Silent Hill 1

Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Released (UK): Aug '99
Released (US): Jan '99

May contain spoilers.Resident Evil was the start of the Survival Horror genre and was the only game worth any attention, until 1999 at least.
Silent Hill came catching up almost immediately and the first in the series is classed as the best Survival Horror game of all time.

It follows Harry Mason who has come to the town of Silent Hill with his daughter Cheryl.
The opening scene of the game contains clips that show what has happened prior to the games events as well as scenes from the game. See for yourself:

Cheryl has been having nightmares about a town called Silent Hill and her father takes her there to see if it will make her better. Unfortunately though, on their way to the town, they are involved in an accident after an unknown girl throws herself in front of the car.

When Harry comes to, he finds Cheryl has gone missing but where has she gone? He decides to take a walk into town where he eventually finds her. However, Cheryl doesn't hang around and runs away and when Harry chases after her, the town goes dark.
Walking along with nothing but a lit match as his only source of light, Harry comes across a dead, half decayed, body of a man on one of the chain link fences before being attacked by a group of monsters.
After this nightmare he wakes up in a local cafe where he meets Cybil Bennett, a Police Officer from a neighbouring town named Brahms. She has come to Silent Hill due to a lack of communication between the two towns. Harry tells her his situation and she agrees to out to help look for Cheryl, handing him a gun before she goes.

Harry is left to his own devices and walks around the town searching for clues as to where Cheryl may be. The areas that Harry need to search include:
Midwich Elementary School, the Sewers, Alchemilla Hospital and the town itself.
You will find the Sewers to be quite tedious due to it's maze like feature where you get attacked by several of the most irritating Monster of the game - the Hanged Scratcher. The Hospital is my favourite area of the game because it does have a very creepy atmosphere and is full of puzzles to figure out.
The "Nowhere" part of the game is the most interesting as Harry gets close to finding out what happened in this town.

Harry comes across several characters throughout his search for his little girl, the first of which is a woman who shows up at the school after Harry kills the Split-head lizard. We don't know who she is because she doesn't talk to Harry at all, but disappears without a trace.
A little later on, Harry meets a lady named Dahlia Gillespie in the Balkan church. She shows him the Flauros telling him to go to the Hospital to see if Cheryl is there. Dahlia gets involved quite a bit, telling Harry where to look next but why is she so helpful?
In the Hospital, we meet two more characters - Michael Kaufmann and fan favourite Lisa Garland. Harry's conversation with Kaufmann is a short one, Lisa (above, right) however is very friendly towards Harry and constantly asks Harry to stay with her.

Lisa is amongst the Silent Hill characters that have kept their popularity with Silent Hill fans, despite the fact that her character was used poorly in Origins. She also appears in the film by Christophe Gans but only for a brief period, and she isn't referred to by name. You will only come across Lisa in the "Dark" side of the hospital and that's because (as we later find out) she is a Demon just like all the monsters you come across.

Depending on which ending you're aiming for you may not come across Dr Kaufmann much at all. If you want the Good+ or the Good ending, you'll meet him in a bar being attacked by a group of Mumbler's then again at the Motel where Harry finds out about Kaufmann's involvement with the Drugs.
Kaufmann isn't a good guy but he had no problems with Harry so doesn't pose any threat.

This game has a large variety of Monsters some of which are quite irritating (Air Screamer, Hanged Scratcher) and some that have become a staple within the Silent Hill games (The Dog, Groaner, and the Nurse).
The Grey Child Monster was censored out of the European version due to their resemblance to real children (though I disagree that they look alike) and were replaced by the Mumbler, a bear like creature that is also in the US version.

There were some awkward moments in this game. The phone call you receive at the school from Cheryl where she screams for you to help her and at the Mall where the TV screens all show Cheryl bound to a chair.
The music really did add to the atmosphere of the game proving that Akira Yamaoka's composing skills have been strong since the beginning of the series.

The voice acting was pretty poor however, Cybil (left) amongst one of the worst. Pauses in dialogue can be strewn out which makes the acting sound wooden.

The graphics were another negative point which makes me hate the fact that I wasn't into gaming and Silent Hill in 1999. At the time these graphics were considered brilliant and it was revolutionary within the gaming industry as far as the horror is concerned. I found it hard to get creeped out by things that didn't look real. On several occasions you find dead carcases hung on the walls but they didn't scare me because they weren't detailed enough.
I realise it's unfair to judge the game on it's graphics alone, especially since this is the best developers could do at the time but because I played this game after 2,3,4 and Origins, it didn't feel the same to me.

I find it hard to review this game because the graphics really did put me off and I know loads would disagree with me but I give it...

7.5/10


I welcome Feedback regarding the score I've given it.
I've also found this game to be the hardest to grasp so if anything mentioned is wrong, please tell me.

Ones I'm Not Bothered About

Resident Evil 5

This is the game that seems to be getting the Survival Horror fans really excited. I am not excited at all about this game at all and I'm more excited about Silent Hill Homecoming.
This game is due for release in the UK and the US on 13th March '09, just two weeks after the European release of Silent Hill Homecoming. This means that the game has overshadowed the release of Homecoming in within the European market.

The game is set ten years after the first Resident Evil game and follows Chris Redfield who was the protagonist of the first game. It's set in a fictional country of Kijuju, Africa where Chris has been sent there to investigate an accident that happened as part of his service in the Bio-terrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA).
A trailer shown at the E3 game's convention 2007 sparked an accusation of racism from Newsweek reporter, N'Gai Croal.
The trailer showed the White protagonist laying bullets into a group of Zombies, all of who were black, which I would expect seeing that it's in an African setting.
The following year a second trailer was made showing both black and white Zombies and an additional Female character of African descent. However, according to the games developers, these changes weren't made due to the controversy of the first trailer.

You can see an article about this here

I have also included the newest trailer which I found on youtube which shows more about the storyline and game play:

Resident Evil 4 didn't impress me at all despite all the raving reviews it received and it has put me off all Resident Evil games period. Apparently Resident Evil 5 plays exactly like Resident Evil 4 which really puts me off. However, the graphics in Resident Evil 5 are much better which is understandable seeing it's a next-gen game. The Zombies in particular look very scary compared to the Zombies that were in Resident Evil 4 but that isn't enough to persuade me to get it at release.

I may buy this in the very distant future when the price has gone down. I am not going to make the same mistake I made with Resident Evil 4.

For more details you can check out the Official Website which can be found HERE


Dead Space

This game was released in the US and the UK on Oct 14th '08 and I still haven't had any interest in buying it. It's another First Person Shooter set on the USG Ishimura "Planet Cracker" ship, whilst mining the planet of Aegis VII.
You play as Isaac Clarke, an engineer who is stranded after his ship becomes infested by the Corruption, a hostile, virus-like, alien DNA with the ability to infest the bodies of the dead, turning them into grotesque Monsters called Necromorphs.

It's not that I'm not intrigued by this game, I do want to try it because people say it's brilliant and scary. I just don't want to pay the full price tag for it. Now however, the price has gone down to around £28 but I'm still not going to run to the shops to get it. I don't like first person shooters very much and that is what this game is, this means that it's mostly an action game which intimidates me. I didn't like Resident Evil 4 for this reason and it's also one of the reasons I'm not interested in Resident Evil 5 (above).

Below is a trailer I found on the Official website:

If you go to the Survival Horror forum on the US Playstation website you'll see that almost every thread is on Dead Space. It's proven to be very popular and it's got me interested in it - only slightly though. I have downloaded and attempted to play the demo but it doesn't emphasise much on the story so you can't get an idea on whether the game would interest you or not. It forces you into battle straight away and that's not what I look for when buying a Survival Horror game.

More videos and images can be found on the Official Website which can be found HERE


Anybody else not interested in these games?

