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RATING:
9.5/10
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No matter how hard some
developers try, and no matter how much praise their game receives,
it is simply inevitable that certain masterpieces go completely
unappreciated by the general public. This was the case with Silicon
Knights and their first-ever GCN game, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's
Requiem. Originally announced for the dying N64 system, it was
then quietly dropped out of sight, only to re-appear with a shinier
skin as a first-generation GCN title. Sadly, many were quick to
dismiss it for the even shinier-looking Resident Evil game,
thinking that ED is a mere cheap knock-off of that
grand-daddy of survival horror adventures. Nintendo's atrociously
low-budget marketing campaign did not do much to promote Darkness,
either. And now, in an ironic twist, Silicon Knights has closed up
its doors, gathered up its skirts, and left Nintendo to become a
third-party developer. So, yes, this late review is a bit like
re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic, but, whatever.
Gameplay
ED
starts off by throwing gamers into the high-heel shoes of
protagonist Alexandra Roivas, who has recently lost her rich, eccentric
grandfather in a gruesome, up-to-now unresolved murder in his very
own creepy, deserted Rhode Island mansion. As Alex, gamers begin by
walking through the corridors of the place and trying to gather
clues as to exactly what could have happened to leave the man with
such a fatal headache (you'll get this lame joke when you play the
game). Alex is rather quick to realize that his grandpa was more
than a touch weird, collecting absurd bric-a-brac from various eras
and continents, the most prominent of which is the Tome of Eternal
Darkness, a Complete Works of Shakespeare "I couldn't
pick it up!"-size book of the occult, chronicling the
adventures of various exotic characters. The first of these is a
Roman centurion, and the gamer quickly steps into his sandals as
Alex reads up on his historical adventures. This is also when the
very competent combat system is revealed. Through a simple tap of
the L button, it is possible to target an enemy, and then to cycle
through its various bodyparts to decide what to take out first. Chop
off a head and watch as the confused zombie wanders around
aimlessly, wandering what to do next. Also, the centurion has unique
fighting combos with his weapons that you will not see replicated
with any of the 12 characters of the game. That's right. 12. Ranging
from an exotic Cambodian dancer to a daring archeologist, and even
some ancestors of Alexandra Roivas, they each have their stories
chronicled in the Tome, the torn pages of which are discovered by
Alexandra as she further explores the nooks and crannies of the
gigantic mansion. Soon enough, gamers will also discover that the
adventure also boasts an innovative magick system that not only
serves to solve many of the puzzles and obstacles, but can also be
used to power up the weapons discovered throughout the game, from
gladiuses to dart guns and crossbows, all of them fitting into their
respective historical eras. Empowering the weapons magickally allows
to take out some of the enemies more quickly, accordingly to what
type of magick they are most vulnerable to.
And,
unlike many survival horror titles, the game WANTS you to take out
the enemies. Why? Simple. The more you run away from your fears, the
more your characters become scared. The more they are scared, the
crazier they'll become, triggering the game's "insanity
meter", and becoming prone to all sorts of hallucinations,
hearing illusory voices, etc. Gimmicky? Some of the more harmless
insanity effects, such as imagining that you are walking on the
ceiling, or seeing enemies that are not really there, are, but the
crazier you'll let yourself become, the more they start to get to
your actual health meter, insuring that you won't stick around too
long if you keep running.
Another
fascinating aspect is that, though all of the characters live in
different eras, once a magickal spell is learnt, it will never be
forgotten, since it was "written" into the Tome, and the
Tome is discovered by each of the protagonists in turn, so that Alex becomes more and more powerful as she reads up. See, kids,
reading IS good for you.
Naturally,
not only do all of the twelve characters feel significantly
different, their respective missions and play scenarios are also
unique. I truly hesitate to reveal more, as this is quite possibly
the most story-driven game I've played, and each of the chapters is
as unique and compelling as the next.
When one
finishes the game, it is also possible to play through it again with
not one, but two slightly altered storylines, and finishing it with
all three stories reveals a "super-ending" that ties
together all the loose ends.
Some gamers
will no doubt complain that ED is too easy, or too short.
