US, the voices were never re-dubbed. Now we have polygonal bodies, Japanese faces, and thick London accents. Putting subtitles over the original Japanese dialog would have been the best option. As it is, throughout the entire game the British voices (which were quite whiny in the female characters) seem just as jarring (and funny) as they did in the very first scene.
Finally, there is the total lack of logic in most of the mission objectives that makes this game both far too difficult and far too frustrating. Most of the levels require the player to simply go from Point A to Point B. However, very rarely is it so simple as watching enemy patterns and having good timing. More often, the player must complete a series of objectives that make no sense. This is especially true of the secondary objectives- one would never guess what to do or why. Dumb luck or outside assistance are the only ways to accomplish these goals.
In short, this is a highly-frustrating guess-and-check puzzle game. There are a few nerve-wracking moments, to be sure, and it is a fair attempt at striking out in a (slightly) new direction in the horror genre. In truth, the game could have been improved a great deal without adding or omitting any features, but simply by adjusting the parameters: give guns to fewer 'shibito'; make mission objectives simpler and more intuitive; keep the zombies down for much, much longer after being shot; etc. The development cycle for "Siren 2" is wrapping up and, if we see it in the States, hopefully it will have made some changes in the important areas.

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:

I have really fond memories of Siren.Jun 05, 2005
By Aramis Gutierrez
I took a risk and bought Siren even though I had read many conflicting reviews. I really enjoyed playing this game. However, baring the assumption that you can foresee the future, I wouldn't even dream of recommending this game without a guide. The puzzles and items that you are some how magically supposed to solve are absurd. If you don't heed this warning you will waste hours of backtracking through unforgivably hard levels to get them (after you magically figure out that you forget to grab them in the first place). In fact, completely ignore the fact that there are puzzles (use a guide) because it is hard enough to survive getting from point A to point B. Also, the voice acting isn't that bad the first time you hear it (as bad as using American accent to translate, instead of leaving in Japanese with subtitles), it is that it becomes grating because you will die and have to hear it again and again. Oh yeah, you will get killed by snipers repeatedly, so a great deal of patience is needed to get through this game.

I liked everything else about Siren. It is the first survival horror game since the original Silent Hill (original designer of Silent Hill worked on this title) that really felt sprawling and immersing. The Shibito and incarnations of fallen characters are creepy as hell. The visuals are superbly minimal which makes them far more effective and ethereal. The false "heavy metal" ending was really funny. So if you have enjoyed any of the Silent Hill series and always wished they were a little longer, a little more threatening and more challenging give this title a chance.

Again, don't bother with attempting to figure out the puzzles on your own.


5 of 5 found the following review helpful:

A hard hard hard hard but great gameFeb 07, 2005
By OverTheMoon
If you want a game that will last as long as GTA then get this. The story is actually quite amazing to say the least but you will be in it for the long haul.

There are several maps and over twelve characters that meet in the story at different times. It is like Silent Hill but slower as you are not given great weapons to defeat the enemy. Instead you have the power of second sight. You do things in the map that are for the characters benefit and to set up something for another character who will arrive there later. The story is sort of like Pulp Fiction in that all the characters finally meet as you take them through the story.

It is very very very difficult and very easy to die but there is a method to the game and once you manage to use the second site to run around the place so that the monsters do not see you it gets a lot easier.

Stick with it, but this is by no means an out-of-box couple of days game play. It is more like twenty minutes a day for the next 12 months.

Addictive but slow.

9 of 11 found the following review helpful:

Siren! All the fun of looking and walking!Jun 20, 2004
By Michael P. Buckley
I'm sure I'll be jeered by some for not appreciating how "original" this title is. I like games that are original, but I also like games that are scary, fun, and well-crafted. Nothing akin to this game has ever been attempted before, and one can see why, as Siren is completely unplayable. It's as if someone said "You know how those horrible, clunky, Resident Evil style controls severely hamper player enjoyment? Well those controls are too intuitive, lets make the player use a pull-down menu whenever he wants to pick up or use an item!" The visuals are so full of artful (read pretentious) "fog" and film scratches, they turn out to be no better than PS-1 graphics. The sound might be passable, except for the fact that all the Japanese characters have been inexplicably dubbed with cheesy British accents. The sight-jacking feature allows you to see through the eyes of your enemy, as strategy it's all but completely useless, as unless you've run through a level (and died) many, many, many times, you have no clue what the zombies are looking at (Ooh! He sees a twig, and his own hand! That will save my life!) This is one of the most frustrating and pointless games I have ever played in my life, and to make matters worse, ever game-mag I've read is giving this one high marks! As a huge Silent Hill fan, and working from such reviews, I was ready to plunk down cold hard cash to buy this title sight unseen, until I read some reviews from actual gamers. Thank God I rented it first! This is why I write this review, as a service to you. Do not buy into the hype! This game is as scary as athlete's foot, and twice as irritating. Unless of course your idea of the ultimate in terror involves crouching behind shrubbery to avoid un-killable jerks (it's a moot point anyway, as you almost never have a weapon, and the fighting mechanics are awful) who giggle like drunken yokels while looking for you with a flashlight. Or perhaps running through poorly rendered woods while trying to lead a spastically controlled, simpering woman-child, who constantly shrieks "It's about time! Hurry up!...Wait! Don't run so fast!" I rented this game with a discount coupon, I'd like to be pithy and say I overpaid But after that imbecile had run away from me into the waiting maw of a giggling pseudo-zombie for the tenth time whilst mewling orders at me, I found out that you can "accidentally" use weapons on your companions. Bludgeoning that twit to death was worth every penny!

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