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By Osei Tyson on July 12th, 2002
Introduction Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem had us waiting a long long time to finally hit our homes. It originally started as a Nintendo 64 game, but when N64 was already in a dead zone, Nintendo decided the game would be better if it was transferred to the GameCube. So after four years in development(yeah it was that long), Nintendo’s first crack at an mature rated game is here. But did developer Silicon Knights deliver on the goods Nintendo console owners been waiting for? Is this just another survival horror? Or is it a psychological thriller like the Knights said it was. Read on and step into the Darkness...... Presentation When you boot up Eternal Darkness you are met by a demon screaming Nintendo(pretty cool). After you are met by a nice menu layout with a nice amount of options. As nice as it is don’t stay here long. Start a new game to be met by this. The games story is based on the Roivas family and its ties to an ancient book called The Tome of Eternal Darkness. And an evil force named the ancients has been trying to use the powers of this book to take over the world. The game takes place during the timeline of the Roivas family. As different members comes into contact with the book, and the game tells the stories of them all. There are 12 different playable characters in the game, and their adventures all take place during distinct time periods. Linking all the storylines together is Alexandria Roivas, the latest and last in the family’s bloodline. When she visits her grandfather’s mansion to find out about his death, the game’s great storyline gets going. Some will die some will live but only one things for sure....... they will all go insane. Graphics & Sound Graphics:
First things first. Did you buy some Component Video Cables off of Nintendo’s website(only place I know to get them)??? If you didn’t your missing out on some of the best visuals a game can produce. But not to worry even without progressive scan mode the game is simply great. Some of the game specs include detailed textures, top notch lighting effects, light maps, volumetric fogging, running in 24-bit color. All with the super solid frame rate of 60fps with no trace of slowdown. But who cares about the tech specs. It’s no good to explain something if the average gamer could care less. One of the easy examples of the game’s stunning graphics. Is the Cathedral level about 1/3 into the game. Between the stained glass windows, and thunder storm going on outside. It seems to give me a real creepy feeling. Or the dessert stage that looks as if the Silicon Knights made up every grain of sand one by one. Not to mention another stage as you character carries a torch. Every single shadow is effected by the every flicker of light. Only thing that looks kinda strange is the way enemies react to your attacks. They just don’t seem right.Sound:
Ok back to the Cathedral level because this is where the sounds of the game really shines. As much as I want to keep away from comparing Eternal Darkness to Capcom’s Resident Evil. In this case I must. The sounds of the thunder claps in RE are identical those found on the Cathedral level. And they are nothing short of amazing. When deep into the game(you will be a lot) you can’t help to jump as the thunder catches you off guard(as you’re on look out for the next insanity effect). The sounds of ghouls and demons coming from a distance is also done with great accuracy. Even if they are not really there(hehehe). ED also comes very correct with the voice acting. Another feature that makes GameCube owners jump for joy that this game never made it to the N64. Gameplay Hold on I’m not even sure where to start at game play wise. Ummm I guess I’ll start with the controller config. The config is very well set up here’s the rundown. Control Stick: Moves your character around(big surprise huh). But unlike games like Silent Hill & Resident Evil it’s full analog movement. Not digital.
A Button: This is the attack button. Pressing this will allow you to
attack with your fists or whatever weapon you have at hand.
B Button: The standard action button. This button does nothing unless
you see a B button appear in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Under it will be a description of what it will do in that situation.
Common things that will appear are "Examine", "Return", "Pick Up",
"Open Door", and "Finish Him!".
X Button: If you hold this button down, you can sneak around while
moving the Control Stick.
R Button: Holding the R Button will focus on the nearest enemy you’re
facing. While holding R, you cannot walk or turn. The Control Stick
can be used to focus on different parts of the enemy’s body. Generally,
this means left/right for arms, up for head, and neutral for torso.
L Button: This button is the run modifier. While holding it down (any
pressure) you can run with the Control Stick.
Z Button: If using a weapon that has ammunition, hold Z to reload it if
ammunition is available.
Y Button and Control Pad: These are used for Quick Spells. You can assign spells to the Y Button, or individual directions on the Control Pad. The controls take a little getting used to so take your time and practice it on the first level. Now on to the insanity effects. Since if I was to even mention one of them I’ll spoil a good part of the game. I’ll only explain how it works. The greatest aspect of the game is the sanity meter! Whenever an enemy sees you, you’ll lose a bit of sanity (some enemies take more than others, as logic would dictate). The only way to recover the lost sanity, is to defeat the enemy, and perform a finishing move on them. If you don’t do so, you’ll be going insane left and right(that’s the fun tho). The less sanity you have, the more wacko your guy or gal gets. Your character will see, and hear, and witness some off the wall ship.
I see dead people.........
Now on to the Magick system. Besides the insanity effects & storyline. This is by far my favorite feature in the game. Since I don’t enjoy regular weapon fighting too much. The magick in the game really uplifting. Won’t go too deep into this feature. But to give you a hint on what’s to come here’s a few regular magick spell you should use often. The Recover spell regenerates either Health, Sanity, or Magick, depending on the alignment. The Damage Field spell creates a field of energy, that no enemy can pass. Also causes damage to any enemy that comes in contact with you.
All of this might sound difficult to an average gamer. But it all fall together well. Eternal Darkness has a battle system that many other games could only dream to have. But it still has it’s flaws. Because even tho anybody can learn how to play. It still takes some time to perfect the battle system. Also since you have to move around to replenish your magick meter. You’ll find yourself running in circles at times. This is by far NOT a pick up and play game.
Lasting Appeal Everyone knows one player games always have a lack of replay value. But Eternal Darkness seems to have broke that barrier with some things in the game to keep you coming back. There are three different ways through the game. Not to mention so many insanity effects that you will start new games just to drive your guy mad to see what happens. Conclusion About once or twice a year. A game as good as Eternal Darkness comes out. You know what I mean the ones like Halo(Xbox), GTA3(PS2), or MGS2(PS2). The few games that the minor flaws is totally out classed by the greatness of the game. Sure the Nintendo GameCube has had great games. But none of them really brought with it a new gaming experience like Eternal Darkness did. Was it worth the 4 year wait??? You damn right it was. Something my parents always told me was ”You can’t rush perfection” and that applies to Eternal Darkness in every way. Silicon Knights did something great with this game. All I could ask of the Knights right now is make sure their next GameCube project(Too Human). Is also worth the wait. | 
