Gaming Eternal Darkness (Beware Spoilers)

[Turkey]

(I can't believe nobody has made this thread already...)

Anyway, this is a preview dedicated to what may become one the best games of this year, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

[IMG]http://cubemedia.ign.com/cube/image/edark_box_640.jpg[/IMG]

Many people, under the effects of a deadly disease called ignorance, put this game in the "Resident Evil clone" category. This is a horrible mistake, since they are completely different.

This game is not Survival Horror. Instead, it's an adventure psicological triller and a first of it's kind.

[SIZE=3]Story[/SIZE]
EDIT-This is a transcript of the real introduction.

Long before humanity graced the Universe with its puerile ideas, the Earth belonged to another species. An ancient species bound by neither physics nor nature; purpose nor ethic. Through the passage of time, the relentless advance of ice and continental plate and other less fathomable reasons, these "Ancients" were driven into the recesses of our world. There they lie imprisoned until such time as the conditions are right for their return.

"Oh oblivious, naïve Humanity... How ignorant we really are - safe only in our blind "superior" view of the world. We are merely caretakers, for when the Ancients return we shall be swept aside like driftwood on the tide of destruction..."

Hungry for dominance, radical organizations seek to restore the Ancients to their former station. For eons they have schemed and plotted in the darkness, attempting to bring these unholy entities into our world through arcane magicks - blood rituals, worship and sacrifice.

Of these sects, little is known; those who learn their secrets tend to perish swiftly at their hands. Their scheming works to bring the return of the Ancients, and the extinction of humanity, ever closer.

Yet not all hope is lost. The fate of Humanity depends upon the actions of a chosen few.
They are average people, unprepared for heroic deeds, but the responsibility is theirs, nevertheless. Even as their lives are torn apart by unseen evils, they must show courage not only in the face of the enemy, but also their own fears. These poor souls will teeter on the brink of insanity, tortured by the horrors of the Ancients.

A secret war is being waged on the periphery of Humanity's perceptions - a war wreathed in shadows and deception. Now, the centuries-long game of the Ancients is reaching its final stages.

The Darkness comes...


[SIZE=3]Gameplay[/SIZE]

I'll say it from the start: The game's promised to be around 60 hours long.

Each of the 12-14 characters uses different weapons, ranging from swords to shotguns. The combat sistem allows you to target specific parts of your foes and it's said to be fast and responsive.
Also, the game features a deep magic sistem, which allows you to power-up your weapons, cast spells, and summon monsters. The summoned monsters, however, can be very dangerous, since you will eventually lose your power over them and they will turn agaisn't you.

And last, but not least, is the sanity meter. Depending on how you play, this meter will rise or fall. The lower, the less sane you become, and then the game shows it's evil side. Things you see may not be real. What you believe is an item could end up attacking you. The file you save on may change it's name. All of those are real and reported by IGN. In fact, they game tricked some people at EGM by saying that the file was corrupted.

[SIZE=3]Sound[/SIZE]

So far, the music sounds perfect for the genre. The closest I can come to this musical style is Diablo on steroids.
The voice acting is very good. However, it's no surprise, since the VAs are from games like Diablo, Soul Reaver, and MGS 2.

[SIZE=3]Graphics[/SIZE]

Like most first and second party games have been lately, this game has to be seen in motion. The areas detailed with high polygon models (5,000 each) and high-res textures. The character and enemy designs are great (except for a guy who looks kinda stupid). And the fact that it moves at 60 fps with minimal slowdown doesn't hurt.

[SIZE=3]Conclusion[/SIZE]

It angers me that such an amazing title has been so underrated. I advice you to buy this game on June 24 (or 25).
[I]What do you see...Is it light? Is it darkness? Is it fear?[/I]

[Guest Morph]

I have played other Eternal Darkness games before, and I hope this one is impressive as the others were. I can't wait, I like it. Although some like you said, under rate it, when its a pretty good game!

[Turkey]

There were others? Please enlighten me, sensei!

[Guest Morph]

I thought there were others... Its just that I don't remember the console or anything. Probably wasn't and I'm just confusing it with another game... Maybe I'm crazy...

[Turkey]

Well, If there are others, don't forget to post them. I really need a few doses of Darkness.

[Charles]

The closest thing to another Eternal Darkness game, was the version that was scrapped for the Nintendo 64 towards the end of it's life span (which, of course moved over to Game Cube development).

That being said, I'm looking forward to Eternal Darkness. Silicon Knights have been working on this game for what seems like forever now and each time they show it, the development time is reflected.

The concept of playing through such a large cast of characters is an intriguing one and I'm eager to see how well it will be pulled off. The characters and environments, all set in a wide variety of times, will no doubt allow the game to remain fresh and unique.

If I remember correctly, Silicon Knights was responsible for the first Legacy of Kain game. What could this possibly mean? Yes, that's right, Eternal Darkness is sure to hit the mark in terms of engrossing story telling and atmosphere.

