Eternal Darkness (gamecube)

[JT]

This got a 9.6 or 9.7 from IGN. It's out today supposedly. Is it worth getting? Or should I use my gamecube as a planter?

[Tom Chick]

All I know about this game -- and this is enough to tempt me to just get it, sight unseen -- is that it was developed by Silicon Knights, the fellows who gave us the original Legacy of Kain. They also did Dark Legions, a strategy game Mark mentioned fondly in another thread.

Unfortunately, I doubt Eternal Darkness has much in common with either of those games. I'm afraid it might be another Resident Evil kinda thing.

-Tom

[Dave Long]

This is a direct quote from the IGN review...


Resident Evil, this game is most absolutely not.

I don't know how much more I want to read since I've been avoiding spoilers for this one like crazy. It's apparently quite a long game with about 40 hours from start to finish for average players.

It supports progressive scan and 16x9 mode for those with high end video hardware.

The IGN review is glowing and it's largely spoiler free to boot.

Memory Card 251 should be in stores too if you need some save space.

--Dave

[runesword forger]

1. Buy Eternal Darkness.
2. It makes RE look like a Grade Z zombie flick.
3. Don't read anything about it. Spoilers will damage your ED experience.
4. Greatest horror game ever. Period. Second place isn't close. And yes, I've played the Silent Hill series. Hell, I've played Elvira's old Amiga games....

[Anonymous]

Judging by the review that's about to publish on GameSpot, this game sounds really amazing. I'll be picking it up today or tomorrow (if I can find it). The sad part is, all the PC adventure gamers out there lamenting the sorry state of their favorite genre are probably going to completely overlook what sounds like the best adventure game in years.

[GregB]

I've been watching our reviewer play it for the past few days. Really nice game. I picked up a copy for myself today.

[Wholly Schmidt]

Don't IGN reviews tend to exaggerate a bit these days? It seems they like things a lot more than I do. Maybe I'm the one that's "out of sync" with the industry, but either way I'd no longer buy a game just on an IGN review. Maybe I'd buy a game without renting it if IGN and Gamespot both liked it (Gamespot seems to be a lot more reserved in giving out high reviews), but then I still end up with games I don't like *cough*HunterTheReckoning*cough*. So anyway. Rent first generally.

But on the other hand, Gabe at PA had very good things to say about the game.

But on the other other hand, they like anything that deals with putting the undead in their place.

But on the fourth and final hand, I'm sure the Gamecube itself is so bored at this point you could get it to chip in half the money just for the sake of having something other than Smash Bros spin up inside.

[Kool Moe Dee]

The thing that makes me curious about this is that a) tons of people (including me) thought their E3 demo was crappy, and b) a lot of people seem to have turned their opinions around 180 degrees with the final. Of course, I don't have a GC, so I'd have to mooch off somebody else's...

Oh, and I don't care about those other games Silicon Knights has made...all that counts is that they made Fantasy Empires... :D

[Ben Sones]

I'm sure the Gamecube itself is so bored at this point you could get it to chip in half the money just for the sake of having something other than Smash Bros spin up inside.

No kidding. Don't get me wrong--I love my GameCube. I love the games I have for it. Like, all four of them. If Nintendo wants to be the company that's "all about the games," as Dave says, shouldn't their business strategy include releasing some freaking games? Just a thought.

[wumpus]

Most. Pretentious. Game. Title. Ever.

However, it does sound cool. I am intrigued by the effects of the sanity meter, eg, trying to figure out what is real or not, and if your gamecube just crashed. Doh!

[Dave Long]

What's pretentious about "Eternal Darkness"?

--Dave

[runesword forger]

Wumpus has been dipping into a secret stash of something or the other. Pretentious? In an industry that's seen "Ultima," "World's Greatest Baseball Game," and developers who called their organization "god?"

Ah, maybe it's a joke that's flying over my head.

[JT]

Most. Pretentious. Game. Title. Ever.

Wait. Even in a world with "Battlecruiser 3000 AD -- The Game That Defines The Space Sim Genre"???

(As opposed to Battlecruiser Online, which is dedicated merely to "expanding the boundaries of the space sim genre.")

