Forbidden Siren: New Screens & Video

The project formerly known as Siren gets the hands-on treatment, along with some new screens and direct feed video.

Sony have decided to adjust Siren's name slightly, with the new title Forbidden Siren. For those who don't know, this is the SCEI-developed, super-scary Silent Hill clone, it was quite prominent with a closed-doors booth at TGS thus year, and it's looking really, really good.

Released early next month in Japan on November 6, Siren won't be making its way here until February at the earliest, but we've got out hands on a demo version of the game that's provided us with everything we need, to know that we want more. So what's the story? On the stroke of midnight everything changed...

A terrible force has taken hold in the Japanese village of Hanyuda. The surrounding sea has turned the colour of blood and slowly but surely the village's inhabitants are changing, becoming vile creatures, fuelled by evil.

This is the story of three days in a living nightmare. Seen through the eyes of ten characters, each embroiled in their own personal fight for survival, Forbidden Siren immerses the gamer in a claustrophobic world of fear, mystery and suspense. During these three days chronology is irrelevant - episodes do not take place in sequence and the only way to understand what has happened is to witness the horrors that unfold before all ten individuals.

Characters can steal the viewpoint of others in their surroundings, foreseeing danger and predicting enemies' actions. But in a world of unspeakable evil and horrific visions, this extraordinary observational power could be more of a curse than a blessing.

The atmosphere is extremely thick in Siren. The developers have used real faces to texture the characters in the game, and often employ a grainy, dusty effect to give the game a very real, gritty effect. The eerie sound is a combination of echoes and chanting as part of the 'score', with the effects of heavy breathing and footsteps. You will be scared.

The structure and design of the game dictates that usually, you'll have to avoid and hide from the zombies and monsters, instead of confront them, but this is spectacular survival horror action. Your goal is to survive, and keep your companion alive too - but when you have to confront a zombie, you use what so far is an extremely basic fighting system - like using a crowbar.

This horrorfest is excitingly good and we're pleased that it's slated for a western release in the not-too-distant future. We hope the quality remains this good throughout the rest of the game, or better - because we really want to unravel the mystery here. Definitely stay tuned for more, and take a look at the video here.

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com