My only concern with the game is the sanity meter. If anyone's ever played, IllBleed for DreamCast, they might recognize the similarity between the sanity meter and the heart rate. Although, Eternal Darkness' sanity meter sounds much more complex and enticing, I hope that it lends to the overall gameplay instead of detracting from it, as the adrenaline meter in IllBleed did.

[Turkey]

Well, in Illbleed, you could consider yourself dead if your adrenaline was empty.
In ED, the only way that you'll go completely crazy is by playing badly (running from enemies, cheating your way through puzzles, ect)

[Desbreko]

[color=indigo]Well, I can say that I'm actually starting to want this game! When I first heard about it, I wasn't too thrilled about it. It did sound kind of like Resident Evil, though I quickly learned that it wasn't all that much like Resident Evil. The Sanity Meter sounds like it'll be very interesting, especially since it'll actually kind of mess with your mind, lol. This definitely sounds like one of those games that's best played in a dark room with surround sound.

I'm thinking that I'll probably rent it when it comes out. Probably won't buy it, but it'll be worth a rental or two. I dunno, this just isn't exactly my type of game, I guess you could say.[/color]

[James]

[color=royalblue]This game is absolutely incredible. Combine Zelda with Resident Evil and throw in some "The Matrix" and that's what you get.

It's utterly brilliant. Some of my colleagues spent some time with it at E3 this year.

You won't want to rent it, you will want to buy it...trust me.[/color]

[Semjaza]

The game is supposedly huge. I've read 60 hours to get through it (although I'm willing to be it takes less than half that long). However, there are three different paths to take at the beginning which affect the gameplay. That would count for 3 times through, but ED lets you have four save slots per main save...And Rick at PGC led me to believe that after you play through it those three times, the fourth would get you another ending or whatever else... At least that's the impression I got.

This is something I am buying. Anyone that knows me knows I'm a freak for this game, and have been since it was first shown on N64. Two more weeks!

[Turkey]

Two interesting tidbits of information:
1.The title's previous release date was chosen because the 9 planets were aligned.
2.The actual release date is the day of an eclipse.

These people really know when to release games!

[Guest Hobbie]

Sadly enough, I do not own a Gamecube. I got caught up in the conspiracyto brain wash Americans into buying PS2. But now that I am recuperated Im looking into purchasing a GC, mainly because of ED. It looks great. Cant wait to get it.

[BlueGender]

I am going to get the game today I will tell you guys how it is after I play it. Everywhere I called yesterday said it wouldn't be in til today.

[Turkey]

God, this game owns! The game has an atmosphere that sucks you into the game.
Those worried of insanity effects getting annoying, don't worry! The subtle effects don't become constant unless your sanity meter lowers quite a bit, and the biggest effects are very rare.
Right now, I'm at a loss of words, so I'll continue later.


[SIZE=4]WARNING!!!!!!!11111[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]If your box is empty, check inside the instruction booklet![/SIZE]

[Semjaza]

The sanity meter becomes VERY hard to keep up in later chapters in the game. I'm playing as Dr. Lindsey right now (it's chapter 6 or 7, I think). He is that archeologist looking guy some people might have seen in pictures. His level has been the toughest so far. I find myself dying in this game way more than I did in RE.

Graphically... this game is SO much better on a TV in motion than shots and videoclips can show. Some of the areas are beautiful, and the texture work is amazing. The game runs at 60 FPS constantly (although, one time it slowed a bit...but not much) even when there are tons of monsters on screen.

Sound wise, this game is very impressive. The music is good, the voice work is nearly on par with MGS2 and the sound effects are excellent. When your sanity gets low you can sometimes hear people screaming or crying in the background...to me that's the best sound effect in the game.

The control is weird at first... But you get used to it. It's incredibly fun lopping off a zombie's head and watching it try to grab where it's head used to be. The finishing moves are also pretty cool, and each character has a different animation for each weapon. Every so often the camera zooms in and does a close-up of the finisher, which is excellent. The control is full analog, unlike RE... so moving around is simple.

Speaking of the camera... it's probably the best I've ever seen in a game. It has excellent angles, and pans and zooms just like a movie.

If anyone has some questions, I'll answer what I can. I should be beating it in the next couple days. It is definately worth getting though, and I think it's the best game on GC and the best game I've played in quite a while.

Oh, and I went back and played RE... For some reason it's not as impressive now as it was before. I began to notice it ran slower than ED, the animation was nowhere as smooth and I finally realized that the control downright sucks... something I'd never admit before lol.

[BlueGender]

[SIZE=1] I fell that this gameis the BEST GAMECUBE GAME OUT SO FAR!!! Many say it is boring but I love it the insanity's are great and make you question is their problems with your TV or your system.I am on chapter 5 and have only been stuck on minor things that have been easy to beat if you only look around a little more. I am going to go back to playing. I love this game so much!!![/SIZE]

[Charles]

I also purchased this game on release, even choosing it over Stuntman.

