It feels like an eternity, alright
| Platform | Presentation | Controls | Variety | Audio | Depth | Value & Fun | OVERALL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GameCube | 9.50 | 4.00 | 4.00 | 9.00 | 5.00 | 5.50 | 5.59 |
| Presentation | 9.50 |
| Gorgeous visuals all around. Immediately you'll notice the excellent facials details and animation, as well as details in the environments. Animations are quite fluid also. Once you get into darker areas that use the torch, the lighting is shown off, too, and is a definite highlight. On top of the ingame visuals, there are a few CG cinematics that are also up to par. | |
| Controls | 4.00 |
|
It is very hard to make a good camera when the user has no control over it, and Eternal Darkness shows that. While at times the camera is very good, at others it's awful. It's often easiest to try saving to tell whether there are enemies in the room rather that looking, because you can't look at all. There are also "trappers" that send you to an alternate dimesion that you'll likely only get caught in because you can't see them due to the camera. As for non-camera issues, when you're walking, for whatever reason you'll get streamlined if you get close to a wall (so suddenly it's harder to turn). This was probably done to make the camera work around corners, but it gets very frustrating in fights with multiple enemies. What is more frustrating with multiple enemies is the targeting system. It will often target an enemy more than 180 degrees off your line of sight; it's completely unreliable. This targeting system is not only to target enemies, but specific points on their body. While this is good in theory, it basically boils down to aiming for the head every time. In fact, it's essential that you do so. The magic system, however, works well due to being able to assign spells to the D-pad and Y button for quick casting. Although, it would have been nice for it to ask which element you want to cast, rather than having to set the element to the buttons (elements are red/green/blue working as weaknesses ala Pokemon with fire, grass and water respectively). |
|
| Variety | 4.00 |
|
The variety in Eternal Darkness is a mirage. While it seems like there may be variety in that you venture through many different interesting times such as World War I, the time of Charlemagne, the middle-ages and so forth, there really isn't a lot of variance in the locations. In fact, you'll revisit locations multiple times over the 12 chapters. You'll also repeat the same formula: find the spell to advance to the relic to die a horrible death. It's not so much the repeat in structure, but the rudimentary puzzles and repetitive simplistic combat. You'll fight Zombies, Skeletons (same as Zombie, but is a skeleton), Trappers, Bonestealers and Horrors over and over, and the same tactic is used to dispel all of them (except the trappers, which for whatever reason, you can't hit with a close-range weapon). Two new enemies are thrown into the repetitive mix in the last 3-4 chapters, and two subbosses in the last two chapters to close it out. The minimal enemy variation is a real bother, and it isn't all that fun to fight them in the first chapter, let alone the same ones in the twelfth. To touch on the trappers, it sends to you a small area in another dimension in which you have to transport to a certain section to transport back to your dimension. It is not at all interesting, difficult or scary, and it's entirely a bother. As for the insanity system, the game would lose nothing if it weren't there. It has absolutely no bearing on gameplay whatsoever. The only effect is that the screen will tilt and the walls will bleed (and if your meter goes entirely down, you'll lose health). The only other effect is that sometimes when you walk into a room with low sanity, something weird will happen, then you'll be back outside the room (it never happened). |
|
| Audio | 9.00 |
| More great presentation elements here. The ambiance is quite well done, and the voice-overs are even better. There are no noticeable problems in any regard, which is rare. It all fits into the style that was aimed for. | |
| Depth | 5.00 |
| The depth comes almost entirely from the magic system. When to use it, conserving energy and using the right element is vital to the game, and vital to keeping any interest alive in the player. A few of the puzzles are fairly creative, also, giving it a little boost. | |
| Value & Fun | 5.50 |
|
It took me approximately 13 hours to finish -- an hour per chapter, plus the final closing with the main character, Alex who is out to solve her grandfather's mysterious murder by finding clues (which ends up being chapters of the Tome of Eternal Darkness). By playing through the chapters, you'll learn new magic (or find an item in the chapter page) to advance in the mansion to find another chapter and so forth. Eternal Darkness feels lengthy, although 13 hours isn't that long. The story is interesting and the presentation is beyond reproach, and that's what is worth it. What isn't is the redundant, bland gameplay. Magic is often learned to solve a simplistic puzzle and few have practical use (those are Enchant, Recover and Shield). This is a beat once, enjoy the story and forget about it game. But if you really want, you get to choose early on which god will be your enemy throughout the game. |
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| Overall | 5.59 |
| While playing Eternal Darkness, I couldn't help but be reminded of Hugo's House of Horrors -- an old graphical text-adventure on the PC, with just as much gameplay as a game over a decade later offers. There is so much polish in the presentation, that the lack of effort in diverse gameplay comes across as insulting (about 2 enemies per year in development). Neither scary nor engaging, it's hardly a worthwhile venture. | |
Posted by Ellyoda Fri, 14 Apr 2006 00:00:00
Recently Spotted:
Archangel3371 (10m)
A combat move that sweeps multiple enemies would have been greatly appreciated.
(Its the same game over and over)