[Samuel Bass]

I've got it, I've played it for 6 hours and...I love it! Eternal Darkness is one of the most enthralling, fascinating action-adventure games I have played in quite some time. Every element of the game is so in-depth, so well thought out, from the deep narrative, sweet visuals and superlative sound (especially on headphones) to the smooth control, intruiging puzzles and highly involved magic system.

While the game isn't perfect (and what is), and the combat can be a little repetitive, Eternal Darkness is still so far ahead of the competition it's almost funny...miles above your usual "gore n' explore" Resident Evil clone.

[Kool Moe Dee]

What's pretentious about "Eternal Darkness"?

--Dave

I think it's the ridiculous "Sanity's Requiem" part which is in question. The "Eternal Darkness" bit is OK, "Sanity's Requiem" just sounds like they've been hitting the thesaurus lately...

[JT]

Eternal Darkness is still so far ahead of the competition it's almost funny...miles above your usual "gore n' explore" Resident Evil clone.

I got it and played about 2 hours last night. It certainly is good. And creepy. The first time you see the guys with the light beams coming out of their eyes ... and I like how the rooms get all nuts when the "insanity meter" is high. i also love how after you behead some baddies they recover a bit and start swinging in the direction they think you're in.

Haven't gone very far though. Still in the "lobby" (mansion) learning the game mechanics. No magic yet. The sound is the best ever in a game.

[Sparky]

"Sanity's Requiem" just sounds like they've been hitting the thesaurus lately...

A few rejects:

Eccentricity's Overture
Sobriety's Polka
Prelude to Quirky
Dirge of the Daft
Lucidity Takes A Holiday
Marble Madness

Admittedly, the last one was already taken.

[Ben Sones]

Don't be knockin' Marble Madness. At least not where I can hear you.

:wink:

[Supertanker]

You mean it is not a sequel to Sanity: Aiken's Artifact?

[Alan Au]

I don't think it has anything to do with "Sanitarium" either.

- Alan

[Kool Moe Dee]

Or Dissolution of Eternity.

[mtkafka]

with Ice-T. :lol:

uhm thats for the Sanity : Aiken's ARtificat reference (a not too bad game that actually has some gameplay like Freedom Force/NWN!)

yah i know nevermind...

etc

[Ben Sones]

Judging by the review that's about to publish on GameSpot, this game sounds really amazing. I'll be picking it up today or tomorrow (if I can find it). The sad part is, all the PC adventure gamers out there lamenting the sorry state of their favorite genre are probably going to completely overlook what sounds like the best adventure game in years.

So have you started playing yet, Greg? Recommendations?

Based on what I've heard so far, it sounds like I'll probably have to get this game. I love horror games, I love good adventures, and neither one comes along very often. Both in the same package is kind of a bonus... =)

[JT]

It's a cliche to say it's got atmosphere, but ... it does. The first time you hear this frantic banging on a door somewhere in the mansion (not really a spoiler I hope!) is freaking awesome. Made me jump.

[GregB]

The worst part about all this, is I picked up the game for myself... but... I.. can't... play it. My Mother-in-law is visiting and she's sleeping the the living room.

"Go back to sleep, Ma, don't worry about all those screams coming from the TV. It's normal."

[Lunch of Kong]

"I.. can't... play it. My Mother-in-law is visiting"

Occassions such as this are what lead me to purchase a TV Tuner card. I can now play my PS2 and GCN games using my bedroom computer monitor as the display.

Hauppage make some nice TV Tuner cards.

[Thierry Nguyen]

Goddamn this game is cool. I'm in Chapter 5, and starting in Chapter 4, the insanity effects started kicking in big time.

[Dave Long]

OK... I played through two chapters so far... WOW. This game is pretty fucking incredible. It's not the most technically sophisticated game but it's certainly got everything else going for it. I can't wait to see more of the sanity stuff. My first brush with it was cool enough. I can't imagine it being even better later on as people have said...

