2001 Nintendo
A trio of evil spirits have emerged from the past to cause havoc in the present. To stop the ancients from spreading their poisonous power over the planet, you must travel back in time and stop the spirits in their path. In every time period, you control a hero of the day and search the world over to clear it of evil creatures.
Features
- 12 Playable Characters
- Multiple storylines and endings
- Dolby Pro Logic Surround Sound
- FMV and real-time cinematic sequences
- Advanced Dramatic Camera System
- Only for Nintendo GameCube
An important relationship began to transpire in late 1998 between an extremely talented Ontario, Canada-located development studio and a prominent Japanese corporation. The alliance was being formed between developer Silicon Knights and publisher Nintendo Co., Ltd. through the creation of a Nintendo 64 video game entitled Eternal Darkness. The game was first unveiled at E3 1999 and had many in the gaming industry were immediately intrigued with its catalog of innovative features and unique description of "psychological thriller". Eternal Darkness was eventually given a pending release date of October 31, 2000, residing directly on the ominous celebration of Halloween. For a time, the development of Eternal Darkness continued without diversion.
As result of their close development contact, the fond relationship between Silicon Knights and Nintendo became increasingly amplified. On May 3, 2000, to the surprise of few, Nintendo officially announced its acquirement of Silicon Knights Inc. as a second-party developer. The deal made the development house an immediate exclusive developer alongside others such as Rare, Left Field, and Retro Studios, all of whom are unconditionally faithful to the Nintendo format. Nintendo fans rejoiced with the knowledge of receiving another unique developer entirely devoted to the creation of thought-provoking and innovative video game software.
Work proceeded with the Nintendo 64 version of Eternal Darkness, but as the life of the 64-bit console began to submerge into idleness, a critical decision was made to cancel the near-completed Eternal Darkness and position it, with the use of a sub-engine from the game Too Human, on Nintendo's next-generation home console, GameCube. The decision was also made partly due to the fact that a title of Eternal Darkness' caliber would be far and above any other created-from-scratch launch game for the GameCube. Since the decision of transfer was made, work has progressed rapidly on Eternal Darkness; so much in fact, that the game nears 50-60% completion and is presently being arranged for a release of November 5, 2001, directly beside the launch of the new GameCube hardware.
Eternal Darkness was unveiled for the first time on the Nintendo GameCube console at this year's E3. While the title has been enhanced visually and the audio quality has been vastly improved, nearly all of the content -- story, characters, and layout -- remains intact. The following is what is currently known -- past to present -- regarding Eternal Darkness.
As mentioned before, the story has remained the same throughout Eternal Darkness' tumultuous existence. An evil has been suppressed deep within the recesses of earth for millenniums, patiently awaiting an escape. A deranged evil called the Ancients. These creatures exist entirely outside the humanoid realm of thought and behavior -- physically, ethically, and conceptually. The Ancients' demise is epitomized to the assault of an ice age and the shifting of tectonic plates within Earth's crust, much like that of many beings that walked and crawled the Earth before mankind. The Ancients, however, simply hibernated during these periods while the rest of the existing population expired.
Time offers no boundaries to these malignant beings. "The timelines are historically accurate. Charlemagne, Timberlane, World War I, Desert Storm -- all have been included without flaws," says Silicon Knights President, Denis Dyack. It's literally an epic story spanning two millenniums.
The gameplay begins these thousands of years later when the Ancients return, with the assistance of the 'secret societies', to claim possession of Earth, during the time when humankind, in its perception, is comfortably the predominant species. According to Silicon Knights, the Ancients' performing of this is "beyond mankind's limited comprehension." Heroes are born, however. While not being able to fully understand the implications of these events, these heroes' fates have decided their involvement in saving the world. We only hope they have the courage it takes to face and overcome these demanding circumstances. So who will traverse the eras and bring an end to that which embodies evil?
You will undertake your quest against depravity with the use of 13 unique characters through a time spanning 2000 years, and the characters, as a result, reflect life in these times. Each of these characters manifests some sort of skill or persona you would likely see called upon in such a period. Each character is also profiled with his/her own unique profession, strengths and weaknesses, and overall story. One important thing to note is that these characters' experiences are accumulative and interrelated. You won't simply move from one scenario to the next. A smooth transition will occur between the characters' plots.
The main character of Eternal Darkness is a mysterious young woman named Alexandra Roivas. Alexandra is described as a 'mourning granddaughter'. With a shotgun at her side, Alexandra returns to her grandfather's mansion during a violent lightening storm. Her investigation is related to her grandfather's recently learned death. Alexandra is returning in order to identify the lifeless body. This is where she discovers a mysterious book, which is said to play an integral part in the story.
