Siren: Blood Curse

[MrWhitefolks]

Ok, going to attempt to break down my experience thus far (half way through so far) in a quick and informative matter:

GOOD:
Controls seem to be sharper, with coinciding level design that keeps the "non strafe" controls from becoming unwieldy(while there is an option to strafe, it requires you to hold the L1 button).

You regen health at a far faster rate, and the Shibito go down with fewer strikes (much less depending on the weapon being used), thus alleviating the insane difficulty of the previous titles.

Graphics are really nice, character models are extremely solid, and the overall aesthetic "feels" like a next generation survival horror game should (continually adding to tension, obstructing players view without becoming a deterrent, etc)

Your NPC escorts in specific missions are no longer morons. They know when you're in trouble and will attempt to distract the Shibito, will run and hide, or join in on the fight depending on the context. Also, I've never run into an issue with an NPC escort getting stuck on the environ like I did with the original Siren.

Combat, while still sticking true to the Survival Horror motif of "you're an everyman, so you're not a fucking ninja with that kitchen knife" is still very doable. No longer are you hindered due to the stiff and/or wonky fighting system.

No longer are you forced to pick random stages/days/timeframes. The game has a forward moving narrative that pulls each character into the plot from different perspectives. This also means no more random backtracking to previous mission only to drop a random item in a bucket so one of the other characters can continue onward with their mission 2 days later into the time-line.

Sight-Jacking is now split screen, which allows you to see what the enemy is doing WHILE still allowing you to play the game in real time. This is EXTREMELY useful and it's saved my ass on numerous occasions.

The map now shows your location (along with mission/sub-mission objective markers). Anyone who played the first Siren knows how insanely useful this "could" have been, and now it's here and it is indeed, insanely useful.

BAD:
We're still on this god damn island, but this time they just took bits and pieces of the original two titles and threw white people over it. High school kid from the first game? Now he's a white kid. News reporter? White. Camera man? Black guy (take a guess how long he lasts). Scientist, daughter, red robe wearing priestess...white white white. Besides the Shibito, the only Japanese "story" characters in this game so far have been a Doctor, the "sacrifice girl/highschool kid's love interest" and a Nurse.

While backtracking to different days/time frames is no longer an issue, they've attempted to add it into each mission. In most scenarios you'll be going from one end of the map to the other, then back, and then back again, as the objectives are usually never close together. It's not bad perse, as since the Shibito resurrect constantly it gives you something to work with while you're running around - but just be warned that it does occur frequently.

WTF:
One shot kills are awesome, but horribly implimented (unless I'm missing something). You have the ability to off any Shibito in one move if you attack just as they miss an attack, but since there's no "dodge" option or button, you just have to hope that they miss their attack when you decide to counter-attack. Pistol whipping into executions, impaling with shovels, throwing Shibito's off of bridges and down mine shafts are awesome however, and since they are coming so infrequently it's a great surprise when they do happen.

[Coldsnap]

I sat down and played the first three episodes last night, that was after watching the new Funny Games so I was already scared.

I'm really enjoyed the three episodes so far. I havn't played much horror games as of late, Condemned 1-2 would be my most recent. To note, I really like what they do with blood, when it acts accordingly to your wounds.

I'm going to go into too much depth but I want to touch the whole episodic content thing. It seems like some developers think its the new next thing, with downloadable content being easily accessed on all consoles. I'm not exactly sure if I think the delivery is convincing. In Siren the first episode was like 7mins for me, so you play 7 mins watch a sizzle clip of whats coming up in the next epidose, get booted out to a screen to select next episode, then watch another sizzle of clip of previously. I dunno i think the delivery needs to be re thought.

[MrWhitefolks]

I can agree with you on that, after downloading the first ep and playing through it I was all "WHA???", but as you get into it the missions find their flow. Each one now is averaging around 30-60minutes, depending on situation/skill level and they never feel too long or too short. It's just the right amount of exploration and combat to keep you invested.