Should Dead Space be considered a Survival Horror instead of a straight forward FPS like Resistance?

Will Resident Evil 5 be better than Resident Evil 4?

Ones I'm Waiting For

Alan Wake

Remedy Entertainment have been very secretive about this game and have hardly released anything about it. Alan Wake was even announced before the PS3 and Xbox 360 came out but it's only now that eager fans are getting what they want.
Alan Wake was to be released on both consoles until Microsoft bought the rights for it, therefore making it a PC and Xbox game only.
Screenshots were released in 2006 when the game was first announced but two years have passed so the game probably looks much different now.

The game is based around Alan Wake, a famous mystery writer. Suffering from a major case of writers block, his wife has brought him to Bright Falls to help him get his creative flow back.
Things go wrong when his wife disappears and the events of his last book, which he doesn't remember writing, start to occur to make things worse.

What we know:

- The storyline is all we know really. Remedy doesn't like to give things away it seems.

- The trailer shows a guy in a red coat, a Jon Lovitz type, who Alan calls Harry. We don't know why he's there and who he is but I'm sure I heard somewhere that he said he was Alan's manager, I could be wrong.

- In the trailer Harry mentions a Dr Hartman. "Dr Hartman was right. You are crazy". This leads you to believe that he must be a shrink.

Unfortunately, we don't yet know anything about the game play. Will there be monsters like in Silent Hill? What kind of weapons will there be?
The video section of the website shows a further two videos are going to be revealed - hopefully these will be game play videos, let's hope.

Remedy are saying that a release date won't be given until the game is finished so we don't have one yet. It seems they don't want to make the same mistake as other developers who give a release date before knowing when the game will be completed.

The official website can be found HERE

Official Trailer

Silent Hill Homecoming

This game has already been released in The USA and Japan but the UK has to wait until February '09 to get this game. Konami never gave us an official reason but it could be a matter of reasons.

1) Censorship - Germany in particular have expressed concern over the violence contained in the game. News of the German release delay came out before the news that the UK would also have to wait...Are the whole of Europe having to wait until Germany are satisfied? Will we have to make do with the censored version as well? News of the German delay can be found on this LINK

2) Translation - Europe speaks a lot of languages, that's a given so the game has to be translated to over 20 different languages. It seems the UK, who speaks English and in fact came up with the language have to wait with the rest of them. Sure, we could import since the PS3 and XBOX 360 are region free, but why should we have to pay for the delivery charges?

3) Sods Law - We had to wait for Origins and now we have to wait longer for Homecoming. Maybe Konami just doesn't think much into pleasing it's European Market. It's not all bad I suppose. The game has been banned entirely from Australia apparently due to a specific scene within the game.

Homecoming is going to be the fifth instalment of the game (Origins not counting as it's a prequel). It's based around Alex Shepherd who has gone back home, after leaving the Army, to Shepherds Glen after news came about of his younger brothers disappearance. When he returns home he finds the whole town in a mess and his Mother in a catatonic state. She went crazy after Joshua, her younger son's disappearance so Alex goes about finding him. His investigation around Shepherds Glen leads him to a nearby town called Silent Hill where he intends to find out what has been happening.

Konami were quite generous in the information they gave out regarding this game. Trailers and screenshots were released, giving us a chance to look what the game is going to look like.

What we know:

- We know that the cast of Monsters includes new as well as old - Siam (Right) is one of the most impressive, and the monster that got my attention. The Nurses return (it wouldn't be Silent Hill without them would it?) and they've been busy advertising the game, modelling on the popular Play Magazine front cover.

- Pyramid Head is going to be in this game. He was spotted walking around the town in one of the trailers released but how does he fit into this game when he was a manifestation of James Sunderland’s character in Silent Hill 2?

- We know that a female character is in the game, Elle, an old friend of Alex's who can be found on the official website. The official trailer (below) shows a truck driver, Travis Grady from Origins and screenshots so some kind of police officer, who remains nameless to us lot that haven't played it.

- The games has also taken on the appearance of the movie. In the previous games, we never actually saw the real world turn into the nightmare world but in this game, we will. The two realms will merge in real time, wall paper melting off of the walls and such.

Since this game has been released in the US, we know that the game has proven successful with Silent Hill fans but the critic’s reviews have been mixed. Metacritic gives the scores received from various magazines and websites, then giving a critics average. The worst score given was 60% from GamePro and the most promising score was 90% from the Official Playstation Magazine (US). The average however was 7.2/10, the sites users giving it 8.1/10 proving the game has been quite well received generally.

The official website can bee seen HERE

Official Trailer (YouTube)

Fatal Frame IV: The Mask of the Lunar Eclipse

Fatal Frame IV was announced, to the UK at least, earlier this year (2008). The game has been developed by Japanese developer, Grasshopper Manufacture. The news was both good and bad for fans because even though a new game is coming, it's coming on the Nintendo Wii. Previous games have been released on the Xbox and the Playstation 2, PS2 being the only console to have all of the first three games.
The game was released earlier in July over in Japan but for a while there was no news on a release over in the west. However, news came out earlier in December of a European release due early 2009. America is still to find out whether they will get the game or not.

Ten years ago, five young girls were kidnapped and held hostage in a mysterious mansion in Japan. They were all saved by a detective on the hunt for the criminal who had taken them. Several years later, two of the girls died under mysterious circumstances but the remaining three, now 17 years old have returned in order to find out more about what happened all those years ago.

What we know:

- There are four main characters in this game: Ruka Minazuki(F), Misaki Asō(F), Madoka Tsukimori(F) and Chōshiro Kirishima(M).

- The Wii remote and nunchuck will be used to aim the Camera Obscura and the torch that the character holds. How the camera will work however, remains to be seen.

- Ghosts include what looks like a female nurse and little boy, who is especially creepy - reminds me of the boy in the film, The Grudge.

We know nothing else regarding this game but news on game play and characters should be released soon if a European release is going to be the rumoured February '09. The official website and the official trailer are in Japanese but they shed some light into what the game will look like.
The game actually looks really good for the Wii and the ghost especially look really realistic, even more so than the ones in The Tormented.
Hopefully an English version of the website will be released real soon.

The official website, in Japanese, can be found HERE.

Trailer (Subtitled)

I'm really looking forward to all of these games. Silent Hill and Fatal Frame are two of my favourite Survival Horror games and both look like a good edition to each series.
Alan Wake is the one I'm looking forward to the most. However, it's a new addition to the genre and could be a huge sucess based on how it looks. People are getting restless waiting for it but good things come to those who wait.
I'm a geek, and I know this Why? I bought my Wii and Xbox 360 especially for Fatal Frame IV and Alan Wake so they better be really, really good.

Siren Blood Curse

Developer: Sony Entertainment Japan
Publisher: Sony
Released (UK): Dec '07
Released (US): Nov '07

May Contain Spoilers. Siren Blood Curse is the latest instalment of the Forbidden Siren franchise and was released in Europe, Japan (where it was called New Translation rather than Blood Curse) and the US.
The game is a complete remake of the original game but with some adjustments. There is a whole new cast of characters, one reoccurrence and most of the environments have been changed although some have just been tweaked.

The story is based around an American film crew who have come to Hanuda to investigate a local cult and the sacrificial rituals the cult committed thirty years prior.

True to Forbidden Siren form, the story line is a confusing one. I cannot remember if the original had a time line situation but Blood Curse does. The game's time line is back and forth between 1976 and 2007 and times can even join together. The best example is the opening scene...The TV crew are in 2007 but they are witnessing a ritual which took place in 1976 and characters from both time periods can be seen in the same mission. Siren_Hill, a member of the US Playstation forum has done a nice thread on the time line which makes more sense [Here]

The cast in this game are mostly American, except from two from the local area of Handuda Village, Japan.

