Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

"A Must Have For Any Gamecube Owner!"

I must say, I was really getting sick of the whole Gamecube is kiddy ordeal. This was right around the release of Animal Crossing, the Wind Waker, and Mario Sunshine. Now, I myself really enjoyed many of these titles, barring Animal Crossing, but the PS2 junkies in my neighborhood had been going on and on about how GCN had no mature titles. So I, being the patron that I am, set out to prove them wrong. So, naturally I panned through my years of Nintendo Power and picked out a few titles that had received good ratings. It had come down between Eternal Darkness and a handful of Resident Evil games. Now I had played the Resident Evil games before, they were good in all respect, but just not my thing. And I was worried ED might be the same case. But this site had nothing but good things to say about it, and at a mere $10, how could I pass it up. I'm glad I didn't. Besides being the cheapest game I've bought for the Cube, it was the best purchase. Eternal Darkness is a GREAT game in every aspect, and here's why.

Story: 10/10
I've played RPGs. I've played your Final Fantasys and what not. Bar none, this is easily one of the BEST, most indulging stories I have ever played in a video game. This is this kind of story so long, detailed and interesting, that I honestly don't believe it could even be a movie. This is something only a very well written book could match. The game really gets you hooked on the story with very entertaining and well executed cut scenes. This story is far above nay story you'd get out of an action game and puts almost everything else within this genre to shame. It's full of twists, surprises, and best of all, mystery. The stories are very mature, but none of it is unnecessary violence or cussing like so many video games today. The main character, Alex Roivas, finds her grandfather dead in his mansion. Viciously killed by some unknown being. Alex vows to stay in the mansion until she can uncover the secret. Okay, right off the bat we're getting a very mysterious, creepy atmosphere going. She finds the Tome of Eternal Darkness, an ancient and very powerful book. And as she reads it, she learns of the past and the events that lead up to her grandfather's death. It's very addictive, I won't reveal anymore, but trust me, the stories you'll learn from the Tome are simply amazing.

Graphics: 7/10
Well, every game staggers in one area. This game has it's graphic flaws. You have to keep in mind that this was originally being developed for the Nintendo 64 and the graphics could be much worse (see Animal Crossing). I believe the transition was done quite well, not star Fox quality or anything, but besides a few jagged edges during cutscenes, the graphics are never a problem throughout the game itself and can actually be very good at some points. Good, but not the best. Only a minor flaw in a terrific game.

Music: 9/10
This is difficult to judge. It's not so much songs, as it is mood music. BUT, the moods it creates are very well done. This music is something that, while isn't anything great that you'd listen to solo, it must be played while playing the game. It creates an atmosphere that almost makes you paranoid the whole way through. In all honesty, this game isn't THAT scary. There's really only a handful of scenes/moments that will actually frighten you. It's just the overall mood of the game that has you thinking and waiting for those few points. Overall it creates a great scary mood and doesn't good for the cheap scares like Resident Evil. This game can truly be terrifying if you tell yourself it is. And the music helps convince you. It's not the best soundtrack out there but it suits the game very well.

Sound: 10/10
See, this is a lot like the music category, but just slightly better. I really like the sound they chose for this game. It all comes out very clear too. They really play it up in scarier scenes. There's sounds like door slammings, floor creaking, moaning, screaming, telephones ringing and hanging up when you answer them. All of these sounds are truly what makes this a chilling game. It's like watching a horror movie. If there's no sound, it's really not that scary. The sounds trick you, which is actually a big part of the game, which I will further explain in the special features portion of this review. The sounds are very fitting and well done on an important piece in a game such as this.

Atmosphere: 10/10
You knew that score was coming. This game has an excellent atmosphere. The gameplay itself is never too frantic, it's relaxed. It lets you discover everything the game has to offer for yourself. You slowly discover things and it's really rewarding to accomplish. Very seldom does the game let up on the chilling mood it has established from the very beginning. There are a handful of parts that are very scary, and others that you will pretty much disregard. One scene in particular that anyone who's played Eternal darkness will recognize as "the bathtub scene" actually had me turn off the game for the night, it's that chilling. This game is very suspenseful and accomplishes exactly what it set out to do, make a highly enjoyable gameplay experience, while still scaring you. This game will play tricks on you, that's for sure, and that's where the fear comes from.

Characters: 10/10
Wow, I can't remember the last time I watched any horror movie or game and met a cast of characters I actually cared about. Most times with this genre, you get a bunch of bland characters that you just watch get picked off by the "monster". Not the case here at all. While Alex reads through the Tome, you play out each chapter, in different periods of time, as a characters that dealt with the Eternal Darkness. You'll meet and play as a great wealth of characters such as an ancient Roman soldier, an Egyptian dancer, a monk, a WWII journalist, descendants of Alex Roivas including her grandfather, a firemen, and many others. And the game never lets up on developing the characters, Telling you about them, and telling you how and why things happened the way they did. This is one of the many very strong points of this game and is enriched by the excellent storyline to go along with it.