One thing that stands out is how both Sony and Microsoft try to appeal to the older gamers and go out of their way to try to be hip and cool and yet here comes this game from Nintendo, the ones that make "kiddie" games according to the uninformed, and they've made something far more adult than just about everything on the other two platforms. It's a game that truly deserves an M rating and backs it up with solid gameplay as well. I'm off to bed but I can't wait to play more tomorrow night. Very cool stuff and definitely one to play with the lights off.

--Dave

[Dave Long]

Like a fool, I stayed up and played some more. Now I'm scared... really scared. This isn't a typical game. I should've left a light on...

--Dave

[Anonymous]

2. It makes RE look like a Grade Z zombie flick.
Linoleum makes RE look like a Grade Z zombie flick.

[voltaic]

This got a 9.6 or 9.7 from IGN. It's out today supposedly. Is it worth getting? Or should I use my gamecube as a planter?

By far, the best horror-survival game I've ever seen going back from Alone in the Dark up to RE and Silent Hill 2. Here's a game where the effects of losing sanity effect your character as well as you, the player! Walk down a hallway and suddenly hear (very loudly) knocks on doors. Or how about the soundo n your TV go out while you are in a battle. Or you try to reload a gun and instead shoot yourself in the head. The game is called "Sanity's Requiem" because it is designed to remove the character's sanity, as well as the player's.

</fanboy action>

I beat the game last week playing the "green path" and I can't tell you how many times my roommate and I had to change our shorts after some holy-shit event handler was called by the code. I plan on playing the red and blue paths as well so I can see the fourth "secret ending".

Great game.

[Rock8man]

I realize I'm a little late to the party, but I just wanted to resurrect this thread to comment on Eternal Darkness.

I've been tempted by Eternal Darkness ever since I got my Wii, especially since I finally took the money plunge and bought two gamecube controllers for it, as well as a gamecube memory card. Most of my exploration's into the gamecube classics so far have been pretty non-compelling. Even when I find a game I enjoy, its hard to stick with it when there's so much gaming backlog of quality titles on the 360 and the PC to get through.

Enter Eternal Darkness, which I started playing on Friday. It's the first GC game to really get its hooks in me. At first its a turn off to see the dated visuals. The in-game cutscenes reminded me of the PS2 launch title "Summoner" (from Volition) which also looked horrible. To be fair, now that I'm further in the game, Eternal Darkness looks a lot better than Summoner did. It also doesn't help that the game has an awkward control scheme that takes some getting used to. The story also doesn't start off very compelling either. And the voice acting is fairly mediocre, especially early on.

And yet.... the game has a certain something that kept me wanting to come back and keep playing. I'm a few hours into it now, and I think the graphics hold up well even today because they did a good job with the lighting. The combat and control mechanics also start working once you get the hang of things, and the voice acting you can kind of ignore because its good enough to propel you forward without drawing too much attention to itself.

So, a few hours into the game, I'm actually hooked on this game. For anyone else looking for a title to enjoy on their Wii, I'd actually recommend this one, just based on the first few hours of the game.

[Andrew Mayer]

It's a great game, but I tried it on the Wii, and higher resolutions do the game no favors.

[Lizard_King]

I was waiting to finish it before I commented on it again, but I am really glad people were insistent about paying the mild premium (for used) to get this game since I missed it when it came out and am only now catching up with the wii.

It would be easy to run through the litany of things that are dated or irritating in this game...because they're there, and we've come a long way in a few years (plus, unskippable cutscenes before boss fights...come on!). But the really important part is what they get right.

They do more with their off brand Cthulhu than any other videogame maker has. I realize I may be missing some stellar text adventure or something, but this game represents a really groundbreaking fusion between a strong understanding of setting/mood and writing that matches it. Sure, some of the phrasing is laughably Thesauresque, but in the spirit of Lovecraft what more could you ask for?

The game starts off well once you get past the intro, slows down a bit, but the last chapters are nothing short of excellent in terms of tying together the best features of the gameplay and the story. I'm just waiting for the next long sit down with my copilot (I can add this to the short list of games my wife loves to watch me play despite being an excellent gamer herself) to finish it, but I am very pleased with 14 hours +/- some dying action thus far.

