Before the incredible Resident Evil 4 redefined survival horror, Silent Hill producer Keiichiro Toyama tried to take the hackneyed genre in a new direction with Forbidden Siren, using an episodic structure and stealth-based challenges that felt more sophisticated than the hamfisted action of most gore games. But while the first Siren was marred by trial-and-error gameplay and unfeasibly difficult challenges, the second installment goes some way to perfecting Toyamas horrifying vision.
This time the action is much simpler, offering various difficulty settings, fewer enemies and checkpoints where you can save your progress mid-level.
Varied characters also make for a more engaging story each hero offering different strengths and weaknesses, from the cop who can use machine guns to cut down zombies, to a blind man who relies on his dog to dodge the undead and the addition of vehicles also makes for some thrilling sequences, especially as enemies can drag you from behind the wheel if you dont take the time to master the controls.
The dumbass computer-controlled characters you have to guide from time to time are still a pain in the ass and its often impossible to see whats going on when these characters get between you and an oncoming monster but the games subtle approach to terror and shadowy demons that flicker around the claustrophobic environments still make Forbidden Siren 2 stand out amongst its blood-soaked peers.