Howard Wright is travelling across Japan and has found himself stranded in Hanuda after his motorcycle broke down (His blog - http://hw-biker.blog-paradise.com/e/index.html confirms this) but why was he in the deserted village of Hanuda anyway?
We first see him in the opening scene when he stops a religious group half way through performing a ritual. One girl has already been stabbed and he manages to cause a distraction so a second girl can run away.
Howard is the main character in this game and the character we play as the most. His character is of course similar to the role of Kyoya Suda in the original.

Sam Monroe is a College Professor and Folklore expert who is in Hanuda to act as a consultant for a TV show that is being filmed on the rituals that happen there.
His character is based on Tamon Takeuchi from the original game because he is the guy who figures out what has been happening in Hanuda and how to stop it.
Sams part in this game is slightly confusing because there are two versions of him. One is the Sam Monroe who is new to Hanuda and the other is the older Sam, who knows exactly what to do to stop the games events from happening again.

Melissa Gale is a Television presenter who has come to Hanuda to get footage for her show called 'Encounters'. She is the ex-wife of Sam Monroe and was unaware that her ex-husband was going to be the consultant for the show.
Her role is similar to the roles of Reiko Takato and Naoko Mihama from the original game.
She is very protective of her daughter and spends most of the game trying to save her from the wandering shibito walking around. She is eventually sacrifices herself whilst blowing up a maggot shibito in order to save her daughter.

Seigo Saiga is one of the characters local to the area and is one of two of the non-American member of the cast. Seigo is a member of the cult (like Jun Kajiro in the original) and is the guy seen stabbing the girl in the opening scene (notice the white shoes). He is one of the characters stuck in 1976 and relives the time again and again despite killing himself halfway through the game.
He is also a doctor at the local hospital (Shiro Miyata in the original) and always carries a gun (like Akira Shimura in the original).
As a human he is of no threat to anyone, befriending and helping Sam in one mission but as a Shibito, tries to stop Howard from performing his task of finishing off Kaiko, the cults god.

Bella Monroe is the daughter of Sam Monroe and Melissa Gale. She has come to Hanuda with Sam who couldn't find a baby-sitter in time for the trip. She finds herself in the care of Sol after the TV crew were separated. Bella spends most of the game by herself and we first find her hiding in the hospital after Sol promises to come find her.
Bella is the only character who doesn't hold a weapon and cannot attempt to fight the shibitos she comes across. Like Harumi Yomoda in the original game she will cower when too close to a Shibito so stealth is necessary.
She is also similar to Tomoko Maeda who in the original game turned into a Shibito herself.

Amana is also a member of the cult of Hanuda. We first see Amana in one of Howards mission where she finds him recovering from a gunshot wound. She promises to help him escape but they part ways after Amana is flown away by a Shibito.
We play as Amana only once where she tries to recall the memories she lost before the events of the game. Amana's character is similar to Hisako Yao in the original game because she is the one who is trying to bring back Kaiko.
Like Sam, Amana has another version wandering the village [Major Spoiler Here]: Amana is Bella, grown up. This means that Bella joins Sam and Howard as the only characters live through the events of the game.

Sol Jackson is the camera man for 'Encounters' and is a friend of Melissa. An archive item, which shows a film script written by Sol shows that he is in love with his friend and colleague.
Sol dies pretty early on in the game and although his death isn't shown, we can gather he was killed by a Shibito whilst he tried to distract it away from Bella. Sol can be found everywhere as a Shibito, especially if Bella or Melissa are around. His character is similar to the role of Yoriko Anno in the original game seeing that he is in love with one of the more leading characters (Anno took a fancy to Tamon Takeuchi in the original).

Miyako Kajiro (her surname isn't used in BC) is the second of the Japanese characters and is the same Miyako from the original with one difference. She can see in Blood Curse so isn't as clingy as in the first one. You never play as Miyako making her the only non-playable character.
Miyako is the sidekick to Howard for most of the game but is kidnapped by Amana in order to be sacrificed for Kaiko's revival.
The 'Fruit' which is mentioned throughout the game, is Miyako's blood which she gave to Howard after he was shot by Melissa (who had mistaken him for a Shibito).
Even after being sacrificed for Kaiko, she helps Howard to defeat it by showing his whereabouts.

Shibito make an excellent comeback and look better than ever. The same Shibito types are in Blood Curse although a new Shibito has been created for Blood Curse.
You have the regular Shibito which look and act as normal human beings, the Spider Shibito, the Moth Sbibito, the Brain Shibito and the new Maggot Shibito.



Human shibito (above) act just like normal people, carrying on with their daily lives as if they were still alive. They follow a routine just as they do in the original, patrolling the same areas making them easy to predict. They're pretty easy to defeat despite the fact that most of them carry a weapon of some kind. You can just sneak up behind them and impale them with one weapon or another or you can just hide in a closet until they go away.

The Spider Shibito (left) walk on all fours in a yoga, crab-like position which looks quite painful. They are more on guard and will spend time in one spot looking out for any intruders. They can be hard to spot too because they can walk on walls an on ceilings. They do have some limits though because they can't climb ladders and they can't open doors so they're easy to trap. They are quite fast when they see you and can jump on you from quite a distance so watch you're back carefully.

Moth Shibito (below) are Shibito with wings, so they can fly. They hide in bushes and in shadows so they can come out at you from anywhere. They will not hesitate to sweep down and grab you dropping you when high in the air. Some Moth Shbito carry guns so they can shoot you from afar making it harder for you to kill them before they kill you.
In all fairness, they are very seldom around so don't get in your way too much.



The Maggot Shibito is a new form of Shibito to Blood Curse but they aren't common and they sometimes act as a mini boss in the levels where they appear. They are the biggest form of Shibito and look like Maggots but with long arms. They are also in control of the Moth Shibito's meaning that once the Maggot is down, all the Moths go down with it. They're quite vicious and will throw things at you so you really nee to keep your distance and kill them using some kind of trap. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any pictures of them.

The Brain Shibito has also returned from the original game but the designers have done massive improvements to their appearance. Each Brain shibito looks different unlike in the first game where they all looked the same. Brain Shibito are your best bet of a scare in this game because they look that disgusting. The Brain Shibitos are much more shy then their maggot counterparts because they run away from you when they see you coming.
There are many Brain Shibito about so I'll go through each one. (I've named them myself because they have no official names - well one does)


Patient Brain (above) - Is seen in the Hospital when playing as Melissa Gale. It a large, black tumour-looking blob that is pushed around in a wheel chair by a Human Shibito nurse. It can't run away like the others because it has no legs but it is protected by the Nurse who will come running at you when she sees you - Knock her down first then you can attack the Brain. Easy isn’t it?

Headless Brain (below) - This Brain is located in the mines when playing as Howard Wright. This has tentacle things coming from its neck where a head would usually be. These tentacles grab onto the ceiling but this brain doesn't move. However, its position changes each time you play the level. This Brain startled me the first time I saw it because it looked violent, in fact it just stays there and lets you whack it to death.


Bee Brain - This is the Brain Shibito at the Shibito Nest when playing as Howard Wright. It looks like a Male Human Shibito but it has a head that is an oversized Bee. This guy is fast and wanders around in the pitch black making him hard to see so you have to trap him (with an animal trap) or cut him off. If you can catch a glimpse of him as the lightning goes off, the effect quite be quite surprising if you run into him unexpectedly.

Yukie (Nurse Brain, right) - Again, it's Howard that comes across this Brain, in the Mines. Yukie plays a small part in the story line because she's close, and I mean very close to Seigo Saigo (think of Mina Onda from the original game). She looks human but has some slug like things draping off of her face and like the Bee Brain, she is very fast and has a huge area to hide in. I remember having a hard time bringing Yukie down - get a sniper gun an you should get her quite easily.


