SIREN: Blood Curse

Siren: Blood Curse is one of the first great survival horror games to come out of this new generation. Even those gamers who don't care for the genre may actually get drawn in thanks to the serialized, episodic pacing and well-presented mystery waiting to be solved.

Easily one of the best horror games on any next-gen console thus far. Never mind the fact it’s easily one of the best downloadable games on any console period.

Siren: Blood Curse is a triumphant remake of a sublimely brilliant survival horror game.

The game is short and it is a hefty download if you want to buy it off the PSN, but it is by far the best survival horror game you can find on the PS3 consoles.

Quite possibly the scariest and most unnerving game I’ve ever played.

One of the scariest and most atmospheric games on the Playstation 3 yet.

A pretty awesome horror game. The game's focus on story and substance rather than just shooting zombies really makes this one worth picking up if you are getting a little bored with your run-of-the-mill horror shooters.

Excellent audio.

Even with new chapters set to join Blood Curse's current package further down the line, what's already here is a sophisticated re-imagining of the ethics the series was founded on, providing the PlayStation Network with a cash cow that delivers dividends of entertainment to anyone who is willing to take a punt.

A hugely atmospheric horror experience that combines old cliches with a new perspective. [Oct 2008, p.70]

Siren: Blood Curse is an irresistible treat for survival horror fans. Its flaws don't manage to ruin the experience, and the story is chilling, competent enough to make a few heads spin.

While the first few levels were somewhat clunky, it managed to come together with an increasingly suspenseful set of chapters and cutscenes, frightening jumps and gameplay sequences that could keep you on the edge of your seat for at least a good 12-16 hours.

Siren: Blood Curse is a great game. Not just a great PlayStation Network game, but a solid game overall.

Not quite unparalleled excellence, then, but more than enough chills to keep horror adventure fans gibbering.

It's genuinely unsettling. [Aug 2008, p.94]

This is a title worthy of your money. If you're a huge fan of survival horror titles, Blood Curse won't disappoint.

If you’ve been craving for a new horror game, can stand some outlandish plot elements and have the HD space and patience to install it, then don’t hesitate and jump in. Even if it’s not perfect, the game has plenty of strong points that makes it a great game.

Some episodes are a bit short, but Siren's tense horror is ace. [Sept 2008, p.70]

It packs enough scares to warrant having an extra set of underpants on standby; and the mixture of stealth and action keeps things interesting throughout.

SIREN: Blood Curse has a few problems with the gameplay, but is generally better than its predecessor and is a pretty chilling experience.

While the game remains focused on atmosphere and aesthetics, concessions have been made to a more dynamic style of play. [Sept 2008, p.86]

Even still, it's a good, spooky horror adventure, and worth a look if you've got 10 hours and 40 bones to blow.

Genuine Asian horror contains everything you'd expect from this genre: disgusting little girls, abominable monsters and incomprehensible cultural habits. The only flaw on this excellent genre-mixture game is a very short life span. [Sept 2008]

Ultimately, Siren: Blood Curse is a welcome nod back to the fundamentals of survival horror, and provides a captivating experience on the strength of a solid plot and atmospheric gameplay experience.

When a game can give you that unpleasant and creepy feeling you'll know that it's a decent horror title. And Siren: Blood Curse is just that. A very convincing Japanese horror game with a throat-grabbing atmosphere and the undead popping up more often than an economic crisis getting the front page of a newspaper.

Blood Curse may lurk within the shadows of convention, but those shadows have seldom seemed more oppressive. And damn good value for money, too.

Despite being a remake of a four year old PS2 game, the ideas and scope of the original still feel fresh and exciting. Thankfully, the developers have not simply given this remake a PS3 graphical update.

The story is still compelling and slowly spirals downwards into the more twisted and perverse, with several moments that leave you in shock. The game has a lot of room to grow, though, and can tighten up some of the aspects of combat and get rid of the damned grain filter.

At $39.99 any fan of Silent Hill should enjoy Siren: Blood Curse.

Siren is nothing new but is a short, spooky distraction.

It's got some wonky controls that make fairly routine gameplay tasks unnecessarily laborious, especially the annoying checkpoint system and map checking that removes you from the terror quite often.

Despite some shortcomings, Siren: Blood Curse is an enjoyably creepy adventure with some interesting gameplay mechanics.

The game’s faults intermittently make themselves known but are easy to ignore in such an engrossing and skilfully directed game. [Oct 2008, p.117]

In spite of its last-gen origins, these scares are 100-percent next-gen. [Nov 2008, p.89]

Strong survival horror game, but the controls could do better.

Mixing Japanese and more traditional, Western-style horror elements to eerie effect, Siren: Blood Curse delivers on its core promise to freak players out. But Sony's decision to deliver this game as a series of downloadable episodes is a frustrating head-scratcher, as the process of installing each of the 12 episodes on a Playstation 3 in two hour chunks -- even longer than it takes to play them -- is its own terror.

Survival-horror fans will probably enjoy Blood Curse’s clumsy mechanics and clichéd setting, especially at this price, but we’re not prepared to excuse it. The flagship title of episodic gaming on the PSN ought to know better.

For all its lack of innovation, there's an involving, if convoluted story here, and some commendably spooky moments.

The first half of the game is certainly an edge of your seat horror fest, it's only in the latter stages where the game starts to come undone with a plot that soon falls into Evil Dead 2 levels of hilarity.

Siren is a game that was an experiment of sorts in the realm of downloadable and episodic games. I would have to say on most accounts that the game failed.