The visuals do a very nice job of creating the cliche spooky atmosphere. Nice touches, such as fog rolling across the floor and brilliant lighting truly capture the terror that this game personifies (meaning how the characters create much of the fear themselves through illusions and such). Although some of the locations are repeated, there are varying touches that keep them fresh, such as vestige protruding through the jungle temple as time weathers it.

The characters are a mixed bag. Nice touches such as facial expressions and unique animations make them attractive, while slight jaggedness keeps them from matching the level set in Resident Evil. I was a bit disappointed with the full motion video as well. The graininess is reminiscent of a Sega CD game. It's not quite as bad, mind you, but I still know that GameCube is capable of so much more.

As I expected, the sound, whether it be the narration, character dialogue, or dauntingly surreal music, is top notch, further enhancing the story. I really expected a lot from Silicon Knights in this area and they delivered. Hearing the characters (or other manifestations) wail and talk to themselves really beats the heck out of Luigi humming to himself, lol.

Some of the voice actors could have been a bit more convincing, but I'm not going to nitpick. Awesome details, such as characters speaking their native tongue and having it morph into English as they talk, definitely create a movie atmosphere.

I prefer the control to that of Resident Evil. The most was made out of the GameCube controller. I glanced at the manual, picked this game up, and had no problem. The little tutorials do their job, without interrupting the game [I]too much[/I] and that's just how I like it.

This game is really tricky though. More than once I've gotten lost, only to discover that the answer was directly in front of me all along. Eternal Darkness definitely hurt my ego, that's for sure. Although the monsters aren't nearly as challenging as Resident Evil's, the layout of the environments makes for much closer attention and careful exploration.

I'm satisfied, that's for sure. No one can call this a Resident Evil clone. The overall experience is just so much more than a typical survival horror game.

[Turkey]

CWB, you just stole the words outta my mouth.
The only real gripe I have is that they could have made the video quality better by putting it on 2 discs.

And, not to spoil anything, but not too far into the game you will see a scene that will scare the crap outta you. When you see it, you will know.

[Semjaza]

I beat the game last night, it took me just over 13 hours... I'd say a total of 18 hours playing it, considering all the times I died and forgot to save.. I had to do several chapters all over because of that.

The video isn't DVD quality... but it's about equal with the average video in FF7. SK created it's own video codec for this game, and wanted to use it to keep the game down to one disc. There isn' that much video that the compression becomes annoying though.

I thought all the voices were pretty good. The voice of Pious after the transformation is one of the best I've heard in a game. He is very convincing.

The game has three paths... the first time I chose the blue rune, this time I chose the red. I was surprised by how much was different. You get the alignment runes in a different order, most of the monsters you face are of different alignment and Pious is trying to ressurect a completely different god...resulting in some totally different FMVs.

That to me has made the game worth playing through again. I totally missed a rune in a level too, so I'm going to try to get that hehe.

Oh and I bought Stuntman on Monday. It's fun, but at the same time you are just trying to recreate what the director wants you to do...which at times gets very annoying. It's like a simon says game or something

[Saiya-jinro]

I have it and, it rocks!!! It combines great gameplay, graphics, and music for a great experience. Another thing I liked was the great voice acting. The voices fit very well. I give it a 10/10. :D

[OlgaTheDwarf]

SPOILERS!!!




This Game is amazing!!! I would like to hear what people thought of the insanities and what their first reaction was.
The weirdest insanities to happen to me were the game turning my T.V.'s volume down and My T.V. turning of and turning back on again.

[Charles]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by OlgaTheDwarf [/i]
[B]This Game is amazing!!! I would like to hear what people thought of the insanities and what their first reaction was.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Well, I suppose this is a bit of a [B]spoiler[/B], so I urge people not to read if they really want to be surprised.




I was most freaked out when I went to save my game and after pressing the B button to return to the previous menu, the game started deleting my file, heh heh.

It was very convincing for some reason. I was a bit tired, about to turn the game off and wasn't paying much attention at that point. When I turned around and saw a box, complete with a bar slowly filling up, followed by a message stating, "All files successfully deleted," I was a tad unimpressed with myself. :toothy:

Since the game actually showed the file disappear, I was pretty convinced. Boy was I relieved when I learned that it was all part of an insanity effect.

[Saiya-jinro]

I like when you get turned into a zombie. At first, I couldn't believe it. I got volume thing too. :cool:

[Guest Last Chance]

I just made it into Chapter 8 and realized that i left the purple rune behind. God this game threw me until i realized that those were insnity effects. Some of the more interesting ones i've run into were:
1) Alex seeing her body in a pool of blood in the tub
2) Shrinking to miniature size
3) Blood dripping from the ceiling
4) Flies on the screen
5) Having my head cut off and being asked if i want to pick it up.

I've got more but hey the list really gets too long. Later...

[projekt_navi]

I'm not done with the game yet :bawl: