Siren walks a very fine line between addictive gameplay and pure frustration. After being ready to throw the controller through the TV screen and walking away, I always came back to try the mission that defeated me “just one more time” and continue to progress through the game. I think it has been worth it.

Siren takes place in the Japanese mountain village of Hanuda. The village has suddenly been surrounded by a great red sea and cut off. With only a few exceptions, the inhabitants have been changed into undead shells of their former selves called shibito. The handful of survivors are seeking escape – and a few answers.

When first played, Siren’s story seems to have all the continuity of a fever-induced dream. The events take place over a three-day period in the village of Hanuda. The player controls 10 different characters over 78 different missions. These missions do not take place sequentially. As a mission is completed it is filled in on a game timeline. As the player progresses into the game he’ll begin to see the stories of the 10 playable characters intersect and the story begins to take shape. It’s a weird but effective device to keep the player off balance while moving forward in the game.

The one thing that seems to tie all the playable characters together is their ability to “sightjack.” Sightjacking is the power to see through the eyes of others – both friend and enemy. To enter sightjack mode the character stops, taps the L2 button, and then rotates the left stick to tune in any nearby characters or shibito. It is a bit like tuning an old dial radio. Once tuned in, the gamer can create sightjack shortcuts to characters he wants to monitor by assigning one of the controller face buttons to that character. Sightjack is exited by a second tap of the L2 button.

A great deal of Siren is about making your way through some spooky environments without getting yourself or your companions killed by shibito. Sightjacking lets the player see what is around him without actually sticking his head up. When in sightjack mode the player’s position – relative to the sightjacked non-player character – is indicated by a blue cross. By knowing what shibito see, and when they have turned away and are no longer looking where the player wants to go, the player can make his way around the village safely.

Quite often it is not enough that the player himself makes it safely through a mission. In many cases he must see that a companion character also makes it safely to the end. Losing a companion character ends the mission as surly as a personal death. Luckily companion characters are pretty good at following orders and can be told to “come here”, “hide”, “wait”, or “run.” Of course these are context sensitive.

Shibito are strange for the undead. They tend to patrol set areas or even attempt to continue their old lives – like tending their garden. They are not just mindless flesh-eaters that attack the living with their teeth either. They use all types of weapons, from rifles to clubs. Their hatred for the living is very evident and they will attempt to dispatch any survivor on sight. They also cannot be killed. Yeah, you read that right. A successful attack on a shibito only knocks it out for a while, so it does not pay to hang around where you took one down. They will wake up.

Shibito are drawn to noise and light. While the player often has a flashlight, it is best to keep it off. The player can crouch and crawl along very quietly. This makes it possible to actually sneak by shibito that are otherwise distracted with some chore or are looking the other way.

The missions of Siren are the games biggest fault. All too often you’ll die as you learn your way through a level. Each time you’ll start back at the beginning. The number of times it takes to get through a mission by trial and error can lead to that controller-throwing frustration I mentioned. Also each time a mission is first played there is a first objective. Playing through other missions will open secondary objectives for missions already played. It is a little strange.

The watchword for completing a mission in Siren is care. Care in learning as much about the shibito in the vicinity through your sightjacking ability before even making a move and care in making as little noise to possible as you move about. Working all this out can take a bit of time and does make things drag sometimes. It also makes for some fear-soaked moments and great tension.