New Review posted: Siren

Daniel Weissenberger · 07-30-2004, 01:24 PM

I, um... stumble timidly through Siren, and decide that:

"It takes a magnificent feat of artistry to create actual fear in an audience. No wonder then that horror games (and films, for that matter) are so often willing to settle for the sudden stinging shock. What makes Siren such a spectacular experience is that it manages to create a much deeper, more resonant kind of fear in the player-making it eligible, in my book, for the title of the first true horror game of this console generation."

The rest of the review is here: http://www.gamecritics.com/review/siren/main.php - just a single click away.

Boy · 07-30-2004, 11:55 PM

This review surprised me. Most reviews I'd seen so far of the game were middling to negative about it, plus I hadn't seen hide nor hair of it on this board, despite the buzz it had earlier. I assumed all that meant was Siren = Bad. I guess not. I'll definitely be checking this one out,

Brad Gallaway · 07-31-2004, 02:26 AM

If you get it, Boy, let us know what you think. after reading Dan's review i was all psyched up to go play it, and luckily a guy i know passed a demo along to me. glad i didn't buy it, because all i could say was BLEEEECCCH.

Boy · 07-31-2004, 05:35 AM

Well, if you hate it Brad that's pretty much a guarauntee that I will enjoy it immensely

. If I can find it cheap I'll definitely pick it up.

Pvt. Wain · 07-31-2004, 10:17 AM

Great review, I'm in total agreement with it.. I've been hoping for awhile that someone at GC would write about Siren, since it's one of my favorite games of 2004 so far, and none of the major review sites really appreciated it.

Zanbatou · 08-03-2004, 03:33 PM

What I would like to know is what version of the game the reviewer played. Did he play the original Japanese game, which most people seemed to agree was at the very least interesting, or one of the translated versions, which seem to have been universally labeled as almost intolerable? If anyone can honestly say that they were able to get into (and more importantly, be genuinely frightened by) Siren despite a crappy translation and dubbing, I'll put it back on my "to eventually buy" list, because I crave good horror games.

Daniel Weissenberger · 08-04-2004, 12:05 PM

It was the American version - I didn't mention the dubbing because I didn't feel it was bad enough to be worth mentioning. Sure, a couple of the voices were strange, but not so much that it draws you out of the game.

Ice Honkey · 08-04-2004, 09:45 PM

Siren is, quite simply, one of the most downright unplayable games I've EVER encountered. Are there some good points, yeah-- will you get to enjoy them? Probably not.

The collision detection is terrible. Imagine bumping into that table TWO FEET AWAY, while you're running away from zombies, over and over...

The puzzle logic is completely arbitrary and obtuse. Be sure to put the towel in the freezer!!!!!!!!!!!!!....

...

Sightjacking is AWESOME. Everywhere looking the same? not so awesome.

You though the puzzle interface in Silent Hill 2 was bad? This game plays like Zork. designed by monkeys.

Are you scared of monkeys? I'd argue there are more monkeys than zombies in this game.

Do you like crawling in the dark getting picked off by godlike, crackshot zombie snipers OVER AND OVER? This is the game for you!

FOR GODS SAKE PLEASE RENT FIRST

Aaron · 11-24-2006, 12:28 AM

I was hoping there would be a more recent thread that talks about this game here. Considering the love Silent Hills 1 and 2 get around here, I'm surprised there's as little discussion as there is here regarding it, positive or negative, especially considering its ambitions.

It'll probably be easier for me to frame this around your review Dan. Hope you (and others) don't care about a two year bump, only having just recently played it myself. Figure it might get more discussion this way if nothing else, rather than making this in the post when you beat a game thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GC_Danny in the review

Perhaps the most refreshing thing about this game is how identifiable all the characters are. They cover a wide spectrum of archetypes generally relegated to supporting roles in games, if they appear at all. When was the last time a game featured a middle-aged school teacher? Or a seventy-year-old man? Or a little girl with no special powers of any kind? There isn't a gravelly-voiced ex-marine or a busty police sharpshooter to be found anywhere in the roster. In fact, the "toughest" character by far is a gun-toting university professor who splits his time equally between shooting monsters and verbally abusing his young female assistant-so yeah, this couldn't be less of an American game.

Even more importantly, the game manages to put the player firmly in the shoes of the characters-they're just as baffled by the incomprehensible horror as the rest of us, and because there are so many of them, we know that not everyone is going to get out of this alive. This creates more tension than the average game, where the player is pretty well assured that so long as they make all the jumps at the right time their character is going to cross the finish line in one piece. Twelve people trapped in a small town where a rain of blood is possessing them and turning them into twisted hybrid creatures? They're not likely to be offered that same assurance.

How many games do you get to commit a step by step suicide of one of your lead characters as part of the gameplay? Uh, yeah.

I too liked the way the story was told, it was kind of like Catch-22 meets Rashomon. Even with the menu keeping track of the times of each event, it still managed to instill the same kind of confusion (and fear) shared by the characters in the game, putting you on equal footing. You rarely knew what was going on, or even necessarily knew what your character saw was the truth, with time warped as much as the reality - made even more confusing with levels having multiple endings often leading to different events. It's a really subtle way of drawing the player in as you note, removing many of the advantages the player has over the characters and putting them on the character's level.

I also think this had perhaps the interesting effect of creating maybe one of the most effective empathetic horror video games ever made, with a tone and connection the player has to the game varying from character to character as much as it is situation to situation IMO. Playing as the university professor for instance, there's a certain level of power had over the Shibito, cautiously but confidently firing away at just about anything that moved (ammo allowing). The greater concern was rather at solving the mystery of Hanuda and my character's connection to the village. When playing as the teacher on the other hand, there's a much more immediate concern with protecting Harumi, moving deliberately and cautiously to make sure she keeps pace with me while simultaneously making sure no Shibito comes to finish her off. It's a kind of emotional connection that isn't all too different from ICO's come to think of it. Then, of course, when you actually get to play as the young girl...

Not that I think it's a perfect game mind you, the puzzle system in particular annoyed me, as did the use of checkpoints in regards to second objectives and prerequisites. And I wish that more video games would go the way of movies and offer the original language for play, at least if the dubbing is going to be this questionable (or not even properly localized). Still, I don't think the game gets enough consideration, good or bad, even if it's not as accessible as some people might have desired (in regards to challenge, other things).