The antagonist of the plot is a centurion of the Roman army located in the time of 100 A.D.; his name is Pious Agustus. In the E3 version, Pious, a brave but cautious character, enters a medieval castle. In a latter part of Agustus' level, you're found wandering the castle's forlorn dungeon. The volumetric fog present in the dungeon is unbelievable. The fog rolls across the stone floor as if it is a living being. At the conclusion of Pious' level, you enter a chamber called "The Doom Decision Room." This is considered the main junction in the game. You are given a choice between three colored artifacts (red, blue, and green) that individually represent the "Ancient Ones" -- artifacts belonging to the Ancients. A cinema follows this and presents the result of your choice. The details during this particular cinema are spectacular. You can view Agustus' veins popping out of his neck as he is electrified by the evil force. Your selection in the Doom Decision Room has a definite effect on the rest of the game. However, you must re-play the level in order to realize the consequences of your original choice. The type of monsters you encounter, the colors, the artifacts, and the storyline will all become altered. "One of the things the people are going to see when they're playing the game," says Dyack, "is that they're actually writing the story as they play."
All of the characters in Eternal Darkness are said to play an essential role within the powerful storyline, and according to Dyack, that doesn't mean they won't be subject to death. "I don't want to give anything away, but this is a serious drama -- it's a story about heroes and how people can unite to fight overwhelming odds, and people die when they do that." A battered knight templar within a devastated church, a mourning granddaughter attempting to find the truth, a psychiatrist, and many others that make up the varied character demographics, assist the evolution of Eternal Darkness' amazing storyline.
There are many elements important to the storyline and character involvement. Essential gameplay factors include the three meters present on the edge of the game screen. These are the sanity meter (green), health meter (red), and the 'magick meter' (blue). Both the sanity and health meters were utilized to an extent during the E3 version. The magick meter, however, was unavailable for use. Silicon Knights has decided to keep its secrets concealed.
The sanity meter is an innovative feature that contributes to the continual suspense in Eternal Darkness. As a player progresses through the game, the small green liquid-type gauge on-screen will indicate his/her level of sanity. As the level drops due to your brain having endured too much magick and violence to properly function, your character will begin a slow, disturbing descent into madness. "It's one of the elements in the game that I think people will really enjoy," says Dyack. "As players come against these things that are totally unbelievable -- things they have never seen before -- they begin to question what's going on and their ability to deal with things is diminished. That affects gameplay and how the player feels. If your level of sanity becomes very, very low, weird things are going to start to happen." Players can actively keep their sanity level stable, however, they've got to figure out how it's done. This feature is designed to make you doubt not only others' actions, but also your own. Denis Dyack remarked that "There are times when you don't know if what's going on is a delusion or actually the real game." In other words, the sanity meter becomes yet another fascinating gameplay mechanic that must be carefully utilized in order to make progress in the adventure.
The E3 2001 version of Eternal Darkness featured two sole sanity effects, both of which were implemented into Alexandra's quest. One particular sanity effect displayed the girl simultaneously losing her appendages -- first her head, then arms, and finally her entire body. The other featured her head, upon picking it up, speaking a quote from William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Edgar Allen Poe, Alfred Hitchcock, and many others' renowned works have also been sampled within Eternal Darkness. At the conclusion of each sanity effect, Alexandra saw herself reappear in a previous room along with a bright flash of white light. The experience of being mutilated never actually happened. No harm was done as it was simply an illusion due to losing sanity. There are many more subtle effects other than these, but again, as with the magick, Silicon Knights has decided to keep them undisclosed.
The characters all have viewable strengths and weaknesses, physically and mentally. Some characters can only run for so long until they are worn out and are unable to keep pace. After a good five minute run, a character's ability to fight is also affected and their swipe and jabs will become slower and produce less injury to the enemy. Since the centurion is obviously more physically fit, he is able to withstand more laborious activities and will tire with less frequency. Relating to mind, insanity also depends on your character's mental endurance. One may go insane faster than another or, for instance, one may be able to endure more magick spells than another more fragile-minded individual.
Another notable innovation in Eternal Darkness is the variety of character animations. Characters react to the position of the individual enemies throughout the game, including the general environment. Each character will turn his or her head towards an enemy accordingly and follow that enemy with his or her eyes until it has been disposed of. Relating to the environment, if you walk past a torch and it cracks or sparks, your character will acknowledge it by turning his/her head. The characters feature diverse body postures and facial expressions -- joy, sorrow, terror, and caution. For example, if the character is frightened he/she will be cautious by walking slower and present nervousness through facial express. It all helps support the realism contained in the game.
Your character's mouth is bound to drop in horror when they run into the "singing zombies", an example of enemies within Eternal Darkness' already frightening environments. If you choose to shoot all of their arms off, they will spontaneously join together and begin to sing and chant. Suddenly you'll become injured by the enemies who have sacrificed their bodies to damage not only your health, but also your sanity and magick. There is another enemy called the 'Horror'. If he gains possession of your character he will actually teleport you to an alternate dimension. No, that's not a good thing. Keep in mind, the Ancients aren't necessarily big, ugly, and nightmarish creatures, but sometimes beings that feature covert identities, adding a psychological manipulation to the game. There are many other frightening and supernatural enemies present in Eternal Darkness, including boss characters.
You can't be expected to kill these enemies with your hands, now can you?