Adventure game puzzles are usually an automatic fail from me these days (or in the case of a game I actually can't resist like Killer 7 or RE4, an automatic run to a faq when not obvious), but I find I need to do that relatively few times with this game. Maybe they're easy, maybe they make just enough sense most of the time, but for once it's not a huge detriment to the game.

Major issues: the aforementioned unskippable cutscenes, a little combat heavy for a game that varies between easily cheesed 90% of the time and WTF controller throwing angst the rest until you figure out whatever the devs wanted you to do, and the old favorite of adventure games, the puzzle that teases you as appearing to be solvable long before it's actually possible. Temple of doom traps needed more permanent deactivation for puzzle solving sequences.

Major pluses: Maniac mansion elements aren't ridiculous when they could have been, saving the best for last, and they manage to embrace the cyclical nature of the chapters without being boringly repetitive. "Finishing" as a vital element of combat. Using subtle but not retarded story cues as gameplay elements that make a difference (eg, you figure out the relationship of "elements" yourself for the most part, something which would usually be a pop up "HERE YOU GO IDIOT" in many newer games).

It's sad that this and RE4 (which I'd already beat to death on the PS2 but couldn't resist rebuying) are the most played games on my wii. It's a testament to how great they are that I'm still considering the console a bargain.

Also, as for the graphics: I think the game looks much better on my wii with component cables/p scan than it did on my new used gamecube before I acquired component cables for it. But I was actually going to mention how significant an improvement p scan was for this title as opposed to others, and I'm surprised at what Andrew is saying. I guess I'm a sharpness/contrast whore.

[Scrax]

I remember liking this game alot when it came out. I never finished it though, because I got stuck and it was rented. It did so many clever things to trick you that I had never seen before. I remember purposely keeping my sanity relatively low to see how the game would screw with me. Scary/psychological centric games are great to play with others watching, because the effect is compounded. Sigh.

I would play it again, but the graphics would probably decrease the fond image of the game in my head. They should remake it for my convenience.

[Juan Rayo]

Rockman, I played this on my Wii, and absolutely loved it, but then again, I don´t really care for graphics. Don´t remember them being that bad.

Awesome game, one of the best I´ve played.

[MattKeil]

One thing that stands out is how both Sony and Microsoft try to appeal to the older gamers and go out of their way to try to be hip and cool and yet here comes this game from Nintendo, the ones that make "kiddie" games according to the uninformed, and they've made something far more adult than just about everything on the other two platforms. It's a game that truly deserves an M rating and backs it up with solid gameplay as well.

Wow, this far gone already six years ago. We should have seen the signs. We should have done something. Anything.

Eternal Darkness doesn't really hold up too well today visually, but storywise and (mostly) gameplay-wise it's unique and worth playing. Certainly the best Lovecraft game ever made, at any rate. A couple of the sanity effects got me when I first played it, mainly the ones that made it look like your Gamecube was doing something nasty to your memory card.

[Gunmetal]

It ran in proscan and had 16x9 support back on the Gamecube, which is probably why you see the improved quality on the Wii with component cables

[malkav11]

Just to point out - you do have to play through the game three times (picking a different glyph or whatever it is in the beginning each time - forced on you, actually, as the previous pick won't be there.) to get the true ending. I started on a second playthrough, back in the day, but never got anywhere near a third to get that cinematic. Oh well.

[Lizard_King]

Just to point out - you do have to play through the game three times (picking a different glyph or whatever it is in the beginning each time - forced on you, actually, as the previous pick won't be there.) to get the true ending. I started on a second playthrough, back in the day, but never got anywhere near a third to get that cinematic. Oh well.
I'm pretty sure bullshit like that is why youtube was really invented (SPOILARZ INSIDE HAS ENDING OF ETERNAL DARKNESS) (http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z8TtxF3-xEs). The differences between the glyphs are stupid, marginal gameplay issues that are all unfun in different ways to explore, so I urge everyone to beat it once, enjoy it, then go to youtube and thumb your nose at terrible new game + variants of days gone by.

[Aeon221]

(warning, post contains gentle spoilers and great deals of vagueness)

There is a very non-obvious way to greatly increase your power if you can find something in a place with a very purple theme, but you have to use your green bug summon to get it. The game is a lot harder if you don't.

