http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/adventur...g=tabs;summary
Update: Reveiw
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3169096
Quote:
| Released in twelve downloadable episodes, SIREN: Blood Curse delivers a haunting and horrifying story exclusively to PS3. In SIREN: Blood Curse, players are pulled into an epic tale with realistic gameplay and graphics complemented by chilling cut scenes. The unique "sight jack" system allows the player to see from the point of view of the Shibito, or living dead, to avoid their detection or anxiously watch as they close in. Intense graphics, realistic character animation, and a gritty film-like graphical presentation add to the horror of SIREN: Blood Curse. Set in the Japanese village of Hanuda, an American TV crew has arrived to research and film an exposé on the legend of a "vanished village." Controlling seven different playable characters, the player must discover the mystery behind the curse that grips the eerie village of Hanuda. Features
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Update: Reveiw
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3169096
Quote:
| Reviews: SIREN: Blood Curse Download and install times aside, this is one PS3 title any self-respecting horror fan needs to play. > Reviewer's Blog > Review Crew Profile  To me, good horror is about tension rather than simply grossing out the audience. A great horror game puts me on edge, makes me grit my teeth, and prompts me to lean with my character as I try to physically will the in-game camera to give me a slightly better view around an upcoming dark corner. Plenty of survival-horror games get this right, and plenty do it to the extent that I have to take breaks when the tension rides too high for too long rather than hitting me in more manageable bursts. So I'm really looking for two things: A game that instills tension, and one that maintains a pace that allows me to regain some level of comfort -- which in turn makes it a whole hell of a lot scarier the next time the tension rises. The PSN-exclusive Siren: Blood Curse (downloadable for $40 in its entirety, or $15 per four episodes) nails both of these elements. Not only does Blood Curse contain some of the most tension-building moments I've experienced since Silent Hill 2 (my favorite survival-horror title ever), but it also nails the pacing. The array of different playable characters really allows the developers a chance to completely change the dynamics between levels -- in one, you might play as a large, capable fighter who wields numerous weapons, while in the next, you might be a completely defenseless child who must avoid enemies entirely. The approach is different enough that it never even bothered me to play through the same level twice with a different character -- which happens a lot. The beauty of Blood Curse is its heavy emphasis on the player's ability to sneak past enemies. You're granted a "Sight Jack" ability that allows you to search a level for enemies and then see through their eyes. Fans of the original Siren will find this familiar, but for those new to the series (like me), it's a dramatically unique mechanic that completely changes the way you play. Instead of trying to run to my goals -- avoiding enemies à la Resident Evil -- I found myself playing Blood Curse more like I would a Metal Gear Solid game; it wasn't unusual to spend several minutes peering through the eyes of my enemies, plotting out the exact gap when I could rush past them completely undetected (especially when playing a character who couldn't wield weapons). It's quite rewarding and -- more importantly -- thrilling to sneak past an enemy who's mere inches away. Siren's Sight Jacking mechanic really serves as the foundation for the entire game. Instead of one large storyline that continuously moves players through a world toward an ultimate quest goal, Blood Curse doles out a number of short missions. They're never hard to figure out and are most often detailed on your map, right down to the specific location you're trying to reach. This plays to Siren's strengths and allows the player to focus on Sight Jacking and plotting out how to reach their destination rather than having to run levels desperately searching for the goal while narrowly dodging enemies. The short nature of the missions could have easily made Blood Curse feel awkward and disjointed, but instead, it feels like an episodic TV show. The storyline is brought together further by each episode's beginning and ending cut-scenes -- opening with a cinema that ends in a dramatic appearance of the show's title, and closing each episode with a "next time on Siren" trailer that whets your appetite for the next chunk of horror. Though the storyline is interesting and structurally well orchestrated, I still didn't like that it ultimately made very little sense (more episodes on the way, perhaps?). So, Blood Curse is awesome, but it's a bit of a pain to download all 12 episodes and then install them individually. I really wish that we -- like every other region in the world -- could have seen a full retail release instead. Still, despite the hoops you need to jump through prior to playing, Blood Curse more than makes up for it with some of the most intense and perfectly paced survival horror I've had the pleasure of being terrified by. |
