I played this upon its release quite a while back. It’s been sitting in my small, but great, collection of Gamecube titles. Nestled under a plethora of books and videotapes, I decided to finally give this game a proper go.
Admittedly, my preconceptions of the title were that of a Resident Evil-esque survival horror rip off. The graphics, the fixed camera angle and the limited range of moves, add to which the similar range of moves all conveyed the same air of familiarity.
I can safely say that my preconceptions were partially realised, but only moderately so. The game does have fixed camera angles, it has a familiar menu system, and more than familiar gameplay setup – solve puzzle, complete stage. Or at least something along those lines.
To be fair, I can’t remember the last game Silicon Knights did, I think it was some Olympic sports game on all formats, and it was crap. Perhaps that was Silicon Dreams; too much silicon, not enough originality in names.
Tangent dropped, let me get back to the game. Eternal Darkness takes place across 12 time zones, going from 12BC (I think!) to 2000AD. Across the 12 time zones, you take control of 12 different characters, all of which pretty much play the same, bar the clothing and weapons which are designed for that time alone. For example, you won’t find a rifle during 12BC, instead managing with broad swords.
The first thing I guess that strikes you is the graphics, they are really quite good. Although not at the same level as say the forthcoming Resident Evil 4, or perhaps even the remake of Resident Evil on the Gamecube, they are very nice too look at. Solid 3D walls, no sign of glitches or slow down, it’s pretty well done. As you progress through the game, the environments do become more lavish, and more creative in design, as well as trying to be authentic to the time period, and it’s quite an impressive accomplishment. Lip syncing is well done, as is character facial expressions. Ok, so they may look constipated and wooden at times, but it’s all done with a touch of gusto.
The whole game is thoroughly well polished, ranks as one of the best Gamecube games, and a perfect example of innovation in a dry genre
Where the game differs from Resident Evil and the other pretenders to the Survival Horror crown is perhaps in the brilliant story telling as you play through the game, and also the injection of magic and a sanity meter. The sanity meter comes in to play later in the early chapters, around chapter two. What this meter represents is your characters level of sanity, which is pretty obvious. When you encounter a monster, your character glows green, indicating that sanity has dropped. You have to kill the monster, and then perform an automated finishing move to recover your sanity.
Failing to recover your sanity results in your character talking to him/herself, hearing voices, being affected by hallucinations which make your character even more screwed up. If you character is unable to keep sane, the fighting ability also seems to be affected, in addition to which long periods of insanity will kill your character as he falls apart literally, in front of your eyes until the game generously provides a touch of sanity to keep you going. In addition to this of course is that hallucinations will affect your gameplay in so far as repeating a very short walk, a climb up or down a ladder, or perhaps reaching a dead end when there was an exit. It’s all entertainingly done, and adds a touch of genuine originality to a tired genre.
The magic system is available once you collect a book called the Tome of Darkness. This book allows you to read parchments which could not be deciphered otherwise, as well as being able to read scrolls of magic and being able to activate Runes and Codices to enable you to perform magic. Collecting the Runes and Codices allows you to perform simple magic at first, such as Recovery, Repair, Reveal Invisibility and Enchantment. They become more powerful and more interesting as the game progresses. In addition to the Tome you need a medallion of sorts, this represents the level at which you are at to perform magic, the obvious start being a level 1 medallion. Once you learn magic, and start to discover different combinations, you can then assign these to your D-Pad for quick access to your favourite spells.
It’s very intriguing as to how Silicon Knights have played this game out. Your main character is Alexandra Rovias. You start the game at the end in some respects, as you play the character during one of her nightmares. During this, you are armed with a shotgun, and it’s pretty straightforward case of aiming for the head of the oncoming zombies and blowing it off. Controls are pretty simple. Holding R locks on to an enemy, then moving the control sticks highlights and aims for either the head, the torso, the right side or the left side.
Waking from the dream, Alex hears the cry of her Grandfather, and then receives a phone call to visit her Grandfather’s mansion. The predictable nature of the story here is that the Grandfather has been killed, the cop wants answers, as does Alex. Alex decides to enter the mansion on her own (who would have thought it?) and decides to explore the mansion to find out what happened to her beloved Grandfather.
Failing to recover your sanity results in your character talking to him/herself, hearing voices, being affected by hallucinations which make your character even more screwed up
As you explore the mansion, and start to discover the secrets of the history of the Rovias family, you also being to understand the brilliant story that has been put into play. As you walk around, looking for clues, you will come across different parchments, each one is a piece from the Tome, and each one tells a story of how the Tome came about. During the retelling, you actually take part as the character who’s adventure has become inscribed on paper, partially narrated in voice by Grandfather Rovias. The story is simple, and yet complex.
It’s an evil vs evil vs good sort of tale. When you play the first few chapters, you’re not quite certain who’s side you’re on. As you progress through the game, the story starts to fit together and your final aim starts to come in to focus. Each character in the book has his or her own story, and it’s quite strange that every story ends in tragedy. Keeping with the Horror theme, it’s quite stark as to the miserable nature of the endings of these tales. You play the level through, and not only does the shit hit the fan, it splatters everywhere, but it makes the story even more interesting.
There are some wonderful touches in the game, for example, every time the character gets the Tome book he or passes statues of those that were previous “owners” of the book, forever preserved as monuments. There are several empty places, and you realise this is how many levels you’ll be going through, and you’re also aware that even though you play through the story, your character will at some point become one of these statues.
I like the fact that as you take the book, flashes of the past up to where you are now, spin before your eyes. A reminder to you what has happened before, but also to your character. As Alex takes the book the first time, you’ll note the same flashback occurs, but it includes the fate and journey of all the characters you have yet to play as, up to and including your own fate.
Technically speaking, there is only one level. That is the mansion. On a more ingenious idea, however, Silicon Knights have taken this mansion and turned it into a Church, a temple and a multitude of other places. Some things remain where they are, as you view the surroundings, and yet it all looks completely different. You also see where and how different parts of the house were used, and how they came to be. There are tunnels and basements in the mansion, which you have yet to discover as Alex, but which existed over two millenia ago as other characters.
As you progress through the game, the environments do become more lavish, and more creative in design, as well as trying to be authentic to the time period
Another nice little touch is the first stage. Upon completion, you are presented with three statues of sorts. Each one is illuminated a different colour, each one represents a different experience of the game. The blue represents magic, the red energy and the green sanity. Depending one which one you select, will also result in how strong the enemy is, what they absorb, and how much insanity effects you, as well as which magic you discover first. Hence, there are technically three paths to the game, and it adds to some quite fascinating stuff.
The story is definitely the strongest point in the game, as Alex discovers more about the past, what her Grandfather was looking into, and how her family came by the book. There’s also the discovery of the significance of the mansion, she starts to show a loss of sanity, hearing footsteps and knocks which aren’t there, blood on the walls when they don’t exist. It’s superbly executed.
The whole game is thoroughly well polished, ranks as one of the best Gamecube games, and a perfect example of innovation in a dry genre. It manages to creep rather than scare, and entertain through exasperated efforts to lop off heads in order to gain some sanity back. It mixes elements of Survival Horror, puzzles, an entertaining script with adventure, and brings together a monumentally enjoyable title. Bring on the sequel.
Verdict: Innovative and throughly enjoyable. A fine console title, and one of the best for the Gamecube.