Siren: New Translation

[Umon Daisuke]

The demo hit the Japanese PSN and the game is out in July there. The 550MB demo isn't bad, and while I didn't like the first game in the series much (never got the try the 2nd), this one seems to be fast paced. The graphics are nothing stellar but the sound and overall atmosphere is chilling as always.

[Darkmoon]

A new siren game? Could you pass along some details please? I do so love me some Forbidden Siren.

[randomwab]

It's a remake of the first Siren game. As far as I know, other than graphics, they've attempted to update the controls and combat, and they've attempted to make the game more western, replacing many of the original characters with an American film crew.

I'm looking forward to trying the demo, but I have to say, I didn't like the original. I got the vibe, I was freaked out by it, and I wanted to play more, but everything else about it was horrible. It played like ass, which in the end, simply made me turn it off. I'm hoping they've sorted it out for this one.

[Darkmoon]

I didn't find it any worse to play than the older Resident Evil games, and I liked the story. But then I like Japanese stuff. Honestly, though, it was stupidly hard. Between the difficulty and how badly some parts freaked me out I never managed to play it for more than an hour a day. Took me months.

Which system is it comming out for? Since it's on the PSN I'm guessing the PS3, but is it heading for the 360 as well? Or is it a PS2 version?

[delage]

Its for PS3, the release date in Japan is 24th of July

[Umon Daisuke]

I don't get a "remake" vibe to be honest, and yes, you do play as Americans. Maybe the village is the same, but the demo is fresh enough. You can actually walk in first person mode and even use a gun as a melee weapon (don't know if any of this is new though). The demo is only two missions, but they were intense enough. It's not completely trial and error but you can die easily if you're sloppy.

All in all, I'd say I enjoyed the demo and looking forward to more of the game. Of course it's a SCEI game so it's PS3 only.

[Gradon]

I saw Forbidden Siren 2 in GAME ages ago, shame I never bought it.
Played the demo of the first agggeeeeessss ago when I was like 8 or something, can't remember.
You started in a classroom as a woman.
This sounds interesting. Might get this.

[Sonicboy 101]

Awesome, the original game really scared me so I look forward to this one.
Will it be available to the Europe or American PSN store anytime soon (If it already isn't)?

[Darkmoon]

IGN says the games gonna be Japan only. No idea if they're right. If they aren't...well, I guess I finally have a really good reason to grab the cheapest PS3 I can find. This looks good. Normally I dislike redoing a story completely like this, but it looks even creepier than the first.

And no, you couldn't use guns as a melee weapon or walk in first person.

[Umon Daisuke]

Fresh screens:

http://kotaku.com/384187/siren-new-translation-is-pretty-horrifying

Now you gotta wonder why a seemingly lower budget title looks leaps better than SHV.. uh, "Homecoming". Then again, the nearly 5 years SH3 looks better than that one in still shots.

[Umon Daisuke]

Okay, so having played the short demo to death, they definitely took a lot of time making the controls as good as they can be for a true horror game.

The first person view isn't limited to walking while holding R2. Once you're equipped with a weapon, you can actually walk around or run in that mode by clicking on R3 (and clicking ita again to go back to third person). Thankfully, motion controls are limited to reloading a weapon. Third person shooting action is similar to Uncharted (so you can walk while aiming).

One cool thing I found out accidentally is a point blank mode. If you haven't killed a shibito completely and they happen to stand up while you're close enough to them, you get a free shot to the head. The camera angle changes with an appropriate sample.

I hope this comes to the west sometime this year, otherwise I'll bear with the JPN text and import it. The VA is English for the protagonists after all.

[Darkmoon]

Do the damned Shibtio still get up again after being knocked down? That was one of the most enjoyable bits, knowing that even if you had to fight it would, eventually, end up being pointless because you couldn't win.

[Umon Daisuke]

Not immediately, but some minutes apart. I bashed the hell out of one twice, and she followed me towards the end of the demo before I shot her. Not sure if bullets do the trick but I somehow doubt it.

[James]

I always wanted to play the Siren games, they seemed to have an intriguing narrative but I never got around to finishing them mainly due to the same complaints that Wayne cited. Something that I am not so happy about is the removal of the style of the original games, in which real life faces were projected onto the models of the characters - that was something that I thought was really unnerving. I've yet to finish the demo either, always getting distracted by something else (including Haze demo =P)

I'm really confused as to what's going on with this title though. Are Siren: New Translation and Siren: Blood Curse the same game? From what I've heard, Blood Curse has only been announced as episodic downloads on the PSN for Europe, while New Translation is essentially a re-imagining of the original with a more western twist, released on a disc.

I'm so confused U_U

I also have SIren 2 sitting here right now, yet to even try it out though.

[Darkmoon]

Well, from what little I found it sounds like Blood Curse is some kind of add on to New Translation. Or, possibly, they're releasing New Translation as Blood Curse here. They both centre around an American TV crew in Hanunda, so I don't think they're seperate games.