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Eternal Darkness is definitely on the list of over rated games of the game cube. Let me show you why.
Graphics: These are easily some of the shoddiest graphics seen on the gamecube this generation. The game was originally developed for the N64 and released in 2002 and it definitely shows. But the characters are extremely flawed graphically, and the entire polish of the game is unquestionably rough. Games like Super Smash Brothers Melee and Metroid Prime were released before or right around the same time and are still some of the best looking games around, but Eternal Darkness certainly fails here and it's one of the reasons why it loses in the scary factor. 6/10
Sound: The sound is terrific. From the voice acting to the various effects, this game has it nailed. Nuff said. 10/10
Gameplay: Terrible is the best way to put it. One major focus of this game is exploration, but it mainly consists of running by objects and seeing if you can press the B button. Placing objects is even more archaic since you constantly have to return to the menu. Easily the weakest element of this game is the combat. Absolutely horrific. Each character gets one decent melee weapon to use and it uses the same A-A-A button combination attack. The finishing move hardly differs, and combat gets old very quickly due to the weak targeting and the lack of enemies. The only enemy you will be fighting is a skeleton in 5 different colors. Mars the entire game. 4/10
Story: Superb. The story unrolls through 11 different characters through different time periods. It's very engrossing, but they should have shortened the number of characters and made it so that the game's best ending could be seen in one playthrough. Only the most dedicated will sit through 3 playthroughs of this game. 8/10
Scariness: Eternal Darkness, contrary to what many would have you believe really isn't that scary. If skeletons are scary then you might actually be scared. If not, you'll probably laugh. 6/10
Overall: A pretty big disappointment and not worth your time. Average: 6.8.
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Eternal Darkness was one of the first game's released for the Nintendo Gamecube and it was developed by silicon knights (the fantastic team behind other great gamecube exclusive, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes.) This is one of the most creative, innovative, and engrossing games I have ever played and it definitely deserves a lot of attention. However, one important aspect of this game is that the weak of heart or those who are offended by extremely dark themes and some major gore and violence would probably want to avoid this game. For everyone else though, this is an amazing game that can shell out tons of intense gameplay, and storylines.
Story: This is definitely one of the best aspects of this game and should be a selling point. The story revolves mainly around a book called the Book of Tomb. You begin the game by playing as Alexandra Roivas who has come to her grandfather's mansion to identify his body. Alex's grandfather had been brutally murdered and so Alex decides to investigate the mansion to attempt to find clues to who killed her only living relative. Early on in the game, Alex finds the Book of Tomb and from that point on, not only can Alex perform spells, she also begins to find chapter pieces that tell stories of different characters whose lives somehow intertwined with the lives of other characters in different chapters as well as with Alex's murdered grandfather, Edward Roivas. The first chapter that Alex discovers follows the final steps of Pious Augustus, a Toman soldier who discovers a mysterious temple in the desert and whose desire for greatness may lead him down a dark and dangerous path. The unusual part of this game is the fact that as you find chapters and read them (thus assuming the role of whichever character is highlighted in that chapter), more often than not, you play through with that character until their untimely demise. This makes the first parts of the game seem quite futile, but as you move forward in the game, you will find that not all of your character's sacrifices are in vain...
Graphics: Since this is one of the first games released for the gamecube, the graphics may seem somewhat inferior to games like resident evil 4 and the metroid prime games. However, upon further examination, it is easy to see that a lot of effort went into the graphics system and the environments are particularly detailed and intricate. I also found that as you went farther into the game, the character models and designs became more realistic and believable. This was a nice touch since the characters later on in the story play more important roles than some of your first characters. (with the exception of Pious, that is) I personally enjoyed the graphics and found that they matched the atmosphere and quality of the game perfectly.
Sound: I found that this is one aspect of the game that excelled immensely. All of the sounds that the game makes are engrossing and intense and there is always a sense of fear and despair as you travel through the various locales of the game as you realize the potential for another enemy to jump out at you or for a particular insanity effect (more info in the gameplay section), to kick in. Other sounds such as the sounds that enemy's make and other sounds are creepy and dark.
