Video Game Review: Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem for the Nintendo Gamecube
Does anyone remember Silicon Knights’ better years? Ironically, it was when they were developing
for the Nintendo Gamecube. You could say
that SK hasn’t evolved past the GCN/PS2/XBOX console generation and their
latest games, X-men: Destiny and Too Human, are examples of that. However, when SK got it right, people took
notice. Well, not everyone, but people
who knew an amazing and inspiring game when they see one. They saw it with Psychonauts. They saw it with Oddworld. They saw it with ICO and Shadow of the
Colossus, but with varying levels of opinion (hence, my reviews). The game I’m about to cover is no
different. In fact, I can stand on my
soapbox, and honestly and humbly say, that this game may very well be the best
Nintendo Gamecube game ever made. Better
than Super Mario Sunshine? Better than
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker?
Better than Resident Evil 4? Better
than Animal Crossing? Better than
Metroid Prime? Better than Super Smash
Brothers: Melee? Ok, so the competition
is steep. However, as an original title
with no sequels and other great qualities to it like its story, its depth, and
such, it acts as a viable contender.
However, until we know for sure, we have to see why it works or
doesn’t. So, here’s my review of one
amazing game for Nintendo’s little cube that could….or couldn’t…
Graphics
Graphically, this game was a port from the Nintendo 64. This was one of the few games that was
supposed to be on the N64 before its end, but was ported to the Gamecube. This joins Resident Evil Zero, Animal
Crossing, and Dinosaur Planet (now known as Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur
Planet). The graphical upgrade did these
games a world of good and Eternal Darkness is one of these games. You can see the detail put into each
skeleton, each weapon, each character, and even the Tome of Eternal Darkness
itself. The pre-rendered backgrounds
also scream with detail. Now, the
graphics aren’t perfect, unfortunately.
For instance, body parts look pretty stringy and disproportioned, but
not enough to make you hate the game.
What helps is that the graphics do a lot to build atmosphere. That’s definitely something you want in a
game like this. Oh and how about the
fact that this game uses progressive scan?
Now, that’s a gaming experience I’d like to sink my teeth into.
Sound
Speaking of atmosphere, the music does a wonderful job of
that. The scores chosen do a great job
of lending themselves to the situations at hand. The music is also very muted and sparse to
create that feeling of realism, fear, claustrophobia, and insanity. There’s also a consistency to the musical
tones and scores, so there’s no disjoints.
The sound effects use the full extent of the Dolby Digital Surround
Sound the game utilizes. You can hear
every candle crackling, every zombie moaning, and even the whispers of the
ancients you invoke through chants.
Then, there’s the voice acting. I
have to give it up to Kris Zimmerman and her voice direction. She always wrangles up the voice actors that
do a great job expositing the story with their vocal abilities. This game is no different, as they capture
the feeling needed for a game like this.
Control
The controls for this game map out to the Nintendo
Controller pretty well. It does help
that there are on-screen prompts as to what buttons you can or should press
next in certain instances. What’s even
more useful is when you create spells for the game. Upon finding runes, you can combine them with
the protection of the ancient you choose, and create a spell that can
strengthen your offense or defense, or even summon a creature. Then, you can take the spells you made and
assign them to the directional pad. This
gives you easy access to spells without having to create them over and over
again. You also have a targeting system
that allows you to aim for a certain part of the body on certain
creatures. This can allow for easy kills
or more strategic ones. Sometimes, you
want to aim for the head, and sometimes you want to cripple someone. Be
warned: the targeting isn’t spot on, but
good for the most part. Also, the
controls are very responsive and don’t leave you completely hampered. If it doesn’t seem like such, it could boil
down to the character you have in the game.
Oh, and I should mention the different meters to watch for. You have a health meter, a magick meter, and
a sanity meter. You lose health when
taking damage or sanity. You lose magick
when you do magical incantations. You lose
sanity every time you confront an enemy and don’t dispatch of it properly. Once the sanity starts to drop, you can see
the effects firsthand. And, boy, do they
make your skin crawl. Try playing this
game at night, in the dark, alone. It
might not be Silent Hill, but it will get to you.
Etc.
The biggest selling point to me is the story. It’s not just the depth, breadth, and feel of
the story, but how it is told. It starts
simple enough with an explanation of what the Tome of Eternal Darkness is and
who is telling the story connected to it.
After the intros, you get to the main character, Alexandra Roivas, dreaming
about the future, then getting called to her grandfather’s house to learn of
his grim death. It’s now up to her to
find out how he was killed. Little did
she know that she was about to encounter a supernatural journey that would
affect her life directly, through the eyes of 11 different people who, like
her, wanted answers. The extras for this
game are minute, but plentiful in quality.
My favorite extra is the ability to see every cinema scene in the game. I love sitting down and watching every scene
play out like an interactive movie of sorts.
It makes for a great viewing experience.
This was an extra Silicon Knights utilized again with their next and
possibly last decent game, an adaption of Metal Gear Solid for the Nintendo
Gamecube. Other extras include oral
autopsy reports on the different creatures in the game from one of the
characters, access to the true ending of the game, eternal mode, and the
possibility to play the game by individual chapters, with each character starring
in them. And, if you pay close attention
to a certain chapter, you will find an extra only accessible upon replay. Magically, you wouldn’t want to pass it
up. Does the game have lasting appeal? No doubt.
The game is easy enough to play through, as the controls are not
complicated and responsive. And, again, the
selling point is the story and how it is told.
It’s a great find for those who love the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Basically, if the creature, Cthulu, is
compelling enough for your enjoyment, you’ll definitely love this game. Everything gels well and you aren’t left
wanting more. But, you will want to play
it as many times as you can.
Final Verdict
Eternal Darkness is one of the best games made for the
Nintendo Gamecube. With the competition
it has for the top spot, it definitely finds its way to the top 10. If you own a Gamecube, or even a Nintendo Wii
with Gamecube controllers, this game is definitely something you need to have
in your library. It’s a very different
take on the survival horror genre, as it mixes adventure elements in. In fact, one would say that it is more
pronounced as an adventure than as a survival horror game. Regardless of genre, it is a classic game
that has cemented itself in gaming history as one of the many games one has to
own, rent, finish, complete, etc. as a true benchmark to how a great game is
made. There hasn’t been any sequels yet,
sadly, and there may or may not be any games that have the same approach as
this game to rely on when it comes to current gen systems. Nonetheless, Eternal Darkness is ahead of
its time and a key title to own as a Nintendo fan. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to step out
of all this darkness, and find the light switch, but right after I pick up my
head from the floor. Wait….this isn’t
really happening…
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