Reviews// Forbidden Siren 2 (PS2)

Why? Why does the daft git in the horror flick always do it? You’re sitting there watching the movie, when the main character senses some danger down a murky corridor. He even says - more likely whispers - under his breath that he ‘senses some evil danger down this murky corridor’. So, "WHY?" you shout at the screen, as he continues to head towards said unholy passage, only to be mauled by some satanic tentacled devil or alien or something equally unpleasant? Hell, if the SPOnG gang were the lead characters, the change in soundtrack would be enough for us to stand up and say, “Actually fellas, you can forget that shit, we’re going the other way. Survival of those with the youngest Brain Age! And our Adam too!”

But that’s what makes good horror entertainment, we guess. Forbidden Siren 2 is no different – Yamijima Island is one of those ‘cursed lands’ featuring a deserted village and a hairy past: a past that slowly unravels its story, as a bunch of people end up stranded on the isle looking for a way to get off. It turns out that Yamijima had all sorts going for it, until one day all the inhabitants simply disappeared. All were replaced with zombies (Shibito) and nasty looking black ghosts (Yamibito). Yet, to escape the island, these people are still unnecessarily darting off into danger! Do these horror heroes have any sense at all? We give up.

The graphics both in-game and during the impressive cut-scenes effectively pull off the eerie atmosphere and tense action that occurs around the characters you play. The audio perfectly accompanies this by providing all the shuffling, scary groaning and - at times - total silence that only emphasises and compounds your pant-soiling gaming experience.

For those who haven’t played the first Forbidden Siren, the progression of the story and game is quite unique, adopting a ‘timeline’ format. You don’t play as one poor guy stranded on Yamijima, but as all sorts of different characters that end up on the island one way or another, with all their paths crossing at least once in the story. Level progression isn’t chronological either – the many levels you play in take place at different times during the evening the whole story pans out.

One stage could have you completing a mission at 11PM, while the next would have you play as an entirely new character from six hours previous. It’s this criss-crossing of the timeframe that lets you see the game in a different light. You may very well see the big story twists halfway through the game, but later levels will open your eyes to interesting events that lead up to such tragedies. It’s also this strange 'half-knowing, half-left-in-the-dark' nature that aids the horror on a slightly psychological level.

The flaws of Forbidden Siren 2 are most evident when you start playing. The controls are really rather clunky, and as you play later stages, the first person viewpoint is quite dodgy, meaning you can’t exactly make precise aims unless you’re playing a stage where the game allows you to have a special sniping mode. Besides that, the autolock is pretty faithful in the lack of a concrete fighting system, and the game gets much more entertaining the more you play.