Editor's Say - "Mediocre" Find out what i thought...
Siren Blood Curse review by Simon a.k.a. [TheDevilDweller]
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*****Introduction*****
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The Good:
Visuals - lots of different playable characters - creepy sound design
The Bad:
Slow start - Repetitive locations - stiff and quite difficult controls - bad first impression - Redundant story
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*****The Plot*****
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Story:
In a remote Japanese mountain village a strange ritual ends in bloodshed, a ghostly siren walls – and for an American film crew trapped on the mountain, a nightmare is unleashed. Steel yourself for a terrifying ordeal as you fight to stay alive against the savage Shibite… As it says on the back of the box.
The story is ok, well, there is a story in the game anyway, but it does get a bit boring at points and does take awhile to get into, which you end up with a story you'll probably want remember after finishing.
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*****The Graphics*****
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Overall Design:
The graphics are great. Nice modelling and finished renders. Nice eerie backgrounds. Nice details on the Shibite themselves. There are areas in the game that are very dark, which hides the graphics, but the visuals are good nonetheless.
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*****The Game-Play*****
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Game-Play:
The game-play can be very frustrating at times with difficult camera view and quite hard to see when your in the dark. (Even with the flashlight on) You play 7 different characters some more important than others and there are 12 chapters in the game.
Howard Wright an 18-year-old young man who is the first playable character and is pretty much the main character.
Sam Monroe who is pretty much the second main character. You also play Sam's ex-wife and his daughter, who cannot fight the Shibite, except must use stealth.
Seigo Saiga, a Japanese doctor with a very VERY bad English accent that makes it really hard to make out what the hell he's saying.
And another two character who are not important.
You'll probably find yourself being attacked from time to time, making it hard to exactly see what, or from where your getting attacked due to poor camera views. This is a survival game and they really make it hard for you to survive. The Shibite are immortal… well, you can't kill what's already dead. Having a weapon is very essential in the game. If you do not have a weapon and you are being chased, prey that they don't catch you because if you get cornered, your pretty much dead. Sometimes you will start of with a weapon but that depends on the chapter and the character. There are lots of different weapon, from wooden sticks to knifes to double barrel shotguns. The puzzles in the game are ok but really, there all about commonsense. Playing the game in first person view give you the advantage in seeing better but when it comes to attacking your enemies, it can be quite tricky. Half way through the game, the game will feel a bit repetitive because you just backtrack the same levels and areas. Siren Blood Curse is a stealth survival horror game. That's right, there is a lot of stealth elements in the game. Each character you play has the ability to see through the Shibite's eyes within an area using there vision scenes. The game consists of you using visions scenes, memorising the Shibite path route, finding a good place to run to where you'll be hidden from the Shibit's sight or to take cover in order to get to the exit or a specific area, use vision scenes and repeat. The game-play can be quite boring because most of your time your sitting on one spot waiting for a right opportunity to move. Using vision scenes can be confusing as well because you cannot control the Shibite view and sometimes they'll be staring at a wall or a bush making it very unclear where they are. Some characters can only rely on stealth i.e. Sam Monroe daughter who cannot fight against the Shibit's. After every chapter, the chapter ends (and starts) in a cliff-hanger like feel, like when your watching a series your rather much enjoying. Whilst Siren Blood Curse is not as enjoyable as I thought it would be (or was hoping it to be), I thought the cliff-hanger feel was rather interesting.
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*****The Sound*****
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Sound Design:
The sound effects are quite good. Poor cheesy voice acting, mixed in with very creepy sound design.
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*****Life Value*****
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Lifespan / Replay Value:
The game is not that long, nor is it too short. It's just above average. The game will probably take you about 8 hours to complete maybe more if you like to explore and look for things. As for the replay value, there not much to do once the game is finished. When the game is finished you have the option to play any chapter you want and watch any in game cut scenes again, without have to play the game to see your favourite cut scene (If you have a favourite).
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*****Editor's Final Thought*****
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I thought Siren Blood Curse was an ok game despite the fact the game-play was a bit frustrating. I do like the way it feels like your watching a series. The graphics were good and the story was, well… whatever. The ending was a bit of a disappointment. The game is not scary which I found disappointing as well. I don't know if it's just me getting old but I was really hoping the game would be more scary than it was.
Siren Blood Curse is an ok game if you find it for a low price, or for a rent, or as a borrow from a friend.
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*****FINAL OVERALL SCORE*****
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Story - 3/10
Online Multiplayer - N/A
Life Value - 4/10
Presentation - 3/10
Graphics - 8/10
Atmosphere - 6/10
Game-Play - 5/10
Controls - 4/10
Sound Effects - 6/10
Concept - 5/10
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***** EDITOR'S OVERALL THOUGHT SCROE: 5/10 *****
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Siren Blood Curse review by Simon a.k.a. [TheDevilDweller]
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