Gameplay: 10/10
I never tend to throw around 10s this wildly, but this game is truly deserving. I really tried to think of some gameplay flaws, I really did, but there is honestly none that stick out. Perhaps if you nitpick you'll find one, but I just fell in love with the concepts and controls this game has to offer. There are two main forms of combat against the game's many variations of zombies. You can use a close range weapon and fight melee style, using weapons such as swords and knifes and even a firemen's axe, or you can choose to attack from a distance with crossbows, revolvers, and an assortment of other guns. The great thing about the weapons in this game is that the weapons you get to use in each chapter reflects the time period. For instance, as Alex Roivas' great great great grandfather Maximillion, taking place in the 1700s, your gunpower is far more primitive and you're limited to little pistols that need to frequently be reloaded. But by the time you're in present day, Alex has much more advanced weapondry. The melee combat in this game is very well done too. The targetting system works very well and allows you to attack either the head, the torso, or the arms of enemy zombies. It usually seems to work best to knock off their arms or heads and then beat the torso to finish it off. It highlights the area of attack as the view is in 3rd person and it accomplished third person better than many 3PS I've played. I really like the gameplay in this game.

Unique Features: 10/10
Woo-hoo!!! Two thumbs, WAY up. This game has some excellent unique attributes I have never seen before. Most noticeably, are the sanity effects. In addition to a health meter, every character you play as will have a sanity meter, and a magick meter, but I'll get to that later. The sanity effects are really what makes this game unique. Every time you encounter a zombie or related enemy, your character's sanity will go down. If you kill it off, it will rise back up for the most part. But obviously, by the end of teh levels, your character will usually have gone insane. And once you become closer to insane, creepy things start to happen. The screen might tilt, you might start to hear noises, there will be illusions, some stuff can be downright scary. I won't reveal it, as it's best to be surprised but the sanity effects are really well done, and can be in places you'd least expect them. But its best not to let yourself go completely insane, or your health will begin to deplete. Some of this stuff can really screw with you, a really great job on the developers part. Secondly is the magick system. The whole idea of magick, especially when its spelled funny, can be a turnoff for "serious gamers" <insert rolling eyes smiley>, but rest assured you macho men, this magick system is not the least bit corny. It simply involves casting spells by means of the Tome. The spells are all very useful and very interesting as well. Spells include healing powers, revealing powers, even transformations into Zombies and other creatures. Which can be quite fun. There's all sorts of alignments and whatnot and it really adds a bit of strategy to the game. Sometimes puzzles will have you stumped, and others can be very obvious. But the combined fighting and spell casting elements make for a very in depth experience any gamer can enjoy.

Fun Factor: 9/10
I had an absolute blast playing this game. It had me hooked the whole way through. I really just loved everything about it. The story, the gameplay it's all so very well done. This truly is among the bets gaming experiences I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing. I am VERY tempted to throw out another 10, but not everyone wil enjoy being scared. And if you get too caught up in fear, it ain't very fun now is it. Well I had a great time and I assure you will too. This game is extremely fun and that's how video games should be. It never feels like a chore and will have you hooked the whole way through.

Length: 7/10
This rating is not included in the overall score, as many people's opinions on the importance of game length varies. I like the length of this game. It's an average game length to play it once through. And every bit is worth it. The cut scenes really get you into it and as long as you don't get stuck on all the puzzles, playing a couple hours a day, you'll finish it in a week or two. Now, if you want to get the full experience, beating the game each additional time will unlock something new, as seen in the cheats/codes section on GameFAQs. There's a very cool movie that's worth the play through and it gives you a reason to play this game again and again. Also, certain things change each time you play under a different alignment, The length is how much you're willing to put in really. It's a good game length.

Difficulty: 7/10
This rating is not included in the overall score, as many people's opinions on the importance of game difficulty varies. This game has it's highs and lows. Some parts of the game will have you casually playing through without much difficulty, but others are much harder. There's some puzzles and boss fights that may have you stuck for awhile, but determination is key, and you'll figure it out. It's by no means an extremely challenging game, but it provides a challenge which many gamers will enjoy.

Overall: 10/10

Buy or Rent: Buy.
Even though you could probably pass through the game once in rental's time, this game is not something you want to rush through. It has a good amount of replay value and is an unmatched gaming experience. It's only $10 last time I checked, might have even gone down, so I don't see any reason you should pass this game up. Definitely, I would recommend you buy this game. I would easily rank it among the top games I've ever played, and is a must have for any Gamecube owner's collection. Even if you don't own Gamecube, go buy one, if only for this game, they're both cheap enough and it is worth it!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/30/04