Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
2002 NintendoEternal Darkness has been a long time coming. It had a promising begining, coming from Silicon Knights, the developers of the acclaimed Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain for the PSX, renouned for their "mature" style of gaming. After being switched from the N64 to the Gamecube, Nintendo aquiring Silicon Knights as a 2nd party developer, and all the delays that went into perfecting the camera and gameplay, the question was simply whether the game would live up to expectations, well, read on for our Editor's thoughts on the answer there. Silicon Knights and Nintendo did tout the game well with its many unique features, some of which are:
Features
- Subset of Too Human game engine
- Unique "Sanity" system
- Fluid Animation and Detailed textures
- Historically accurate settings and weapons
- Incredible camera design
- Mature "Lovecraftian" storyline spanning 2000 years
- Supports Progressive Scan, Dolby Pro-Logic II
Eric T: I suppose I'll begin by saying I have always thought that Nintendo aquiring Silicon Knights as an exclusive development team was one of the best decisions they have ever made. I knew that this team was special since I had played Blood Omen on the PSX. That game was a gem indeed, with its incredible story, top-notch voice acting, and high quality FMV (Pre Final Fantasy VII of course). That games only fallacies in my opinion were its sometimes difficult gameplay, and some very long loading times.
Eternal Darkness was announced back in 1999 at the E3 convention. At the time, it was looking very good for such an early state on the N64, and it quickly rose in hype, that was helped of course because coming from Silicon Knights, it was known that the game would be "mature", and on the N64, those were few indeed. Rather than boring you with more history detail, Ill simply sum up what happened from there quickly. The game was transfered to the Gamecube in late 2000 (with good reason IMO, after the dissapointments in N64 sales at that time), and after showings at E3's in 2001 and 2002 plus some Cube Club demonstrations, people were wondering whether the final game would be any good. Silicon Knights kept hiding game details and the story in secrecy so as not to spoil anything, even going so far as to purposfuly cripple them for those previous showings, leaving some gamers to give negative impressions on those "demos".
Fast foward to the present, I have brought, and played through the whole of Eternal Darkness, was it worth the wait? As Jim Rayner from Starcraft would say, "Oh yeaaaaaaah." This game is pretty much a testament to what a developer can do when they use their time properly. Silicon Knights have crafted a game that can almost be described as art. I could go on and on about the intracacies of the game and its many features, but I couldn't spoil the experience. I can attest that you will enjoy the game more if you go in without knowing what is coming. What I will do is give you my take on the Graphics, Sound, Gameplay and all that.
Graphics: I'll say this right away, do not expect to be blown away, if you go in expecting something mind blowing, you probably will be disapointed. That said, Eternal Darkness is by no means a slouch in this department. The environments are richly detailed with some exceptional texture work, each one of them looks quite historically accurate indeed. The Characters are hit and miss for me though. Some of them can look a bit on the blocky side, while others are smooth as can be. Like other websites have stated, the graphics do indeed get better the further you get into the game, your jaw will drop when you reach the Cathedral indeed.
Sound: Tied with Gameplay for the best aspect of the game, Eternal Darkness in my opinion is the best sounding game on the Gamecube. Silicon Knights went all out in this department, from the exceptionally composed musical score (although, there is one piece that was recycled more often than others that deserved it more) to the wonderful voice acting, not to mention DPLII support, play this game LOUD.
Gameplay: The main reason why this game has gone through so much development time can easily be seen when examining the Camera and Magick systems. The Camera is bar none, one of the best I've seen in a videogame, there was never a time when I got frustrated at it for being in the wrong place, no, it is perhaps flawless. The Magick system is also well done, though my gripe with it is that it doesn't seem as "deep" as I had thought. Another gripe many have found is the time to completion. I hate to admit that it has indeed been exaggerated. Estimates of a 40-60 hour game are quite off. My first time through took me about 12 hours, going through the other paths in the game averaged about 7 hours. But dont get me wrong here, this game has much more replay value (and also is much more fun) than every other single player game on the Gamecube.
Silicon Knights has come out swinging with their first title on a Nintendo system. Knowing that Eternal Darkness was created with the help of the Too Human (Silicon Knights' other game in development) engine makes one even more excited with anticipation for that game indeed. If you are a fan of Adventure games, Eternal Darkness will fit the bill nicely.
Jason Nuyens: This was one of the hardest decisions for rating I have had to make. A 10 star implies perfection, yet a 9 star rating seems low for such a great game. This title delivers a story that is untouched by any other software company in the world. The script is so intelligent, yet so realistic. Speaking from the impressions of the final ending, I can truly say there is a depth in the story unmatched by almost any other game ever created.
To compliment this great story, both the video and audio sport high quality material. The visuals are sharp and have almost and endless amount of textures to coat the architecture with. I found myself spending lots of time just admiring the details all over the place like paintings, ancient murals, decaying temple walls, and cultural artifacts. The camera system is definitely one of the most polished aspects of the game. It drifts around effortlessly, as if it was a Hollywood video camera on a dolly. The amount of time that must have been spent on just the camera alone is testament to how seriously Nintendo and Silicon Knights take games. On the audio front, I will be open and say this is easily my favorite game audio experience ever. The sound effects in the game were very high quality, and always appropriate. It will make you feel as if you are walking through a mansion in complete solitude, or exploring a real cathedral during a thunderstorm. The voice acting is also incredible. Not enough can be said about the importance of voice acting, and Silicon Knights obviously took this into account when getting talent for the game. With the great voice acting, the characters seem much more realistic, and more importantly, more likeable. It will be hard to choose a favorite character from the game, because there are so many interesting personalities.
This game is epic, and is a grand addition to any GameCube owners collection. The only reason I cannot give this game a perfect score, is because I would have nothing left to offer a follow-up game with even better material. After Eternal Darkness, I will be first in line for the next Silicon Knights game.