The Sight-Jack has been changed in two ways although one of them is quite the annoyance. The Sight-Jack mode now allows the character to move whilst keeping tabs on a specific Shibito. The screen splits whenever you do this so half of it shows where your character is and the other half shows the view of the Shibito. Good Luck if you have a small TV screen because it's hard to see where you're going when this happens, especially if it's dark.
In the previous games, if a Shibito catch sight of you, the screen would flash re to show you what direction it was coming from. In this game, the screen splits again and will stay, showing you where the Shibito is coming from, until you press R2 to get rid of it. These are very annoying because they are uninvited by the player so they get in the way.

The archive item has returned with 50 items to collect as well as 50 different weapons to find. Some of the archive items are really interesting and give more information and background history of the characters. Sol's ID sheds light to a secret crush on Melissa, A tape can be found with an episode of 'Encounters' on it and Howard's mobile phone has a message on it from a friend. If you bought the game from PSN, there is an option to save some items onto your hard drive. One archive item seems to be an MP3 player and you can download the end music from Siren 1 and Howard’s phone has some pictures on it which can be downloaded. Some of them are quite nice too, if you like Japanese Landscape.

Forbidden Siren always had mixed reactions with the acting, especially the voice over’s, but with an American cast this isn't a problem with Blood Curse. The characters are played by proper actors just as in the first too games although it's not as obvious in this games graphics since it's for a next-gen console with next-gen graphics.
The environments look really good on this game although some areas are too dark to see at times but as a Survival Horror, you would expect it to be dark. The house is especially good, especially when you get into the living room which is very detailed.

The environments have changed in appearance, although some have stayed the same.
You have the Fields (below) where the church is located. The church's location has changed but apart from that, the area looks the same.


The Mines have returned but look completely different to the mines in Forbidden Siren 1 and are maze like in appearance because it has many levels with blocked stairways and elevators.
The house is also here and looks way better than in the original although the layout has stayed exactly the same.
The Hospital has changed, and looks more like it belongs in a Horror Game. It has changed in appearance and has a bit more blood in it as you can see in the picture below.
The shopping area from the original (where the restaurant is) has also changed in appearance and for some reason, is flooded. The picture of the Human Shibito's that is in the Shibito section are seen in this area if you want to know.
The Nest has to be back because it's very important to the story line and it's in much more detail, with items such as fans knocked over and broken plates all over the floors.


The school has gone and the area where Harumi manages to escape in the original game is not here either. Some other areas whose name's I cannot remember have also gone - The level where you had to hear Harumi's message from the tower and the level where you first play as Shiryo Miyato aren't here either.

The problems that the original had have all been erased. Checkpoints are more frequent, the characters are stronger taking more damage and archive items stay in the archive once it's been collected. These problems of course were all dealt with in Forbidden Siren 2 but if you're American, you wouldn't know about them.
The maps are another improvement for the series. You can view the map down from the top by which I mean in a Birdseye view or you can view the map in 3D, which shows each level at the same time. The map also locates where you have to go in order to fulfil your objective which makes the game easier.

Overall the game is fantastic and definitely improves on the original game. For me, the storyline wasn't changed enough to make sense to me so Forbidden Siren 2 has managed to beat it on that respect which means Blood Curse cannot score as highly that. Close but I'll give it...

9.5/10

All pictures have been taken from the Japanese Website which can be found HERE.

Silent Hill Origins

Developer: Climax Studios
Publisher: Konami
Released (UK): Dec '07
Released (US): Nov '07

May Contain Spoilers:After the brilliance that was Silent Hill 4, I waited for ages for a new Silent Hill game and 2007 brought that moment. However, I was quite disappointed that it was to be for the PSP and not the PS2 or the PS3.
Although the game was released in 2007, the first trailer to be released was in 2006 and that promised the game was coming "This Winter". "This Winter" however turned out to be winter 2007 instead because of deadline problems (always the case).
It was a long wait but the trailers that were released looked really good and Origins was looking like a competitor.

Silent Hill Origins is a prequel to the first Silent Hill game and is based around Travis Grady. Travis is a lorry driver who is driving through Brahms on a delivery which is halted after a girl walks onto the road causing Travis to stop.
Travis stops and despite the fact that the girl runs away, he doesn't carry on with his journey and instead takes a detour to Silent Hill.

He follows the girl to a house that is seen caught on fire, a lady is seen walking away from the place. After hearing a girls scream coming from the house, Travis being the hero he is goes in and saves her. The girl is burnt badly but he gets her out, fainting shortly afterwards.
When he wakes up, he finds himself in the town but the girl isn't there with him. The game is then based on Travis trying to find out what happened to this girl and why the residents of the town (the ones he sees anyway) are so secretive.

Travis (above) is the only new character in this game, the supporting characters being from the original Silent Hill. The characters brought over are:

Alessa Gillespie - Alessa Gillespie is the girl Travis saved from the house but we don't know if she is dead or not. It's what Travis is trying to find out throughout but, as he goes on through the game he comes across her in a live state without any burns at all. She doesn't speak throughout the whole game but tries to lead Travis in helping her.
Dahlia Gillespie - In this game she doesn't give the whole witch like vibe she does in the original. She wears what I would call normal clothing rather than the Wicca-like clothing she wore in the first game. We speak to her three or four times only.
Dr. Kauffman - We see him only three times and he's very arrogant even now. He is very secretive and tells Travis he has no idea which girl he is talking about but expresses his uneasiness of Travis' presence.
Lisa Garland - She's a trainee nurse in this game and is nothing like the nurse in Silent Hill 1. She's flirtatious and is definitely not the innocent girl you meet in the original game. She’s the friendliest character Travis comes accross.

The Monsters of this game are numerous, though some are not very imaginative at all. This game also includes many bosses - all of which are relatively easy to defeat. The monsters include some old favourites as well as some new ones:
The Nurse makes a come back although they have gone under a great deal of revamp. They now look like the nurses from the Silent Hill movie but they seem more stupid because you'll find you can sneak past them with the light off.
The Patient Demon (AKA Straight Jackets) from Silent Hill 2 also makes a comeback but they're faster and chase after you. They have the same spitting attack as before but they give greater damage than before - ignoring them is your best bet. If they get too close, they straddle you and head butt you in the face.
The Carrion monsters (below) are supposed represent the road kill that Travis, as a lorry driver has run over throughout the years. I think they look like plucked Chickens with no heads but that's just me.


The Ariel is a puppet that comes to life but they are very easy to defeat when you use a fire arm. You only come across them when you're in a specific area – the Theatre.
The Caliban is first seen as a boss to one of the levels but becomes a regular enemy after that. They come in various sizes and you'll come across some that block the roads of the town. They're very slow and easy to get past if you don't want to waste your time.
The Two-Back (below) looks like a guy riding another guy like a horse. You only come across this monster in the last area of the game but they're very powerful. What’s more is that they always appear off screen so you can't see them until you've put several bullets in them.
The Remnant is probably the only monster in this game that has any creepiness. They're basically a shadow with some kind of harness. Like the nurses you can get past them without the light on but they can whack you quite hard. They remind me a little of the Mannequins in Silent Hill 2 because they give out a masculine scream when hit.


Then we have the bosses of the game. You come across one of the bosses at the end of each area and then you have the sub-boss and main boss at the very end so there's 6 in total:

The Hospital - Our first area is the Alchemilla Hospital where Travis believes the girl is resting. The hospital is commonplace in Silent Hill games – every game in the series has had a level in a hospital. The boss isn't much of a boss because it's just a Straight-Jacket with no part in the story.
Cedar Grove Sanitarium - We find out that Travis' mother was once committed here and the boss is a monster that represents her. Apparently, people in the mirror would talk to her and asked her to kill little baby Travis. This was to make sure that he wouldn't return and stop the ritual revolving around Alessa. She was stopped though and taken into care where she eventually died.
The Artaud Theatre - This is where we find the Caliban as our boss. Apparently, it's the monster of a Shakespearean play that was once played at the theatre. A note says that the costume was so scary, a little girl ran out screaming. Tony, the actor playing Caliban died from a haemorrhage shortly afterwards - The little girl turned out to be Alessa.
The Lakeside Motel - Two boss fights take place here, the first being the Butcher (below) [There's a huge spoiler here so look away now if you don't want to know]. The Butcher represents a serial killer who would bring women to the motel in order to rape then kill them. This killer was to be known as The Butcher but he didn't look the same in reality. The second ending of the game proves that the Butcher is indeed Travis Grady.


