Downloading and installing each episode is a bit of a pain, particularly since the game is sold in three chunks, but installed in 12. I guess this is a way around the fact that you're basically downloading a 10GB game from the Playstation Store, so you can start playing as soon as you've snagged the first episode. It also lets you install and uninstall episodes in case you're hard up for hard disk space.

For a supposedly next-gen game, Siren doesn't look very next-gen. The graphics are mud-dark and in love with that home-movie grainy look. Sight jacking – the gimmick whereby you telepathically peer through a zombie's eyes so you can avoid it – has an aggressively disorienting effect. At least it works in splitscreen, unlike the original Siren, which was even more disorienting for having to jump back and forth through various pairs of eyes.

The character controls aren't exactly smooth, and more than once I've sneaked up on a zombie only to attack right past it and into its line of sight, letting it gank me as I. Slowly. Turn. Around. It's very embarrassing to go from "watch me kill this zombie!" to "watch this zombie backstab me for quadruple damage!" But when I got a gun, a mandatory part of episode 2, I didn't have any problem fending off zombies (so long as they were running straight at me down a long hallway). Also, hallelujah for unlimited ammo! Praise the lord and don't bother to pass the ammo, because I've got all I need.

However, I can see Siren getting really frustrating in cramped poorly-lit areas, particularly if there are any action sequences.

Episode 2 includes the helpful tutorial sections, so things are a lot clearer than they were after the fifteen minutes it took to play episode 1. This time, I only found two archive entries, and I've got a lot of blanks between entries on the archive screen. I hope I'm not supposed to be replaying episodes to hunt down back story. Also, a Sony rep at E3 told me each episode should take between one and two hours. That's certainly not the case so far. I don't see how anyone could take more than an hour to finish the first two episodes.

Spoiler talk after the jump.

Yeah, it looks like the Howard Wright storyline is indeed a direct port from the original Siren. He sustains a mortal wound from a zombie cop, falls by a river, and then wakes up to meet a mysterious but helpful priestess. That's exactly what happened in Siren 1. Lucky for me, I didn't play/comprehend enough of the original Siren beyond this, so I have no idea what's going on.

What's Amana's connection to the cultists and why does she recognize that Howard's been terribly wounded, but she's not surprised he's alive? Why is she helping Howard? What she a part of the ritual he disrupted? Did someone prank the guys at Sony by not telling them they were naming her after a line of kitchen appliances? Because wouldn't naming her Maytag have been much funnier?

As for the American storyline, is the idea that Melissa was coincidentally saddled with her own husband as the scientist hired to work on her news story about Hanuda village? What are the odds of that? That's okay, I can run with it. Estranged husband and wife brought together by imperiled daughter is usually a pretty effective gimmick.

Also, did Sol die saving Bella? They can't very well kill off the minority yet, can they? And I loved the intro for the man with the rifle gunning down school girl zombies. Was he their teacher? He called one of them Miyako-san.

I watched the teaser for the next episode and was elated to discover there will be playable Bella! Okay, Siren, whatever the hell is going on, I'm on board.

(Click here for previous Siren game diary.)
(Click here for the next Siren game diary.)