"Finally, a good video gaming experience."

I was pretty excited by Eternal Darkness; a game which set out to redefine the ''mature'' rating, and one which, from the looks of other reviews made by other major video gaming websites, actually succeeds. Eternal Darkness is an adventure to be experienced by everyone. Although it is lacking in certain areas, Eternal Darkness is a success on the basis that it is the first in its genre.

Gameplay - 9 out of 10

Eternal Darkness is all about gameplay. The controls are quite intuitive, making combat and menu selection quite easy. Actual combat itself is also quite involving. Coupled with the magic system, it becomes somewhat like a game of chess; the right alignment of magical enchantments makes battles much quicker; the joy comes when you discover which weapons work the best, and also which looks the coolest and flashiest. Combat doesn't occur too often, and as a result doesn't get as repetitive as many would suggest. The use of the analog R trigger button makes battling multiple enemies a breeze.

Eternal Darkness also offers much variety. In having you control 12 different characters, you must compensate for whatever weaknesses each character has. Some characters have small sanity, magic, or health meters; others are as slow as a sloth (dang it, lose some weight!); and still others own so much its incredible.

The magic system is also quite interesting, but I have found that it is not as complex as others might suggest. It is always a matter of experimenting with the runes to uncover the 12 spells; and even though you can't see what it does, you can still cast it anyway. The Restore Sanity spell makes the sanity meter seem pretty gimmicky; as the loss of sanity doesn't really impede combat in any way.

The camera system is reminiscent of Resident Evil, positioned to offer the most dramatic and suspenseful view possible; but it is active, as opposed to passive. It is done very well. And with the dramatic architecture Eternal Darkness contains, you'll be happy for the grandiose views that the camera sometimes provides.

All in all, the gameplay is quite varied and pretty original. However, Eternal Darkness in and of itself is a pretty easy game. In the later chapters your magical powers are simply too great. But, Eternal Darkness is an experience beyond all of this; and it does deliver.

Story - 9.5 out of 10

To be positive, in the times where Eternal Darkness got kind of boring, wanting to know what is going to happen next and how what I was doing at the moment tied in with the rest of the story was what kept me playing the game. The story is just excellent, containing more depth than in games that I've played recently.

However, maybe it was just me, but the game never gets big for me; I never really felt that the world was in danger of being consumed by evil. Perhaps it was the lack of outdoor environments, or because the final conflict was quite far removed from where my character was. In the words of the main character, ''As quickly as it begun, it ended.''

Regardless, there is much to be said about Eternal Darkness; how it manages to develop 12 characters and make them integrated quite seamlessly with the central plot. It is very ambitious, and this regard it also succeeds.

Audio/Video - 9.5 out of 10

The audio was amazing. Rather than just bombard you with the sheer volume of music, Silicon Knights actually took the cliched piece of advice: ''Less is more.'' By limiting the audio to just faint background noises and some ambient music, Silicon Knights establishes a dark and foreboding atmosphere. The quality of the audio was also quite good. Making another comparison to Resident Evil, the voice acting just blows the competition away. It was refreshing to see/hear that the voice acting was so good that you stopped thinking about how good it was and you started to pay more attention to the story.

The graphics are also quite amazing. The amount of detail put into your surroundings is incredible. Paintings hung on the wall, reliefs carved into the stone, the stained glass windows, and many other features were rendered with so much detail that running up to it and pressing B to examine it was just pure delight. The Cathedral, in this case, makes a very good example of how much work was put into rendering an astounding environment. You simply must see it to believe it.

However, the audio and graphics are not without their own shortcomings. Sadly, there is no perfect game. That being said, I found the audio background to be repetitive at times, and the character models not as detailed as the surroundings. People say that that is because Eternal Darkness was originally a N64 title, but I don't really buy that. One just has to see that individual fingers of the character models are rendered to see that it is probably not so. The character models aren't excellent, but they are good enough.

Replayability - 9 out of 10

It is apparent that there is three different paths in the game that are possible upon your completion of the first chapter. For that reason alone, it is enough to complete Eternal Darkness at least 3 times. And at about 12-15 hours each time, Eternal Darkness easily offers the minimum 30-40 hour requirement for most games. Luckily, the game rewards you for doing so as well. Also, the second time through it becomes more apparent what events foreshadowed which other events; similar to the second viewing of any plot-driven movie.

Worth - $40

In terms of monetary worth Eternal Darkness easily pulls into the $40 range; so I'm not sure if a $50 price tag justifies its purchase just yet.

Overall - 9 out of 10 (not an average)

In the end, Eternal Darkness is above all an experience, as said many times before. For what it sets out to accomplish, to create a plot-driven story and develop gameplay devices that add to the story, it succeeds. Eternal Darkness is simply one of those games that kind of jumps out at you, showing the signs of a great game. And we will probably see that more as other developers copy the idea, since imitating is the best form of flattery. Expect some Eternal Darkness clones soon.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/15/02, Updated 07/15/02