[Lizard_King]

I was annoyed at how powerful the Mantorok rune is and how easy it is to miss, comparatively. There are a few items that fall into that "miss once, regret for rest of game" category", but nothing as striking as that one. But I guess compared to the other trapper uses (to solve a stupid puzzle), that one's pretty top notch in terms of rewards. You are talking about the purple rune, right?

[delirium]

Thanks, never saw that ending. I also lost interest long before finishing the game even twice. If you're going to ask me to finish the game three times, you can at least make it worth my while. There's nothing new each time but the colors and deity name.

cool ending, though. It's a shame it takes so much time and effort to see.

[Lizard_King]

Thanks, never saw that ending. I also lost interest long before finishing the game even twice. If you're going to ask me to finish the game three times, you can at least make it worth my while. There's nothing new each time but the colors and deity name.

Well, according to the GAMEFAQs (I recommend this one (http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/913957/17700) so far it's been the most complete/best written) it changes the game in more ways than that. Red means more health generally for all enemies, plus regeneration. Blue means they tend to magic drain/do that annoying blue zombie explosion. Green means harsher sanity penalties. Red seems to be regarded as the most difficult, but I'm sure that's not a big deal (I picked red without knowing). FWIW, which isn't much.

[MattKeil]

I actually did play all three playthroughs, and green was by far the hardest for me. Lots of hit points is pedestrian shit. Draining my sanity at double the usual rate was crippling in places.

[delirium]

Well, according to the GAMEFAQs (I recommend this one (http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/913957/17700) so far it's been the most complete/best written) it changes the game in more ways than that. Red means more health generally for all enemies, plus regeneration. Blue means they tend to magic drain/do that annoying blue zombie explosion. Green means harsher sanity penalties. Red seems to be regarded as the most difficult, but I'm sure that's not a big deal (I picked red without knowing). FWIW, which isn't much.

That's cool, I didn't realize that. It would have been interesting if they switched up the puzzles a bit on each playthrough.

[biclops]

The mid-boss is different for each colour too.

My wife has played through this game about 9 times now. Sometimes when I'm trying to get to sleep there is a voice in my head that says MANTOROK PARGON PARGON SANTAK PARGON PARGON BANKOROK

[Crater]

I actually did play all three playthroughs, and green was by far the hardest for me. Lots of hit points is pedestrian shit. Draining my sanity at double the usual rate was crippling in places.

I went green the first time through because I wanted to see all the sanity effects. I had a save game right before you pick which color, and ended up going back just to switch, since the insanity stuff was the best part of the game.



My wife has played through this game about 9 times now. Sometimes when I'm trying to get to sleep there is a voice in my head that says MANTOROK PARGON PARGON SANTAK PARGON PARGON BANKOROK

My roommate at the time would watch me play through the game, and he thought it was some sort of name generator for pharmaceutical companies.

[calvin940]

*******SPOILER BELOW******












Don't know if it happened to any of you guys/gals, but I had a sweet mind fuck by this game. I was actually playing this game one time til about 4am. I was definitely groggy and my eyes were tired. I was currently high on my insanity meter (or low on my sanity meter - forget which way it went) and shit was making me crazy. Anyhow, at one point it went to save the game (I thought I triggered it) and then it asked me if I wanted to delete my saves! I was like wtf, I selected no. Next thing I know, it fucking proceeded to start deleting my saves with a progress bar and I was yelling NO and like hammering on my controller for it to stop. I was positive I had pressed no to deletion. Then the screen flashes and I am back in the game... and I was like WTF!! I was seriously about to bust yet another controller. It was awesome.

[peterb]

I actually did play all three playthroughs, and green was by far the hardest for me. Lots of hit points is pedestrian shit. Draining my sanity at double the usual rate was crippling in places.


It never seemed to me like there was any actual penalty for having your sanity drained. I deliberately played the game with sanity close to minimum most of the time. "Oh, no, if I let this green bar stay low, the game gets more interesting!"

Or am I forgetting some sort of insta-lose condition if you run out of sanity?

