Siren

I'm sure I'll be jeered by some for not appreciating how 'original' this title is. I like games that are original, but I also like games that are scary, fun, and well-crafted. Nothing akin to this game has ever been attempted before, and one can see why, as Siren is completely unplayable. It's as if someone said 'You know how those horrible, clunky, Resident Evil style controls severely hamper player enjoyment? Well those controls are too intuitive, lets make the player use a pull-down menu whenever he wants to pick up or use an item!' The visuals are so full of artful (read pretentious) 'fog' and film scratches, they turn out to be no better than PS-1 graphics. The sound might be passable, except for the fact that all the Japanese characters have been inexplicably dubbed with cheesy British accents. The sight-jacking feature allows you to see through the eyes of your enemy, as strategy it's all but completely useless, as unless you've run through a level (and died) many, many, many times, you have no clue what the zombies are looking at (Ooh! He sees a twig, and his own hand! That will save my life!) This is one of the most frustrating and pointless games I have ever played in my life, and to make matters worse, ever game-mag I've read is giving this one high marks! As a huge Silent Hill fan and working on such info, I was ready to plunk down cold hard cash to buy this title sight unseen, until I read some reviews from actual gamers. Thank God I rented it first! This is why I write this review, as a service to you. Do not buy into the hype! This game is as scary as athlete's foot, and twice as irritating. Unless of course your idea of the ultimate in terror involves crouching behind shrubbery to avoid un-killable jerks (it's a moot point anyway, as you almost never have a weapon, and the fighting mechanics are awful) who giggle like drunken yokels while looking for you with a flashlight. Or perhaps running through poorly rendered woods while trying to lead a spastically controlled, simpering woman-child, who constantly shrieks 'It's about time! Hurry up!…Wait! Don't run so fast!' I rented this game for 99 cents, I'd like to be pithy and say I overpaid But after that imbecile had run away from me into the waiting maw of a giggling pseudo-zombie for the tenth time whilst mewling orders at me, I found out that you can 'accidentally' use weapons on your companions. Bludgeoning that twit to death was worth every penny!