Siren

[PeteJ]

Is anyone getting this? I'm very tempted to order from Play-Asia right now, since they have the game early.

It is a horror from the director of the original Silent Hill. You control around 8 different people in a town that is being overun by the dead; people who have been drinking the evvvvvvvil water. One of the key features of the game revolves around letting yourself 'turn' into the undead, which allows you to 'see' what they see, view the horror for what it is.

I quite like the idea personally, and the screens\videos are certainly spooky enough...

Only thing stopping me is the Japanese, which could easily kill the game - especially as the game features no map, something the developers thought would add to the atmosphere...

[JammyD]

Thinking of holding off for the PAL version which is supposed to be coming out in March. http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=53657

Still I can see myself importing it in the next week
Methinks I'll wait for some feedback on the language playability first.

[PeteJ]

Yeah I'm wanting to wait too, but at the same time...I'd be nice to be...the first

Famitsu gave it 32/40 I believe.

[dave heats]

Its my most anticpated game, but Im reluctant to buy because of the language barrier like you guys. Are there any impressions of the game posted anywhere that can clarify just how much Japanese there is?

[PeteJ]

I've checked the usual sources but not found anything. Play-Asia are only shipping today, which is a week early, so it is unlikely anyone will have it just yet.

Not a lot on Gamefaqs, but they all seem to think the game will be entirely in Japanese, for both voice and text.

[Vaipon]

I've pre-ordered this. Looks like it could be amazing. There is always gonna be the language barrier I suppose, but Japanese versions are a lot more collectable, and the Gamefaqs boards are always there in the event of a tricky language dependent puzzle. Silent Hill 1 is an all-time favorite of mine, and if the atmosphere in this is similar, I know I'm gonna love it.

[PeteJ]

"PlayStation Experience isn't exactly the best place on Earth to try to get to grips with Siren's no doubt fairly substantial plot, particularly as there'll only be three playable levels on show: Village, School and Abandoned Mine. What you should get a taste of, though, is the game's relentlessly harrowing atmosphere, aided in no small part by a nifty psychic ability known as 'Sightjacking'. It works a little something like this: press L2 at any time and the game shifts from its third person perspective to what appears to be little more than static. Only it's not actually static, but rather a sort of mind's eye view. Holding down L2, you can use the left analog stick to 'look around' and select a first person view as seen by any friends or foes within range. Once you've successfully sightjacked an ally or opponent, you can allocate a button to that particular view so it's easily accessed whenever you're in sightjack mode.

In practical gameplay terms, this allows you to keep a handle on the position and activity of any roaming nasties in your area. Not sure if a corridor is safe wander down? Sightjack everything on the radar, check that your proposed route isn't currently under zombie scrutiny and then leg it to a safe hiding place. This is all well and good when you get it right. It's when you get it wrong that things start to get properly hairy. Should you accidentally wander into the line of sight of an enemy, the DualShock will shudder violently and you'll get a flashing image of yourself as prey, as seen by your hunter. It's difficult to get across quite how super scary this effect is until you've experienced it for yourself, but from less than an hour's play in a bright office, I can tell you that Siren is not a game that you'll ever catch me playing alone on a dark night."

The atmosphere seems to be the only thing it has in common with SH (and the dark murky artstyle), but other than that it seems very much original and its own game.

Q&A with the director and producer of Forbidden Siren.



Q: We've heard talk of a umbrella being used as one of the weapons in the game. Dosen't sound to effective to us!

A: (Takasumi Fujisawa) The people you fight against are humans. It's not like they have special weapons or anything. You just pick something up from the ground. Something you might see in your everyday life.

Q: The game has multiple characters and singular time frame. Is the way you play sequential or can you shift between characters?

A: (TF) There are various characters you get to play as throughout the game. A junior high student, a teacher... You play these characters one after the other and the events are over-lapping. So you're always going back in time to see another character's take on events.

(Keiichiro Toyama) If you play a different character on the third stage, say, then you can find yourself interacting with someone from the first stage. For example, if you break a bridge in one stage then return with another character you will find that the bridge has already been broken.

(TF) There are also rewards for characters that follow down the timeline. Say one character manages to open a locked door, then that door will be open for anyone who follows. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. It depends on how you play.

Q: How many episodes are there ?

A: (TF) There are 78 in total which is why we've included the link navigator to see what you have and haven't played. Each block on the graph represents one episode. Some blocks fill when one characters passes through them. Some only half fill. This indicates that another character needs to play this level again in order to complete it.

Q: Everything seems influenced by Japanese horror movies, especially The Ring. Was this a contributing factor to the visual feel of the title?

A: (KT) There's a tradition in Japanese horror of one event affecting a lot of people at once. So that element of The Ring is defintely present.

Q: What about the zombies? They seem a lot smarter than those we've seen in other horror titles.

A: (KT) The dead are called Shibito and yes, we intentionally made them smarter. We wanted them to use guns, to be truly terrifying.

Q: Will they patrol around or remain still until they spot you?

A: (TF) You can use the sight jack mode to find out what's where and then you can aviod both stationary and mobile enemies. Don't use the mode and you'll die in an insant. Combine the technique with the in-game maps and you'll be able to make it across a level unharmed. It's usually about waiting until the enemy looks the other way. We've not made it too easy, though.

Q: It all seems quite strategic and thoughtful to us. Would that be a fair characterisation?

A: (TF) Basically the living dead don't die. They are already dead. It's impossible to destroy them. We want the player to think about escape.

(KT) I was basically fascinated with submarines games. I like the idea of going underwater and figuring out where the enemy was simply by listening. That's where the idea of sight jacking came from.

(TF) We thought it would be really scary if you were to sight jack into the living dead and know that they were looking at you...

I'm ordering it now.

[dave heats]

Ill wait and see what you think Pete before I order it. It sounds a incredible experience, and is one of the few games that has got me excited.

[JetBlack]

Must.....

Get....

This game.....

[D-SG]

Not a lot on Gamefaqs, but they all seem to think the game will be entirely in Japanese, for both voice and text.

All in-game communication is in Japanese (as the game's set in a Japanese town with an entirely Japanese cast). Reportedly the PAL version will feature dual voice tracks; one English dub, and one original VO with subtitles.

I'd really, really recommend waiting for the PAL ver, if only so it sells twenty copies or so and keeps SCEE bringing over SCEJ games (no American release has been announced as of yet); but also because it looks to be a good enough game to be worth understanding without referring to a walkthrough for every line of dialogue.

[PeteJ]

Well, it has shipped, so I should have it in a few days.

Impressions over the weekend, and, hopefully, a review the following week.

[Ady]

Sounds great. I never knew it was directed by the uy who did the first Silent Hill though. That's definitely good news.

As an audio whore, I'm interested in what the sound and music will be like.

[marcus]

I can't wait for the review Pete, Ive been keeping a close eye on this one.

[Len]

It definitely piqued my interest when I first saw it a while back. Will be interested in yr impressions as well Pete...

[Vaipon]

Sounds great. I never knew it was directed by the uy who did the first Silent Hill though. That's definitely good news.

As an audio whore, I'm interested in what the sound and music will be like.

There is an audio track that plays when you visit the Japanese website. Sounds similar to Silent Hill's ambience and eerie spot fx and human voice samples. The Air-raid sirens from SH1 are back with a vengeance in this game too.

http://www.playstation.jp/scej/title/siren/