[unbongwah]

Wow, this far gone already six years ago. We should have seen the signs. We should have done something. Anything.
Well, Dave was right in that ED showed the difference between "adult" and "mature" games six years ago. Given that the game was made by Silicon Knights, though, I'm not sure why he chose to give the win to Nintendo.

Anyway, in the wake of RE4 I'm not sure I could go back to ED's play style, but it was certainly awesome in its day (if arguably too easy once you had the heal spell).

[Aeon221]

I was annoyed at how powerful the Mantorok rune is and how easy it is to miss, comparatively. There are a few items that fall into that "miss once, regret for rest of game" category", but nothing as striking as that one. But I guess compared to the other trapper uses (to solve a stupid puzzle), that one's pretty top notch in terms of rewards. You are talking about the purple rune, right?

Yeah, I was trying to be discrete. That thing is pretty much the most important widget you can pick up in the game, and missing it will make things way worse. If I remember right (and I'm trying to remember something I haven't played in, what, six years), not having the purple rune means not being able to use the shield power. And against the spider caster enemies, that's pretty much the kiss of death.




It never seemed to me like there was any actual penalty for having your sanity drained. I deliberately played the game with sanity close to minimum most of the time. "Oh, no, if I let this green bar stay low, the game gets more interesting!"

Or am I forgetting some sort of insta-lose condition if you run out of sanity?

No mana/health regen, if I remember right. Plus, it's just fucking hard to play if your control scheme is randomly changing all the time.


I know I've said this before in an Eternal Darkness thread, but I played it in shifts with about six other people sitting around a big TV, and it was probably the coolest experience I've ever had in gaming. It was like an interactive horror flick. The only weak point was that there was exactly one spell (the damage one) that you could discover on your own without finding the recipe first. We were constantly putting the runes together randomly, hoping to discover another one, but no dice. They should have made a few more spells, and allowed the player to put things together themselves, because discovering stuff like that is absolutely awesome.

And who doesn't remember seeing the bathtub for the first time when fully pumped up on insanity? I nearly crapped myself!

[Lizard_King]

Yeah, I was trying to be discrete. That thing is pretty much the most important widget you can pick up in the game, and missing it will make things way worse. If I remember right (and I'm trying to remember something I haven't played in, what, six years), not having the purple rune means not being able to use the shield power. And against the spider caster enemies, that's pretty much the kiss of death.

You can still use the shield. Purple inverts certain spells like detect invisibility (eg makes you invisible, which is great for strolling into a room with lots of bad guys and casting a high level damage field in the middle, then waiting for invisibility to wear off, also you can attack freely while invisible and they won't hit back unlike invisibility in every other game), but I haven't determined an element matching benefit for the shield. Oftentimes, it's still more prudent to go with the counterelement for offensive spells rather than with the purple element, as it can mean a lot less spell power being used.

Where purple has an amazing edge is with the magic pool spell. Regenerating health, sanity, and magic with a single spell is really handy.




I know I've said this before in an Eternal Darkness thread, but I played it in shifts with about six other people sitting around a big TV, and it was probably the coolest experience I've ever had in gaming. It was like an interactive horror flick. The only weak point was that there was exactly one spell (the damage one) that you could discover on your own without finding the recipe first. We were constantly putting the runes together randomly, hoping to discover another one, but no dice. They should have made a few more spells, and allowed the player to put things together themselves, because discovering stuff like that is absolutely awesome.
I was disappointed to find out that the later versions of the spells merely constituted adding a bunch of power runes, but I spent a lot of time with just "Spell 9's" and the like until I got the actual spell. Soon as I got a new rune I would try it with the existing ones, and it usually paid off at least once. In the second to last level I still have two unidentified spells that I haven't found the scrolls for and made anyway, and I was using magic pool, damage shield, and that attack spell you mention quite a bit before they were available.

[Alan Friesen]

*******SPOILER BELOW******


What I loved about that game was the fact that I played it through all three times, saw all sorts of insanity effects, and still never came across them all - like the one you mentioned. Great game.

[Jazar]

I liked the game a lot but I think the Sanity effect wasn't used to its potential. Sounded awesome in theory, but it rarely ever happened unless you forced it just to see what fucked up things it did. I would look forward to a sequel.