Forbidden Siren 2 review

Do you like to be scared? Do you love the thrill of being forced to leap out of your seat crying like a baby? If you do, then you’ve come to the perfect place. Forbidden Siren 2 is the sequel to the moderately well received original.

It managed to gather a few good reviews and gamers seemed to enjoy the fresh and original ideas that it brought to the horror genre. As a gamer who likes to be scared (up to a point) I did enjoy the original but found it got a little bit too difficult as I made my way further into the game. Frustration forced finally forced me to stop playing and I never went back to it though often planned to.

Scream for me Longbeach!

Set on the island of Yamijima, Forbidden Siren 2 follows the stories of a group of characters who for one reason or another end up there. The island appears deserted but it isn’t long before the living dead (Shibito) make themselves known. It’s up to you to guide the various characters through each story thread and solve the mystery of the island.

The game begins superbly, with you immediately thrown into a rather nerve shredding scene as you play a little boy alone in a darkened bedroom. The introduction chapter is short but it sets the scene superbly well. The missions that follow are also relatively short and easy but they serve as a tutorial that really does help the new player find their feet with how the game works. That makes it a great refresher for those who played the first game and manages to introduce new elements when the game feels you are ready for them.

Where you’re going you don't need eyes to see….

Given the overall toughness of the first game it’s a welcome relief to be able to report that Forbidden Siren 2 is a lot easier. It’s nowhere near as frustrating and some of the chapters you play are actually extremely short. Of course you can ramp up the difficulty if you so choose. The choice of characters you get to control in the game is superb and these include vulnerable people such as a blind man or even children.

The vulnerabilities of the characters are very much felt by the player during these episodes creating a great sense of unease and tension. The Shibito are still attracted to light so if you have a torch or there are street lights around you need to be careful. The pad will gently vibrate to let you know when one is near at which point your heart will probably leap into your mouth as you desperately try to switch off your torch and hide. Unlike the Shibito, the Spirits (Yamibito) hate the light and you can use this to destroy them and protect yourself.

I see dead people. They see me! Run!

The map has also been improved and it’s easier to find your way around and see your goal. There is plenty of variety in the episodes and you will often be accompanied by other folk and you can use a menu system to issue commands to them. These commands are usually context sensitive and work reasonably well, though they can seem very hard to get to when you are in a state of panic.

The controls are probably the biggest downfall of the game, they often feel sluggish and confused and the aiming of weapons with the Dual Shock controller can sometimes be a right pain in the neck. Looking around is also difficult with a small movement of the right stick producing a wild and veering effect on the camera. It’s a real shame that the controls don’t work better as it did have a detrimental effect on my enjoyment of the game.

They're coming to get you Barbara!

I’ve managed to get this far without mentioning one of the games most prominent and original features compared to other games in the genre, sightjacking. This is the ability to tune into the minds of your enemies giving you the ability to see what they see. You can lock on to the enemies and this then allows you to know roughly where they are located. If there are many enemies around you will need to use sightjacking to place yourself carefully where you might be able to observe what the enemies do and plan your route through them.

Get spotted by the Shibito and they will attempt to hunt you down perhaps cackling maniacally as they do so. I don’t think they actually need to have bleeding eyes to be scary; they manage to do that quite well as it is. Some of the characters use sightjacking in differing ways giving you the necessary tools to solve certain puzzles. Graphically the game is a bit of a mixed bag. Everything carries a grainy, gritty look though this is obviously a design decision. They mostly work well though giving a sense of reality to the island. I also enjoyed how the cut scenes were exhibited with the characters displaying a surprising amount of emotion in their faces. I found the voice acting to be relatively good with few moments inducing any cringes.

This....is my Boomstick!

The sound is put to excellent use with the mutterings and scrambling of the Shibito in the background. Music is quite rare but superb when used but it’s the sound effects that really steal the show. In a game such as this it lives or dies on the atmosphere created between its audio and visuals and if the graphics sometimes fall down (as they do here) then the sound can help bring the player right back into that horrifying atmosphere. The game does have the capacity to scare and to make you jump so if you really hate that feeling, you won’t get on with Forbidden Siren 2.

While it’s a much easier game there are a few hard levels in there so don’t think it will be a complete walkover from start to finish. The story can eventually become confusing as there are so many plotlines crossing each other and some of those are just plain strange. Forbidden Siren 2 is a much better game than its predecessor but it still has problems such as the control system and confusing story that stop it from being great instead of just being good. If you enjoyed the original and fancy a slightly easier ride this time around then you should enjoy this. If you are new to the game then it settles you into things fairly easily. Forbidden Siren remains a good addition and gritty alternative to the horror genre. Just don’t play it late at night with the lights out.