Gameplay: As great as the story of this game is, personally I found the gameplay aspect of the game the most intriguing and best. Essentially the gameplay is divided inbetween playing as Alex and trying to find chapter pieces and then playing as whichever character is in that chapter. You'll find that playing as Alex is not quite as enjoyable as the other characters because there are no enemies and there are a lot less puzzles. These segments are kind of like the prelude or appetizer to the meat of the game which is when you are playing as one of the characters in one of the chapters. Most of the gameplay revolves around hacking and slashing your opponents and solving some very ingenious puzzles. One particularly creative puzzle involved summoning a zombie to step on a switch and start a trap which was attached to a chain that opened a door that you could not get through. There is also a complex magic system that involves finding different runes that when placed in the right order will be able to accomplish a certain task. Different spells include reveal invisible, recover, and magickal attack. There are many more spells in the game and discovering all of them and using them ends up being a creative and engrossing process. There is one facet of gameplay that stands out the most. This is the insanity aspect of the game. Basically, every time an enemy sees you, your sanity meter lowers and the chance for an insanity effect to kick in is much greater. To regain sanity, a finishing move has to be used on a downed enemy. There are many insanity affects in ther game. Walls bleed, statues turn their heads and look at you, characters will walk into a room and explode limb by limb or simply dissappear into the ground. Not all of the insanity effects affect only the characters and you will find that your tv will turn the volume down itself or the game will tell you that all of your data has been erased. These are particularly cool. Different enemies effect your insanity meter differently and you will continually struggle to keep your sanity up. All in all, eternal darkness: sanity's requiem is a game that you should buy and will enjoy immensely.
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I happened apon this little gem by mistake, getting it free in a pawn shop deal. I began playing at 11:30 at night, with all the lights down, becuase I have had to work to get a horror feeling in the last games. Yet from the beginning, H.P. Lovecraft's influence guides this powerful epic to an almost mythical proportion.
The preface itself is unusual, where you play as 13 characters, over a span of two millinnia, each having absolutely nothing in common with the other. These include a firefighter during Desert Storm, a Camodian temple dancer, and an aging Victorian era doctor. They are all bound together by the Tome of Eternal Darkness, and combat an enemy that the player actually chooses.
The technical aspects of the game are done well. The control are fluid and respond well, and combat can be an enjoyable (and sometimes humerous) experience. Each of your characters will behave and handle differently, depending on their weight, physical build, ect. in a completely realistic fashion.
The creature designs are a bit of a let down, as they don't quite shock the player as much as they could. The designers instead made the beasts' kinetics the source of fright (the movement of the zombies, a monster exploding from another's chest)and they do this well.
The Sanity Meter is the selling point of the game, and it should be easy to see why. The Sanity Effect are varied and plentiful, and the developers took the extra step in breakijng the fourth wall: with some effects, you will not know if your television is malfunctioning, if the game is scratched, or if you yourself are losing your sanity along with your character.
This is a magnificent game, filled with frights that could make even the most devoted Poe aficionado turn off the console, flip on the lights, and mutter quietly "It's only a game . . .it's only a game." Five out of five overall, four out of five fun, only because I broke two controllers due to Sanity Effects.
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Eternal Darkness for the gamecube is by far the most under rated game in the modern day.
When I first purchased the game, I thought it was a resident evil rip off. I was wrong! Eternal Darkness is by far more better than Resident Evil.
I gave eternal darkness a 5 star must buy game.
The storyline is just perfect and should make a movie out of it. The villian Pious Augustus is one bad cat. Great voice acting that grabs your attention.
Eternal Darkness ranks next to Metroid Prime as the best game on the Gamecube. ED actually gives Resident Evil a run for its money.
This game sometimes just gets plain weird, this is what makes it scary. Play this game 2 in the morning and turn off all the lights. Your in for a time of your life.
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I sold my gamecube to my cousin but for this game I'll buy GCube system again. I miss it to play a lot. It is the best of all.
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