The second boss fight in the Motel is the monster representing Travis' father. After arguing with his wife at the sanitarium, Travis' father killed himself whilst little Travis played in the motels game room.
Then we have the ultimate boss, Samael, the Cult's God. The word God isn't necessarily true as all Silent Hill fans know that the Cult actually worships a Devil and the ‘Paradise’ they seek is actually Hell.

There are several issues with this game that I’m not happy with. One of which is the breakability of the weapons Travis uses. Where you would expect things like TV sets and toasters to break when thrown, even strong weapons like pipes and sledge hammers break. What's the point? It doesn't make the game any better; to me it makes it worse. Is it just me?

The Characters weren’t exactly memorable for me. I didn't feel anything for Travis Grady at all. In Silent Hill 2 and 3, you feel for the main characters - James for losing his wife and Heather for losing her father. I didn't feel any pity for Travis and he's lost both his parents - am I just that insensitive? Maybe, but as I've already said, I felt for James and Heather and I even felt for Walter Sullivan in Silent Hill 4 so I can’t be that bad.
Lisa was a big disappointment. She had no part in the plot at all and it wasn’t necessary at all for her to be in this game. I would say that she’s been put in the game to satisfy all the fan boys out there, but they messed with her character. She was very sweet in the original Silent Hill and you really did feel sorry for her situation and the scene of her death is classed as one of Silent Hill’s greatest.
The Butcher wasn't impressive either - can anybody say "Pyramid Head knock-off"?

The levels aren't up to much either although the Motel can be quite interesting, especially since this is where the Butcher hangs out. There are a lot of peepholes in this area which did spook me out at times. As well as the main levels of the game, Travis will come across other buildings to gain access to other areas. One of these is the Butcher Shop which is the best area of the game - freaky stuff happens in this place. Watch for the Nurse.

The main drawback of this game is the medium it has been developed for. The PSP doesn't have the best sound quality or the best graphics. The shiny screen makes it hard to play on the bus or in the car (as a passenger you understand) which means you have to wait until the sun goes down to play it. The game even makes you aware of this when you turn it on, advising you that the game is best played in the dark and with headphones on.
The game has been released on the PS2 since but the graphics have basically stayed the same.
The cut scenes are appalling for this day in age, PSP or not. However, you have some occasional scenes that are fantastic - why they didn't use the same technique for all the cut scenes, I don't quite understand. The game would be so much better for it if they had. I’ve found two examples of cut scenes from YouTube to demonstrate my point:

Good Cutscene:



Bad Cutscene: (This also shows the terrible acting and lack of chemistry between Travis and Lisa)

The UFO ending returns after being left out of Silent Hill 4. The ending is pretty uneventful but you get a useful weapon out of it. The game has several Accolades to achieve where you will unlock a new item once you’ve achieve it. Accolades include such things as completing the game within a certain time scale, limiting the use of your flashlight, using your fists to attack rather than using weapons etc.
Examples of the items you unlock include new outfits, a novelty light (where the flashlight projects a smiley face, football or Peace image) and armour for your hands.
This is one of the good things about the game because these items can make the game easier for you, making the accolades easier to accomplish.

It’s not the best Silent Hill game, for me, it’s actually the worst of the series but there has been a difference of opinion.
Fans of the series that I’ve come across on forums such as http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board?board.id=horror and www.play-mag.co.uk/forum seem to like this game more than Silent Hill 3 and 4. Not me though – I give it...

6/10

One's I've Never Finished...Part 4

Condemned: Criminal Origins & Condemned 2

Condemned: Criminal Origins:
Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Sega
Released (UK): Dec '05
Released (US): Nov '05

Condemned 2:
Developer: Monolith Productions
Publisher: Sega
Released (UK): Apr '08
Released (US): Mar '08

The Playstation is the console that most Survival Horror games were made for. Games such as Silent Hill and Project Zero were developed for the original Xbox occasionally but they sold more copies for the Sony console.
When the Xbox 360 was released Condemned: Criminal Origins was developed for it exclusively, meaning it wasn’t available for the PS2 or the PS3. The games sequel, Condemned 2 (with the sub-title Bloodshot in the U.S) was developed with both next-gen consoles in mind. A nice point to note is that Condemned 2 was released for both consoles at the same time (unlike Alone in the Dark).


What's it about?

Condemned: Criminal Origins:
You play as Ethan Thomas, an SCU agent with the FBI. Whilst investigating another murder by the Matchmaker, he's framed for killing the two police officers who were on scene with him.
Ethan comes across a man who he believes is the Matchmaker, a serial killer that has been tormenting the fictional Metro City. This man manages to get his hands on Ethans gun before killing the two officers in his way.
With the help of Rosa, the forensics expert at the lab and Malcom Vanhorn, an old friend of the Thomas family, Ethan goes about to find out why he is being framed. He later finds out that the Matchmaker has been spying on him through his apartment window after finding photographs of himself.
Later however, with the use of forensics, Ethan finds the matchmaker dead and he is not the guy who killed the cops or is he the guy who has been spying. A guy called Serial Killer X is the guy Ethan needs to stop. Serial Killer X stalks infamous serials beofre killing each one off and Ethan Thomas is the guy who needs to find out why.
The only problem is the epidemic causing people, especially drug addicts to go insane attacking everybody they come across.


Condemend 2:

Ethan Thomas has turned his life to the streets. After the events of Criminal Origins he quit the FBI and he now lives in the gutter with only Alcohol for company.
His old friend Malcom Vanhorn who was also in the original game has been killed, Killer X is still alive and the SCU want's Ethan back to find out what happened. The game is still set in Metro City where violence is still a way of life.
This time Serial Killer X has his eyes on the members of the "Oro" cult who use painful metal implants to develop psionic powers that allow them to influence and control the world.
It's these Oro members that are behind all the violence that occurs within the city.

There are a number of weapons that can be used in Condemned. Ethan can take Wood from the floor and metal pipes from the walls as well as the Pistol, Shotguns, Crowbars and Fire Axes that can be found round and about.

Another good quality this game has is the ability to process crime scenes a la Gil Grissom. Taking pictures of dead bodies and the evidence around them (Blood Smears, Tyre tracks etc) gives Rosa, the lab tech, the chance to analyse them for you.
The second game makes more use of this than the original however which makes the second game a bit more interesting and fun to play.


Why I never completed it

These games provide a lot of tension because there is a minimal use of music and all you can hear are the noises made by the various men and women who like to give Ethan a hard time.
In Condemned 2 you can hear some of them laughing which stops you in your tracks from time to time and the Mannequins that multiply behind you so you can't go back sends a chill down your spine.
Unfortunately, the game being a FPS means that there is a lot of action involved which is peeve of mine. It is defintely fitting of the Survival Horror title because it can be very scary.

I have tried to get into Condemned: Criminal Origins a couple of times and I got futher the second time but I still haven't complete it. The game didn't motivate me enough though I did enjoy it, the part I played anyway and I will try again, I'm just in no rush to do it.

The second game I was really getting into until I got stuck with the Doll boss. I then sold it because I needed the Money and I think I probably would buy it again. It's much cheaper now but I would probably wait until I finish Criminal Origins, if I do.

