Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

Fear is the enemy. The more you fear the worse it all becomes.

Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, a GameCube release developed by Silicon Knights and published by Nintendo, is a descent into madness, and the vehicle you ride to get there is fear.

This game is a psychological thriller, a puzzle that deceives and intrigues while turning everything you thought you knew about the game inside out every so often, just to see if you are paying attention.

The game begins in death. Alexandra Roivas has been summoned back to the Roivas family estate to identify the decapitated body of her grandfather. There is a bit of silliness about identifying the body with dental records, to which the officer in charge comments about it being hard since there is no head. A few hysterics later and Alex is left alone in the mansion. Being headstrong, she is determined to find the cause of her grandfather’s death.

She has a key to the upstairs, but the key breaks in the lock, and she will need to repair it before she can go up there. But through careful exploration of the rooms that she can access, she uncovers clues that allow her to find a passage to a secret study. Therein she finds the Tome of Eternal Darkness, and the game really takes off.

First stop, the ancient past and a Roman centurion named Pious Augustus. The year is 26 B.C., the country is Persia, and Augustus finds himself in a tomb filled with undead creatures. Presumably he is trying to find his way out, and battles through the nasty creatures until he stumbles upon a room. The room contains three mystical artifacts, floating above pedestals. One resembles a warped angel; another appears to be a pale blue helm; and the third is a red-clawed worm. Augustus can take one, and that begins the journey of evil. Bolts of light flair from the artifact and Augustus becomes one of the undead, though driven by evil and a lust for power.

That’s the first chapter in the game. In it, players will get an understanding for some of the puzzles and fighting. With the Tome of Eternal Darkness in her possession, Alex discovers a scrap of paper that she can suddenly read. Welcome to chapter two, and the beginning lessons in the sanity aspect of the game.

Like Augustus, Ellia, a dancer in the court of Suryavarman II (A.D. 1150 in the Angkor Thom region of Cambodia), is entrapped in a tomb. She must find a way out. But the game’s rules have changed. Whereas Augustus swaggered into the fray, unafraid and swift with the sword, Ellia is susceptible to degradation of her sanity. Every time a monster looks at her, her sanity meter drops. The only way to gain it back is to kill the monster, and use the finishing move (which ends the creature’s life). Failing to do that, her sanity continues to dissolve. She becomes more susceptible to hallucinations, the world twists on its axis and she is harder to control.

Can you say "game over?"

Game players will have control over six characters throughout the course of the game.

The game spins on "Ancients" bound within the world, waiting for release. There are those who would see to restore these Ancients, and those that oppose their return to the world. Through it all, players will be drawn into this game, never really knowing what to believe, what is real, and what is illusion. And as insidious as it sounds, the developers of this game were not content merely to mess with the characters within the game ­every so often they add a spin which will test the ‘sanity’ of the game player.

When it comes to the graphical elements, Eternal Darkness offers a mixed bag. The environments are magnificent, with texturing and ambient lighting. There are some telltale elements that will allow you to avoid some traps. Floor tiles in the tombs that look different can trigger dangerous contraptions; all designed to kill your character. Stepping around them, for the most part, is easy if you know what to look for. The animations vary. Alex is very smooth, while Augustus has a tendency to lumber about mechanically.

The characters themselves will help game players with important elements in the game by looking in the direction of important objects. That can be a big help.

The special effects are well rendered, as are the cutscenes, which propel the game along.

The background sound and musical score of the game, while initially trying to set the mood, can be annoying, but the options package will allow players to turn these elements off.

The control elements of the game have been kept simple, and because the opening chapters act as a tutorial, players are gradually introduced to the game’s elements and manipulations.

The game’s AI changes as the story progresses. At first the monsters are quite easy to kill. They tend to line up and you can hit and retreat, then repeat the process and wend your way through a host of creatures. But when the sanity factor kicks in, it’s a whole new ballgame and the perception is that it becomes much harder.

The puzzles also run the gamut of easy (there is even an Indiana Jones type puzzle where you replace one object for another) to mind numbing. Some puzzles may have you running in circles for a while without success. You later will find out that you had to advance through the game before the solution appeared

While the game does offer some choice along the way, it also presents, at times, a linear element. For example, Ellia may be presented with picking up a blowgun, which opens a trap door. Your instincts, as a game player, may tell you not to do that. But after running around for a while, you will come to the conclusion that is the only way to move the story along.

Eternal Darkness does have some drawbacks, but overall is an amazing journey. The game shows what the GameCube can do graphically, while playing its own games with the game player. This is not a game that is for everyone. However, if you have a semi-firm grasp on reality, don’t mind the machinations of evil tugging at your own sanity factor, then you will enjoy this puzzle-riddled romp.

This game is rated Mature for blood, gore and violence.

Gameplay: 8.5
The game does appear to have some linear elements, although it does purport to give players choices along the way. You can save at almost any spot, except in a crucial moment of the game.

Graphics: 9.3
This game really shows what the GameCube can do. The animations are a little stilted (as in one character will move very smoothly while another looks quite stiff ­ and this has nothing to do with the monsters), but the effects are very good.

Sound: 8
Some of the musical background is not moody, it is annoying. The vocal characterizations are well done, though the script has some silly moments.

Difficulty: Medium
Some of the puzzles, especially early on, are simple, and the game has a tendency to over-exaggerate the macabre elements of the game. The AI is also suspect at the start, though everything changes when the sanity factor becomes a prime player.

Concept: 9.3
The ancient evil aspect is a return to common ground. However, this game really does take the thriller genre to a new level. The way the game twists as it progresses is the key element to its enjoyment factor.

Overall: 9
Eternal Darkness is very well done. The game has some minor drawbacks, but overall is a mental challenge that likes to play tricks with game players and game characters alike.