Siren

[Tom Salter]

Ordered mine this morning, I hope it's as good as you all say

[Tom Salter]

I got mine yesterday, omg how phat is this game!

FMV initially looks really, really poor quality, but after a while, it's not so much bad, but really disturbing, and it's definately done on purpose.

post more later, team meeting :\

[Square]

Mine arrived today from Likky Sang, but alas, I cannot play it until this evening.

Stupid work ft:

[Vaipon]

I got mine yesterday, omg how phat is this game!

FMV initially looks really, really poor quality, but after a while, it's not so much bad, but really disturbing, and it's definately done on purpose.

post more later, team meeting :\

Good to see a few more people taking the plunge and going for an imported copy of Siren.

Yeah, the grainy FMV is definitely done on purpose, kinda like watching a damaged reel of film. They used the in-game models for all the characters too, so that the transitions between game and cutscene felt seamless. There are some really good scenes though, and some genuinely twisted moments.

[Bleeders]

I got mine yesterday, omg how phat is this game!

FMV initially looks really, really poor quality, but after a while, it's not so much bad, but really disturbing, and it's definately done on purpose.

post more later, team meeting :\

Good to see a few more people taking the plunge and going for an imported copy of Siren.

Yeah, the grainy FMV is definitely done on purpose, kinda like watching a damaged reel of film. They used the in-game models for all the characters too, so that the transitions between game and cutscene felt seamless. There are some really good scenes though, and some genuinely twisted moments.

I aim to sit down with my copy when I've beaten Mario & Luigi, had a quick play and really liked the atmosphere the game was conveying - very unsettling.

[Square]

Good to see a few more people taking the plunge and going for an imported copy of Siren.

I just snapped and gave in. Plus I've bought the Asian version, so at least I have the instructions in English.

One thing I am definately not going to do with Siren is read any FAQs, as this totally ruined Silent Hill 2 for me. For instance

I knew all about there being no monsters in the gallows yard, and so was not at all freaked out by the horse sounds coming from all around

I'm also not going to play any other games while I go through this, as I have made this mistake in the past too. Siren is going to get 100% of my attention.

[Vaipon]

One thing I am definately not going to do with Siren is read any FAQs, as this totally ruined Silent Hill 2 for me.

Yeah, it's a good idea to avoid the FAQS for as long as you possibly can, although I think the only ones published so far are in Japanese. The only thing you will almost certainly require though, is a translation of the 2 objectives for each stage, otherwise you'll just be pulling your hair out wondering what you are trying to achieve in some of the scenarios. If you haven't checked out my Siren guide yet, follow the link in my sig for a page which provides the bare minimum info to get you through the Japanese/Asian version of the game without spoiling anything.

Most of Siren's fear is created from the thick atmosphere of the environments and the uncertainty while exploring new locations. It's definitely best to play alone, at night, with the lights off. Total absorption.

[Square]

I've been playing less than an hour, but already I'm sucked in. The first scenario alone is terrifying. I'm having trouble picking up certain objects, i.e.

there's something next to the fax machine in the hut and something else by the cliff I cant seem to pick up

The feeling of being hunted is hideous. You just see a flash of torchlight in the distance; it stars bobbing towards you, then you hear this inhuman laugh...

[Concept]

I didn't think it would, but if anyone's interested, this is getting a PAL release in March, with the added name 'Forbidden' Siren. Although, since we're actually going to be getting the title over here now, it's perhaps a little ill-suited.

As for the game... Well, I've been watched this thread with interest and read PeteJ's fantastic review on the main site. There's no denying I'm really looking forward to this. It doesn't sound like any other game out there. Part-chiller, part-thriller, part survival-horror, part mystery, part-voyeur...

I really like the idea you can look out from someone else's eyes as they stalk you, because it's almost as if you are in a way turning the tables back on them, by becoming a voyeur of their own actions (following you) through their own eyes. Which kind of puts the player and the enemies on the same playing field, albeit through different methods. Siren sounds incredibly microcosmic due to that dynamic of being stalked and being a (kind of) stalker both at the same time. Sounds very ambigious and thanks to the interesting spolier-free impressions in this thread, I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on it, just to see how exactly the atmosphere develops after prolonged play.

[Spatial]

Have to admit that this is the type of game I would have probably never heared about / overlooked if it wasn't for this site.

Between the review and this thread I can't wait to get my hands on it now

Roll on March ( stupid PAL delays )

[Square]

Right. I now realise that I'm not supposed to pick up those troublesome objects, only check them. I was wondering why the sight jacking button wasn't working, but having cleared the first area that function is now available...


Crap! HOW many people are stalking me?

/shudder

[Square]

This game plays like nothing I've ever seen before.

A simple area, just a quick stroll accross a bridge to safety... Except there's a sniper up on the roof and he has the whole road covered. Not even sneaking forward is going to help me here.

So, I tell my companion (a jittery young Japanese girl) to stay put while I check things out. Using sight-jack, it takes me a good 45 minutes to scout out a safe path, all the while being extra careful not to arouse the suspicion of that... thing that's quietly crying to itself. When I am sure I have the route mapped out, I call my companion so she can escape to safety with me.

I have two dead people patrolling the last section, but as soon as the coast is clear of the first one, the second one comes lolloping into view. There's only one course of action I can take. I follow the second dead person, holding my breath, until the very last second when he turns around and...

Bang! My flashlight goes on, all that hard work and sneaking around ruined. I fumble the controller as I try to remember which button to draw my weapon and BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! I bolt for the exit, squealing like a little girl, as flashes of red interrupt my escape, and every other dead in the area starts toward my position. I just make it out alive with my companion.

I feel so drained after this that I won't attempt the next scenario for at least a day...

[PeteJ]

Welcome to the Siren experience

[Concept]

Here's the PAL boxart if anyone is interested. Oh, and Amazon have the date down for this title as Feburary 13th 2004.

Hope it's true.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000ZQ3EW.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

An interesting feature on Siren. But... Ubisoft? Xbox? For a SCEI developed/published title?

http://xbox.totalgames.net/pma/18500

[Vaipon]

Here's the PAL boxart if anyone is interested. Oh, and Amazon have the date down for this title as Feburary 13th 2004.

Hope it's true.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000ZQ3EW.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

An interesting feature on Siren. But... Ubisoft? Xbox? For a SCEI developed/published title?

http://xbox.totalgames.net/pma/18500

Hmm. Not a bad review, but I thought PeteJ's take on the whole experience was a far nicer read.

I think the comment:

If you want to buy the game on import you have to ask yourself if you could enjoy a foreign film without subtitles.

is well off the mark though. If that held any truth whatsoever, then Siren would be nothing more than a movie with no interaction. Just because you can't understand the cutscenes, doesn't mean that the entire game is rendered unplayable and un-enjoyable. I thought Siren was probably the best game of 2003 without understanding any of the dialogue, so it can't be that important.

If the PAL release is subbed, then everyone should wait for that version. If it's badly dubbed though, I'd rather have the Japanese release, and just wait for a dialogue translation. I'd rather hear the character's original Japanese voices any day.