Is this the best Next-Gen Survival Horror?
Which is the best?

One's I've Never Finished...Part 3

Resident Evil 4

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Released (UK): Nov '05
Released (US): Oct '05

May Contain Spoilers: The critics gave a positive outburst when they reviewed this game. Everyone was giving scores of 10/10 or 100% and even though I hadn't played a Resident Evil game before I thought I'd give it ago because of all this praise of being the best Survival Horror game ever. Silent Hill, another big contender got 84.0% on gamerankings.com where this game was given 95.7%.
I had to see for myself so I bought it, although it had been out for quite a while before I got my copy of it.


What's it about?

Again, I don't know much about the story of this game. I'll explain why later but the story as I know is that the games Protagonist, Leon S. Kennedy has gone to a village is Europe (Probably Spain - the Police jackets say Policia on them and Leon finds Pesetas, Spanish currency before the Euro). This is where the President's daughter, Lesley Graham was last seen after being kidnapped.

It's all I can remember so I went back to Wikipedia and got the plot from there:

"In 2004, the Umbrella Corporation's secretive activities within Raccoon City have become a public affair. Following an investigation conducted by the US government, several Umbrella officials are implicated and prosecuted. The government indefinitely suspends Umbrella's business, causing the company to become bankrupt.

Leon S. Kennedy (right) was recruited by the US government after they learned of his actions in Raccoon City. Leon is sent on a mission to rescue Ashley Graham (the blonde, below), the President's daughter, who has been kidnapped by a mysterious cult. Leon travels to a rural village in Europe, where he encounters a horde of unruly villagers who pledge their lives to Los Iluminados (The Illuminated Ones), the cult that kidnapped Ashley.
During the course of the mission, Leon is reunited with Ada Wong, a woman he met in Resident Evil 2, and Jack Krauser, one of Leon's former comrades from his years of government training, thought to be dead. He also meets Luis Sera, a former Los Illuminados researcher, who aids Leon on his mission, before he is murdered by Osmund Saddler, the leader of the Los Illuminados cult. By examining Sera's notes, Leon discovers that Los Illuminados gained control of their subjects by implanting a mind-controlling parasite known as Las Plagas into their bodies.

After Saddler discovers that Leon has rescued Ashley, he commands his subjects to use any means to recover her. Meanwhile, after defeating the village chief, Bitores Mendez, Leon, and Ashley take refuge inside the castle of the local castellan, Ramon Salazar. Ashley begins to cough blood, realizing that she is probably infected and runs into one of the castles many traps. Leon then battles his way through mazes and minions to find Salazar only to learn that Ashley has been taken to a nearby island research facility. After numerous altercations with Saddler's forces, including a freakishly empowered Krauser, Leon is able to rescue Ashley and defeat Saddler with Ada's assistance. Leon recovers a vial containing a Plagas sample from Saddler's corpse, but Ada forces him to give it to her at gunpoint. She then escapes from the complex in a helicopter, leaving Leon and Ashley to escape via jet-ski."

Taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resident_evil_4

The bad guys in this are basically the villagers that follow the Los Illuminados cult. Each carry some weapon of some kind from a shovel/stick to flare's that blow up in your face. You also have the notorious Chainsaw man who occasionally pops up now and again to behead you resulting in an instant "Game Over".
Leon will find himself ganged up on in some cases because the villagers attack in groups of two all the way up to six or even more people. This was one of the most frustrating parts of the game because you can spend ten minutes at a time just shooting these people down.
As the game progresses these people are harder to push down - when shot in the head, tentacle looking things appear from the neck that whip you causing considerable damage

This game also has a limited inventory. Leon carries a case which can only fit so many items in it. This case can be upgraded to larger ones as the game goes on because you will occasionally come across the Seller. A suspicious looking guy I thought was a bad guy to begin with. He has all kinds of items for Leon if the price is right - Leon can exchange Pesetas for these items which include new weaponry and ammo as well as healing items etc.
You will also come across red and blue medallions that hang from high points such as trees and buildings. If you can collect all of these then the Seller will exchange something big for them.



Why I never completed it:

I tried, I really did try and get into this but I just couldn't. It wasn't compelling nor scary in the slightest.
It took a long time for the storyline to even get going, it was just Leon blowing a few people's head off in a Spanish village.
Being a PS2/Gamecube game it doesn't exactly have graphics that blow all previous horror games out of the park. There were no scary bits in it at all the good parts of the game were purely its mechanics E.g. Controls and Accuracy. The game is over the shoulder view so you see Leon at the bottom left side of the screen. When you aim your pistol/shotgun a laser helps you aim your shot although it does shake slightly as if Leon’s hands are shaking. What is annoying though is that your target goes off line when a shot has been made - it adds to the realism but when you have a mob to fight off, it makes things difficult.

The first time I played this, I got through the first chapter (up until you meet the Seller for the first time). At the beginning of the second chapter I arrived at a village where I was mobbed by a gang of people. I shot them down and even more people came so I shot them down too but even more came. This happened on repeat for about 15 minutes - I got fed up and put it away.
However, I later tried again, from the start. I got further this time and actually got to rescue Ashley from so place or another, I wasn't paying much attention. Low and behold, I stopped soon after that...I was bored.

People say Silent Hill is in trouble because of this game which brought new attention to Resident Evil as a series. In my opinion, Silent Hill should have nothing to worry about as far as Survival Horror games are concerned. It looked good and worked well but it WAS NOT A HORROR GAME.
I don't even think Resident Evil is a contender in this genre of games. Forbidden Siren on the other hand...Might just happen.

Why do people get excited by this game?
Am I the only person NOT to like this game?
Silent Hill Vs Resident Evil...Debate

Forbidden Siren 2

Developer: SCE Japan
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Released (UK): Aug '06
Released (US): N/A

Luckily, Christmas was around the corner when Forbidden Siren 2 came out in Europe or I wouldn't have played this game at all. The original was so hard I thought this one would be just as bad so I got my Mum to buy me it as a Christmas present.

The game takes place on the fictional Yamijima Island, Japan. Years before the events of the game, a Tsunami occurred there killing everyone on the Island making it inhabited. However, various people have found themselves on the island for a variety or reasons (explained later) where suspicious events start to happen.

Like the previous game, Forbidden Siren 2 has a big cast of characters, playable or not. Each character is on Yamijima Island for their own reasons.

Mamoru Itsuki is the main character of the game an is also the guy we start off as. He's a Journalist for an Occult magazine and has come to the Island to find out more about the Tsunami that occurred all those years ago. He takes a boat there along with other characters in the game but the boat is capsized and he finds himself on the coast of the island where he meets Yuri Kishida.

Yuri Kishida is found locked in a small building at Yamijima Harbour. She starts off as nice as a puppy but ends up not to be as she seems. We never play as Yuri and she only appears at the start of the game before we find out who she really is.

Ikuko Kifune is a dockworker who was working on the boat that capsized with Mamoru and Co inside. She has Psychic abilities and can take control of the Shibito's/Yamibito's movements which she uses to eventually save Mamoru from Yuri. She helps Mamoru get rid of our antagonist at the end of the game.

Yorito Nagai is a Private in the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Squad. He finds himself on Yamijima Island along with his supervisors; Takeaki Misawa and Hiroshi Okita after their helicopter lost control and crashed. After finding Okita, Yorito's friend, dead on site he goes along with Misawa to get help.

Takeaki Misawa is a Major in the same force as Yorito but goes crazy throughout the course of the game. He is killed by Yorito after he is seen threatening Ichiko Yagura but comes back as a Yamibito then as a Kou Yamibito who is destroyed by Yorito near the end of the game.

Akiko Kiyota (right) is another of the passengers of the boat Mamoru took to the Island although she is cleverly disguised in a big hat and sunglasses. She's a Psychic who has been "hired" to help Soji Abe with a big problem, explained later. She later starts to receive connections from a recently deceased Shu Mikami and helps get rid of our antagonist by killing herself (explained later). She's one of my favourite characters in the game, although I don't know why.

