Ohhh, here's a game that sends chills down my spine. Eternal Darkness is one of those games that deserve to be compared to games like Silent Hill AT the least. From the eerily creepy loading screen before the game starts to the final little dialogue when your character dies, you can't help but be drawn to Eternal Darkness. But enough on how this game made me want to turn on all the lights in the room on and play with someone around, let's get to the meat of this game.
The story for Eternal Darkness is truly one of orginality. It may seem confusing the first few runs though the game, but once it is completed a third time, it will almost be crystal clear what exactly is going on. Telling you what the story is about will only uninspire you to play though the second and third time, which I highly recommend. The cinematics even change when going through the numerous times.
The gameplay is also very solid. Battles with the numerous undead enemies play out like a hack-and-slash, though they require a little bit of strategy. With the ability to actually cut off limbs like the arms and head, you can easily stop an enemy in their tracks. Cutting off their head will result in loss of sight - they won't be able to see you and swing their hands in hopes of striking you. With that, you can proceed to destroy the arms, halting them from attacking. Soon, all they'd be able to do is just stand there. It'd be up to you, for many enemies require a little bit of thinking to allow them to be easily disposed of. The little puzzles also require a bit of thinking and a bit of running around, ala Resident Evil.
The graphics are also very good. Facial expressions are logical and suit the situation and the environments are very detailed. The camera is also never truly horrible and seems to add a sense of depth and dispair to the situation opposed to -ugh - Resident Evil.
The sound is also very well done. Because there isn't much in-game music to listen to, it leaves space for the game's sound effects - which are amazing and can become very, very disturbing. This will lead to the next topic.
With all this said though, you can't thoughly talk about Eternal Darkness without talking about one of its most unique features - the sanity meter. This is one of the tools that make the game so scary. For each character (12 in total and go in some cronological order), they have a sanity meter. When ever the character meets with one or more enemies, a chunk of their sanity will go away. The amount will depend on the type of enemy you're encountering. Knocking down an enemy and performing a "finishing move" (No, none of them are like fatalities or anything, its just a few free hits to kill the enemy), will help regain some sanity, but not much. When your sanity is almost depleted, things will go downhill. You will start seeing things that aren't there. You will hear sounds that aren't there and will drive you crazy. Mysterious knockings on the door will have you wondering what's out there. Whispers and screams of woman and CHILDREN will play out. The game will actually play with your mind, sometimes even fooling you. I'm not going to spoil much for you, but some of the sanity effects are terrifing and will make you want to save the game and take it off quickly - just to stop it all from happening.
Eternal Darkness is one of those games that everyone mature enough should experience. It has it all - solid gameplay, nice graphics, amazing sound effects, and one of the most orginal ideas to come along in years - the sanity meter. Overall, Eternal Darkness is an amazing game and shows that the Gamecube isn't just composed of kiddie games.
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