"One of the things in Resident Evil, where they sort of build up things, they give you weapons that do more damage," says Denis. "In Eternal Darkness, you're faced with creatures where bigger weapons aren't necessarily going to help you. You can magically enchant weapons, you can augment them with magic as well. There's a lot of spells in the game, and you can cater what you want to do. So if you want to use a lot of magic, you can. If you want to use different weapons, or do different things, anything to beat the enemies, you're allowed to do that."
Your weapons and abilities are related to where you are in time and the technologies available. For example, your commando may have superior sniper rifles, while the templar will have to rely on more archaic tools. Players will be able to enchant over 120 different spell combinations to dismember and destroy their devilish foes.
Eternal Darkness features a full up-close combat system that enables very immersive and extensive fight sequences. Your traditional attack is performed with the A-button. It's primarily used when there is little time available to perform the more complicated moves. The more powerful actions are done with the use of the R-button; specific limbs of the enemy's body will be targeted, seen in a translucent white. You will need to use the control stick in order to select the individual body part or appendage (this includes the left and right arm, head, and upper body). Once your opponent falls to the ground, you can fully terminate its life with the simple press of the B-button. If you think the game is filled with nothing but terror, you're wrong. Comedic, yet still sophisticated situations are present. For example, when you remove an enemy's head, it will feel around for the head in a comedic fashion.
In a tight, confined corridor you must be careful when you use your weapon. Swords for example, may not be used in tiny, enclosed areas as they will, instead of hitting the enemy, make contact with the wall with a resulting shower of sparks.
You'll occasionally take a break from fighting in order to figure out various puzzles. No need to worry. Puzzles in Eternal Darkness are very subtle. Players are not meant to become stuck, unlike the Resident Evil series. The average game player will be able to easily decipher the given puzzle. All the puzzles are going to be directed in giving the player direction, but are also going to add an augmented story. You'll observe the 'Ancient Ones' and the colors green, yellow, and blue more than you might realize...
Eternal Darkness contains an atmospheric brilliance never previously experienced in a video game. The ambient lighting, the symphonic music, and the disturbingly life-like graphics... together, marinate you in an overwhelming experience.
Adding to the unbelievable atmosphere of the game are many elements:
The dialogue contained in Eternal Darkness is fully voice acted. The voice actors are experts taken directly from Hollywood, CA. In fact, NOA product coordinator, Jeffrey Kalles, admitted the individual who played the psychiatrist in Terminator 2 is included in the voices for Eternal Darkness. Other than celebrities, many dialects are expected to appear in Eternal Darkness with high quality vocals. A cutscene located in a desert, prior to Pious Agustus' level, featured authentically spoken Latin. Voice acting is not something you need to be concerned with. The forming of goosebumps will have you immediately convinced the first time you listen to the conclusion of Pious' level as he utters a bone chilling scream.
The music in Eternal Darkness is majestic, very reminiscent of Acclaim's Shadowman. The music is beautifully composed. The aesthetics of the pieces are really something to appreciate. Similar to Pikmin, the music in Eternal Darkness harmonizes with the game. Simply put, they belong together.
Eternal Darkness runs on a fully 3D engine, enabling complete freedom of movement and, because there are no pre-rendered environments, a totally scaleable camera system. What this means for the player are 3D environments that are fully interactive and contain a look of profound beauty. The knight templar referred to as Joseph de Molay was displayed in a level which featured very dynamic and majestic camera angles. The scenario is located in a devastated church. The camera position on the first entry to a particular room will be unique when enemies are present. Once the enemies are disposed of, you can re-enter and the camera position will change. One room Joseph re-entered allowed the camera to pan up and profile extremely detailed ceiling rafters. It had a cinema-like feel to it.
Eternal Darkness runs at 60 frames per second and contains nearly non-existent load times. Silicon Knights' president has said that the load times are "faster on the GameCube than they were on the N64 cartridge". So fast, in fact, that Silicon Knights has been forced to slow the time down by 1/8 of a second so players would not become disorientated as they entered a new room. The dynamic camera pans from one room to another without a hitch.
The environments in Eternal Darkness are extremely detailed. For an idea of this, consider that the "Roman centurion has more polys on his body than a single frame refresh on the 64 version." Letters lying on a desk will actually contain written words. China with individual designs and silverware on a meticulously set table will reflect light. Curtains gently flap in the breeze that flows in from a backyard full of evergreens. Stained glass windows and portraits hanging on a wall will have you convinced that you're visiting an art museum in Paris. It's hard to believe the amount of time and energy that has been put into each individual detail. It all truly helps to pull you into the experience and make the fantasy resemble reality.
An assembly of varied gameplay, scriptures fit for the movies, an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere, unparalleled visuals, and industry recognized innovation, combine to feature a 40-60 hour quest of which you've never experienced before. If you still haven't succumbed to it, you'll eventually come to see that Eternal Darkness is worthy of its hype and praise. There's no doubt Eternal Darkness will convert a legion of oblivious beings when it's released, at last, on November 5, 2001.
In the meantime, however, we will all be carrying a flashlight with the knowledge that Eternal Darkness is coming...