Threespeech have got their hands on the first few chapters of the upcoming PS3 horror Siren: Blood Curse and they were very impressed with both the gameplay and story.

[Siren: Blood Curse forum]

First off, we’ll address the biggest change – the game’s episodic, network based method of delivery. Instead of a traditional disc based release, the game is split up into twelve episodes, each one that we played (excluding the first one) lasting approximately half an hour.

Right, onto the good stuff. Having only played three out of twelve episodes, it’s rather difficult (if not impossible) to judge the storyline as a whole. However, what we can see is the direction in which it’s heading, and from here it looks fantastic. Playing as part of a TV crew filming a documentary / exposé on the ancient myths associated with the dark village of Hanuda, events swiftly take a turn for the worse as you are thrown in at the deep end (naturally), and you must survive by defending yourself from the Shibito (living dead) in addition to saving some of the remaining villagers you encounter. The storyline follows and lets you play as numerous characters (seven to be precise), not all of which are initially ‘connected’, offering different viewpoints of the events in the village and many separate but intermingling timelines to follow. While the latter may sound slightly confusing, unlike previous Siren games all events happen in a clear chronological order providing a clear narrative of key events while keeping the aspect of mystery high on the agenda. Those wishing to delve into the storyline’s intricate details will be pleased to know that searching around will reveal extra clues, such as diaries or letters written by previous visitors.

The gameplay itself is similar to that of the typical third person action game (although saying that, there is a first person view), giving the option of using close quarters combat (usually ending badly) or a weapon that you’ve picked up – ranging from guns to glass bottles to metal poles. It’s worth noting that, going for the realistic viewpoint, you can only have one weapon at once, and when using a gun you have no crosshairs for aiming – although an auto targeting system is implemented very well here, avoiding frustration and lots of missing. The D-Pad can be used for various functions, the de-facto two being use of your flashlight and shouting. Both of these have important implications with the gameplay, as at times to sneak past patrolling Shibito you must turn off your flashlight, at the other end of the spectrum you can ‘yell’ to distract the Shibito or lure them to move from their post, while you sneak around. Aside from defending yourself, you’ll also need to solve the occasional mystery by working out how to do this, or finding that – you know the drill, it’s the tried and tested gameplay seen in previous instalments.

Talking of detecting enemies, there’s no cop-style radar or fancy heads up display to alert you of your imminent encounter; you’re forced to rely on the sound of a heartbeat gradually increasing in volume and frequency as you grow closer, and even better those fortunate enough to own a DualShock 3 will feel vibrations to the beat. The simplicity of the system really adds to the realism, and adds even more eeriness to the experience.

Miss Razz via threespeech.com »