Shu Mikami is a famous Romance Novelist who was born on Yamijima Island. His mother had died as a child and his father, Ryuhei Mikami, looked after him before he was brutally murdered. Shu was eventually adopted by a family and lived in Tokyo eventually forgetting his childhood. Shu Mikami is blind and can only see by Sight Jacking his dog Tsukasa.

Shigeru Fujita is a police officer who was born on Yamijima Island but moved to mainland Japan with his wife. He comes back to the Island to investigate the rumours that people were living there again. A possessed Ichiko Yagura eventually kills him later in the game.

Ichiko Yagura is a student at Kameishino Prefectural Middle School who had died after being thrown off the Bright Win Ferry during a storm. Her body is taken over by another of our antagonists and we find her on the ferry not knowing what has happened to her. She later goes on to kill Shigeru Fujita before turning on Yorito Nagai.

Soji Abe has been accused of murdering his room mate, Ryuko Tagawa. He goes to Akiko, Ryuko’s psychic to help prove his innocence. He goes to Yamijima Island at Akiko's suggestion, on the boat with Akiko, Mamoru and Shu. I love Soji, he's my favourite character giving a bit of comedy and goofiness to the game. Watch the actor's face...He does a really good job.

Other characters, that aren't playable include:

Kanae, who was found, washed up by a younger Shu Mikami who was out with his father looking for treasure. The Mikami family takes her in because of her resemblance to Shu's mother. The villagers turn against her, calling her a witch because she was afraid of the light and would only come out at night. One night Tsuneo Ohta, the head fisherman gathered the villagers to hunt Kanae down and kill her. His daughter Tomoe Ohta was also a part of the mob but fell onto a tall pole after running away from a Shiryo.

Pictures from the games Japanese homepage:
http://www.jp.playstation.com/scej/title/siren2/siren2_top/index.html

The Shibito's return to Forbidden Siren 2 but they're not alone. You have the problems of three new harmful creatures:
The Shiryo are red blobs that inhabit dead humans in order to create the Shibito. These weren't in the first game and they don't cause you too much trouble. They wander dark places and are afraid of light - they will die when exposed to it. They will bite you if they have the chance but can be beaten with a weapon.
The Yamirei look like slugs wrapped in black cloth. They are also afraid of light and will melt when exposed to your torch. They avoid light so go under lamposts if available to recover from them. They head butt you and are very sneaky, always coming fast from behind.

The Yamibito (below) are the biggest addition so I'll go into further detail:
When a Yamirei comes into contact with a dead body, that body will become a Yamibito. They're like Shibito's except they talk as usual thinking they are still the people they once were E.g. Shigeru Fugita, when a Yamibito can be heard saying phrases such as "I knew there was a reason I hated stake-outs." and "How about letting me cuff you?”
They stay away from light and they will shield their eyes if you approach them from the front making for an easy hit. They take less time to gain consciousness once down but they can be knocked out quite easily. They don't follow any set route like the Shibito do so they are less predictable.

There is also another kind of Yamibito around called the Kou-Yamibito. It is never explained what makes a Yamibito turn into a Kou-Yamibito and not every Yamibito in the game turns into one. Tomoe Ohta, Tsuneo Ohta, Takeaki Misawa, Ryuhei Mikami and Hiroshi Okita all turn into one eventually. The male Kou-Yamibito look like a hand (it's not a hand - just looks like one) walking on their fingertips (like Thing from the Addams Family). In place of where the wrist would be is the body of a usual Yamibito without a head. The head is in the palm of the hand instead. They have a black mist around them that block your sight if you're near them. The female Kou-Yamibito, Tomoe Ohta is in the form of a dog and is the fastest enemy you will encounter. All Kou-Yamibito will be attracted the light so turn yours off to avoid them and they are immune from attacks to the front. You need to shoot them in their back; a couple of shots will do it.

Our major Antagonist in this game is a creature called Mother. She is trapped and needs to open the seven gates in order to be released. She sends out a variety of 'Avatars' who kidnap women in order to use their body's to open these gates. Shu's mother was one as were Kanae, Ryuko Tagawa and Yuri Kishida. All these Avatars take on the appearance of Mother which explains Kanae's resemblance to Shu's mother and Yuri's resemblance to Kanae. It was Yuri who eventually completed the opening of the seven gates by using Mamoru to do the task for her.
Once these gates were open Mother could finally escape and with her, Yamirei would try and possess everyone on the Island.
Another Antagonist in the game is Otoshigo, the leader of the Shiryo and nemesis of Mother. Otoshigo also inhabits the sea and when Ichiko Yagura is thrown overboard the Bright Win Ferry, he takes over her body. I'm not sure why he infested Ichiko's body and what he was planning to do - The plot is very confusing. I don't even think Otoshigo was worth putting in the game to be honest.

Sight Jacking is back and you can use it to find Shibito, Yamibito and sidekick characters if they've gone missing. Some missions within the game force you to use the sight jack especially those involving Shu Mikami in some way. Ikuko Kifune can control the Shibito/Yamibito she sight jacks and Akiko Kiyota can see past memories through sight jacks when she reaches a certain place.

The Archive Items are also back but they're a lot more innovative in this one. It shows videos of events relating to the plot such as the film of Yuri Kishida's body being found on the ferry. ID's belonging to the characters can be found with some extra information such as a letter addressed to Mamoru from his girlfriend and a letter from Yorito's parents regarding his promotion within the force.
Unlike the first game, your archive items will stay in the archive once you've found it. If you die at all, the item will still be there and you don't even have to complete the mission through once you have it.

The weapons are the same...Pokers, Hammers, Crowbars, Pistols, Shotguns etc are all here. Yorito and Takeaki will always have a firearm of some sort with a good supply of ammo because of their link to the Army.

I loved this game very much and it's one of my favourites, below Silent Hill 4 probably. This second instalment has improved on the original a lot and here's why:

1) Hints are given at the beginning of each mission. Some are very vague but some are very useful. You'll get fewer hints as the game goes on but it's still a very nice addition to the game.

2) As already mentioned, archive items stay put once you collect them.

3) Checkpoints are easier to come by in this game. If you die throughout the mission, you won't have to start from the beginning like you did in the first one.

4) The maps are much better also. This time you can actually see where about you are on there. It's much harder to get lost.

5) The acting is so much better in this game than on the previous one. I've already mentioned Soji Abe and the actor that plays him so well but Shigeru Fujita and Akiko Kiyota also do good jobs with their faces. The actors also have a Japanese accent unlike in the first one where the actors had more of a British flare to them.

6) The Link Navigator can be accessed from the very beginning. It looks the same as the navigator from the first game with the characters on the top and the time at the side. Missions are split in two parts like in the previous game that unlocks when certain events happen in a previous mission.

It's unfortunate that this game was never released in the U.S. because it's much better than the first. I've been on American forums who have said how much Blood Curse improved on the series but most of the improvements mentioned were on this game too.
It's never been mentioned why it wasn't released over in the States. It may have been due to poor sales of the original or it may be because of a bad reception but it may be wise of Sony to release the game now after the release of Blood Curse. Maybe they could remake it the way they remade the original but I'd rather they do a whole new instalment.

This game really made the series for me and I have to give it a perfect score:

10/10

Why do you think it was never released in the US?
Is the acting better?
If I've completely missed the plot, please comment?

One's I've Never Finished...Part 2

Forbidden Siren

Developer: SCE Japan
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Released (UK): Mar '04
Released (US): Apr '04

I saw this game get a good 9/10 score from the Official Playstation Magazine. I decided to buy it, although it took me some time to find it. It's not well known in the UK unless you are a Survival Horror fan and has only now found itself known after the recent release of Blood Curse on the PS3.
(Note: Because of this reason, I haven't been able to find any good pictures, just various screenshots.)