They might be right. The enemies are not the most challenging bunch
at first, but they do become more and more obstinate as one
progresses. Thankfully, the player becomes more powerful as well.
As for the
length, this is one of the few instances where I won't take points
off, because I think that ED's length is just perfect
considering its story-driven nature.
A final word
of caution: those expecting Resident Evil-type cheap scares
beware: ED presents us with a much more intelligent type of
horror. Call it Alfred Hitchock-ian suspense building rather than
Wes Craven-esque "new school" blood 'n guts, with just the
right amount of shocking moments to make you jump out of your seat.
Gameplay:
4/4
Graphics
Considering
that ED began life as a late N64 project rather than an early
GCN one, the developer has done quite a nice job converting the
software. Each of the twelve playable characters sports outstanding
animation that helps distinguish their personalities as much as
their looks. Chubbier protagonists begin to slow down after long
runs, whereas more agile, fit ones will run around with nary a
hitch, for example. Fighting style animations will also look
different according to who you're playing as: a trained Roman
centurion, after all, would hardly wield his blade the way a
frightened little Cambodian dancer would.
Impressively,
the game supports a real-time camera system that automatically flies
to a certain part of the room to best accommodate the player
according to his or her needs, as well as providing for a cinematic
angle. Surrounded by a group of rampaging enemies? The cam will zoom
in very close, allowing you to fight them easily. Visit the same
room later and the cam might instead fly to the ceiling and give a
top-down view, suggesting that someone is watching you...
Though the
characters do all animate fantastically, I do have a gripe with some
of the attention to detail. Some of them simply look better than
others, whether it's in the ornate historical accuracy brought to
their clothing or the careful realism on their faces.
This is a
minor quibble, though, especially compared to the enemies, who are
probably the biggest complaint I would have about the game's visuals.
Many of them simply look TOO similar, and it does somewhat take one
out of the otherwise completely fluid gaming experience.
The engine
pays particularly nice attention to the lighting, which greatly
helps accentuate the heavy amount of atmosphere. Similarly, the
environments are all exquisitely detailed and historically accurate,
brought together by seamless art direction not present in many
games. However, some of the textures do look a little bit dated,
apparent remnants of the game's humble N64 origin.
The game's
menu and inventory interface is one of the best I've seen, presented
in the form of pages from the Tome of Eternal Darkness.
A final
gripe I have is with the FMVs that help carry the story. Though
well-rendered and cinematically competent, they sport a slightly
blurry look, probably resulting from the developers' inability to
properly compress. And no, I will not blame the GCN's mini-disk
format, because many other developers have proven that proper
compression can be achieved on the system.
2.6/3
Audio
Masterful
musical compositions haunt the game's many scenarios and settings,
adding greatly to the experience. Similarly, the sound effects go
out of their way to add to the overall quality. Everything sounds
just as it should in real life, and the magick spells particularly
have a very unique ring to them. Little atmospheric touches, such as
clocks ticking in deserted mansion rooms, or creepy footsteps
clanging somewhere around you, are there to appropriately scare you
at just the right moment.
Character
voice-overs are an absolute triumph, with nary a line of dialogue
feeling forced or out of place, and each of the protagonists
sounding as unique as the next. Again, though, the issue of
compression pops out during some of the FMV cutscenes, lending a
tinny quality to the speech.
1.9/2
Story/Atmosphere
Let me put it this way: this
is the first game I'm reviewing that makes me wish I could give more
points to story and atmosphere. ED takes inspiration from
Lovecraft, Poe, and probably countless other sources that I'm too
ignorant to know of and weaves them all into a beautiful, haunting
tale about not only Alexandra's grandfather's murder, but an epic
struggle spanning 20 centuries of human history. I will unabashedly
claim that this is not only my favourite story for any video game,
but also one of my favourite stories told in any medium. Not only
does ED give us a wonderful plot, but it fleshes it out with
uncanny atmospheric touches. In any given stage, and, most
especially, the mansion, various objects sit haphazardly throughout
the environment, waiting to be approached so that they provide an
interesting, text-based anecdote that explains how they got there,
who they belonged to, or what they represent. ED simply
completely raises the bar in terms of storytelling in video
games.
1/1
FINAL SCORE:
9.5/10
Just get out there and play this game.
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