PS3 Fanboy

A Siren: New Translation demo hit the Japanese PSN last night. We've had the pleasure of downloading it, and you can too if you've got a Japanese PSN account. We've finished the demo, so if you can't get to playing it, you can read our thoughts on it right here.

First thing you'll notice is that the voice acting is in English for non-Japanese characters, just like in the trailer. The main menu is also in English, but the tutorial is all in Japanese. With the tutorial in a foreign language, it was tough figuring out a few things at first; however, we've gone through the hard parts, and hopefully this preview will provide enough insight to get you through the demo for yourself.

As you can imagine, we died a lot with trial and error. The combat was easy, just use square or R1 to make an attack; however, enemies are too powerful if you don't have a weapon. We tried straight up bare-fisted brawling with the zombies ... the game ended fatally. Now, what's interesting about the combat is that enemies can knock you down, leaving you vulnerable; to get back up you'll have to shake the controller violently (making good use of the SIXAXIS). Also, enemies can climb up on top of you; to get them off, simply shake the controller as done with the "getting up" motion.

Speaking of controller functions, the DualShock 3's vibration is also utilized. Rumble is used to simulate a heartbeat, which signifies close-by enemies. This is good considering that the stages on the demo are dark and make it difficult to see everything around you. The rumble will at least indicate when you should be on guard. Also keep in mind that when you see a hazy film grain effect, this means enemies have spotted you.

To pick up items or interact with the environment, you need to press the x button. Since fighting zombies off with bare fists wasn't enough, we had to find the first weapon, a steel pipe, in order to continue. Once you kill off an enemy, you may notice that sometimes you'll see short cinematic finishers or deaths. You can also take a zombie's weapons after you've taken them out. Always be on the lookout though; previously immobilized enemies can revive, so watch out.

After a while, our character Sam Monroe will reunite with a friend named Melissa Gale. Their story is shortly alluded to, and it's not clear exactly what's happening yet. We know their story has some connection with a little girl you'll meet later in the demo. Anyway, the two will join forces and will have to find an escape route together. After this, the only other mentionable thing is that we got a taste of the shooting combat. It's over the shoulder. You use L1 to aim, and to attack use R1 or square.

Overall, the Siren demo was not too scary. It was more action-oriented rather than suspenseful horror. But don't just take our word for it; go have a crack at it for yourself. Again, the demo is up on the Japanese PlayStation Store. Go play it and tell us what you think.