What's it about?

Forbidden Siren is set in Hanuda Village, Japan where various different characters find themselves. The story is actually very confusing so I've put this excerpt from Wikipedia's article on the game:

"Siren is set in a remote, rural Japanese mountain village named Hanuda, which is characterized as being very traditional and particularly xenophobic. Following a ritual ceremony near midnight, the village teeters wildly between time and space, with an infinite sea of blood-red water in place of the usual surrounding mountains. The crux of the story focuses on the efforts of Hisako Yao, the leader of a strange local religion, to resurrect or re-awaken a being known as Datatsushi through an occult ceremony. The siren of the title is the call of Datatsushi, summoning the residents of Hanuda to immerse them selves in the red water, thus creating an army of subordinates called Shibito. The shibito then go about building a nest to house the corporal form of Datatsushi once it is summoned, as well as killing and converting any living humans left in Hanuda. The story is told through the perspectives of ten survivors, some of whom are natives of Hanuda, and is presented out of chronological order over the three days in which the mystery takes place."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Siren

There are four types of Shibito in this and they aren't defeatable meaning they will eventually wake up after being knocked out. They are attracted to noise and light so always walk (never run) when close to them and turn your torch off when around them.
The four types are:

Human Shibito - (Left) These look like Humans as normal, except for the blood coming from their eyes and the black stuff around their mouth.

Spider Shibito - They are called Spider Shibito because of how they walk. Like the Crab Yoga position they walk on all fours, their back towards the floor. At some point you see them creating webs with rope and string.

Moth Shibito - These Shibito have wings like a moth or butterfly. They also carry gun's making it harder to avoid them.

Brain Shibito - (Right with Risa) There are few of these about and they have worm like things hanging from their faces. They control the Spider Shibito so when the Brain is down, the Spiders will fall down also.

Sight Jacking is a concept within the game where the characters can see what the Shibito and other characters can see. This is vital plainly because this game involves more stealth than action. One character in particular wields no weapons whatsoever throughout their part in the game so stealth is absolutely necessary or you'll fail. Some Shibito hold rifles which can get you from far distances so sight Jacking informs you of what the shibito is focused on.
Shibito are very predictable and always use the same route either A to B or in circles. Sight Jacking various Shibitos in the area will make to wise to where they patrol as well as using their sight to find items.

There is a huge cast in this game, some characters being more important than others. Some characters you'll only play as once or twice, some characters you don't play as at all. Here's a list and the reasons they are at Hanuda Village.

Kyoya Suda (left) is our main character in the game and is the hero at the end (apparently). He's come to Hanuda to find out more about the massacre that happened there years ago.

Kei Makino is a Priest of the local religion. I haven't come across him much whilst I've been playing but he's the brother of Shiro Miyata is a doctor at the local hospital.

Risa Onda is is back at her hometown from Tokyo to see her twin sister Mina Onda who is a nurse at the hospital where Shiro works.

Tamon Takeuchi (right with Yoriko)is a teacher who grew up in Hanuda Village and has returned to find out what had happened to his parents who had died when Tamon was a child.

Yoriko Anno is Tamon's student who has come along uninvited. We find that she has a crush on her teacher which is the unofficial reason for coming along. She's quite annoying is this character - I don't like her much.

Hisako Yao is one of our bad guys although she is nice at the beginning of the game. She is a nun of the local religion and she's the reason the events of the game occur, reincarnating the god of their religion.

Miyako Kajiro (left) is the latest girl within the Kajiro family to be sacrificed for the religion. She is goes along with Kyoya for most of the game but she is completely blind which can be a pain for whoever is playing the game.

Reiko Takato is a teacher at the local elementary school whose student is Harumi Yomoda. Reiko spends half of the game protecting Harumi from the Shibito before sacrificing her life in order to save her once again.

Akira Shimura is also a resident of Hanuda and is the oldest character of the game. His Shotgun makes him the easiest character to play as although he is pretty slow. He kills himself to avoid becoming one of the un-dead, failing. He eventually becomes a Shibito.

Naoko Mihama is a model/TV Presenter who is in Hanuda to film the Television series, Occult Japan. Going a little bit crazy she drowns herself in the red water in a bid to keep her youthful looks. She is my personal favourite in this game.

Tomoko Maeda is a middle school student who becomes a Shibito. She dies off screen so we don't know how she died but she was probably killed by another Shibito

Mina, Yoriko and Miyako are the only characters we never play as through the game but all have quite important parts in the plot.

A lot of the time the playable character will have a sidekick with them. These don't attack the Shibito themselves but rely on you to do it. They'll do pretty much what you tell them to such as "Wait","Hide" and "Come Here". Female sidekicks may also need your help in pulling them up high places such as sheds, rocks etc. In some cases, hiding a sidekick in a certain place may encourage them to find items such as keys.

The graphics used in this game are very unique in the fact that the characters are played by actors (I don't just mean the voice). The actor’s faces are imposed onto the character models making them look more realistic. Going to the Menu Page allows you to see the real life actor playing the character.

The areas in the game include The Elementary School, The Maeda House, Lower Arato, Janokubi Valley and the Shibito Nest amongst others and there are some really good props hanging around such as the payphones, drawings (by the children at the school). The clothes the female characters wear are nice too - Risa Onda and Naoko Mihama for example.

In order to find out more about the plot, there are 100 Archive Items to find throughout the game. I love this part of the game because the guys at Sony have been really innovative regarding the kind of items you can get. Videos and Tapes are some of the best you can get but there are also newspaper and magazine articles which can be quite funny. I think these can be really interesting to look at.
The weapons are quite unique too. You have the staples such as the rifle and the pistol but you also have the Poker, Umbrella, Hammer and the crowbar.

Why I never completed it:

This game is extremely hard and that is the only reason I haven't been able to complete it. The game is much harder than most for the following reasons:

1) Where Silent Hill, Resident Evil and Project Zero have healing items to collect; Forbidden Siren has nothing like that. If you get trapped by several Shibito’s you will die, your energy however will go back to normal when you haven't been hit for a while.

2) If your Sidekick dies you will have to start from the top and because they don't attack Shibito they usually do unless you tell them to stay put.

3) Checkpoint is a word Sony Japan doesn't know about in this game. Checkpoints are exceptionally rare meaning that you have to do the whole mission from the start which is obviously a pain when you're near the end of a mission. Checkpoints do occur occasionally but not very often.

4) The game is quite time consuming if you're a magpie gamer like me I.E. You have to collect everything available to you. If you find an archive item then die during the mission, you will have to go and get the archive item again. It takes forever on the harder missions at the end of the game.

5) It is a very confusing storyline on religion which is a subject I personally find boring. To make the game even more confusing, the events of the game are not in chronological order so you're going back and forth but the link navigator will help you out a little. The link navigator is a graph with the character names at the top and the times on the left so you can look back at what mission came first. Unfortunately you won’t get control of it until halfway through the game.

The first time I played this I didn't get as far as the third or fourth mission without getting killed over and over again. I put it aside and just never went back to it...In fact, I sold it without giving it much of a chance - I found it just too hard.
Then Forbidden Siren 2 was due for release and despite the fact I was unsure about getting the second after failing the first, it was Christmas so I got my Mum to buy it for my present. I’m going to talk about Forbidden Siren 2 later but for now I’ll just say this. It impressed me so much I decided to get the original again and give it another go.
The second time I got a little further but I still found it rather hard and for a second time I put it aside. As I’m writing this now, I am attempting it again after the recent Blood Curse has been released although I’m using a walkthrough in order to do it.

Anybody else find the game extremely hard?
Archive Items? A pain or useful?
Who's your favourite character?