Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
The survival horror genre has become more popular and more prevalent over the years. With most of them being the same old zombie blasting style of game, it's a breath of fresh air to finally see something new. Every once in awhile, a game comes out that totally revolutionizes a genre of gaming. Eternal Darkness is one of those games.

Graphics:

The graphics in the game are some of the best the Gamecube has to offer. Since the game was originally in development for the Nintendo 64, the in-game graphics still show a little bit of that systems touch, but most of the game has been adjusted enough to look a lot better. The cutscenes in the game have much higher quality graphics, rivaling that of even some of the Final Fantasy titles. However, in some cutscenes the graphics seem a bit fuzzy, which is a major problem that many Nintendo 64 and PlayStation titles faced. The graphics in the game are done extremely well, making for some pleasant eye candy.

Sound and Music:

This is another category in which Silicon Knights have succeeded. The music in the game isn't like that of other survival horror games. Instead of opting for cheap thunder sounds and plain old eerie music, Eternal Darkness is in a league of its own. The music itself is creepy, but once you lose enough of your sanity meter, it gets down right spooky. You'll begin to hear screams and crying babies, along with pounding on the walls and footsteps all around you. The sounds are is sure to make you feel a bit uncomfortable while playing the game alone in the dark. As for the voice acting, Silicon Knights pulled together a top notch voice acting team. The majority of the voice actors are fairly famous, many of them being the same actors who did the voices for Metal Gear Solid. This includes such greats as David Hayter (Solid Snake) and Cam Clarke (Liquid Snake). The voice acting in ED is extremely well done, and I put extra emphasis on the word EXTREMELY.

Storyline:

The storyline in the game is one aspect that sets it apart from all the other survival horror games. Instead of some virus spreading and infecting a bunch of people, Eternal Darkness' story spans over 2000 years and involves a very in depth storyline. The game revolves around an ancient alien race, known as "The Ancients". They have been on Earth ever since the creation of man, and have been awaiting their time to rule the planet. The game starts when Alex Roivas gets a phone call in the middle of the night from a private investigator. He tells her that an accident has occurred and that she should rush to her grandfather's house in Rhode Island immediately. When she arrives, she finds out that her grandfather has been brutally murdered. With an empty mansion full of clues, she decides to investigate into his murder. What she finds is a tale of evil that has been slowly planning to destroy mankind. An evil that many others have attempted to stop and that she must now put an end to. The storyline for the game is exceptionally well done, and is one of the main things that separate Eternal Darkness from the rest of the survival horror games out there.

Gameplay:

The gameplay is another aspect of the game that helps separate it from other survivor horror games. Instead of walking around blasting evil zombies, you will use many types of weapons to fight off all kinds of evil creatures. Throughout the game you will play through eleven chapters. In each chapter you will play as a different character whose life has been affected by The Ancients. Around the beginning of each characters chapter you will find the Tome of Eternal Darkness, an evil book which allows you to cast spells to aid you in your quest. As you progress through the game, you will gain new and more powerful spells. This brings me to the fighting system, which is really well done as well. The game has an easy targeting system, allowing you to attack different parts of the bad guys' bodies. Finally, the most important aspect of the gameplay is the sanity meter. While playing the game, you will encounter many bad guys. Each time you encounter a bad guy, your sanity meter will go down. This causes the game to start messing with your mind. Such sanity effects are your head falling off, your character exploding while casting a spell, your Gamecube pretending to reset or turn itself off, and the infamous effect of your memory card pretending to delete itself. While all aspects of the gameplay are great, it is definitely the sanity effects that truly shine.

Controls:

The controls in the game are excellent as well. Fighting bad guys is easy, and every button serves its own purpose. The analog moves you around, while A is used to attack and B used to pick up items, open doors, etc. The Y-button, along with the D-pad is used to customize what spells you want for quick use. Holding the L-button allows you to run, while R is used to target enemies. The camera angles are average at most. The game doesn't allow you to control the camera, so you'll occasionally get a really bad camera angle. However, bad camera angles don't really cause that much of a problem.

Replayability:

The replay value of the game is probably its weakest point. While there are three different difficulty modes to play through, there isn't much else than that. By going through the game once, you'll unlock the ability to watch the credits. Going through it a second time on a different difficulty will unlock the "jump to game" mode, in which you'll be able to play through chapters over again. Finally, beating it a third time on the last difficulty will unlock the secret ending, along with "eternal mode", which is basically invincibility. The difficulty is based on which artifact you choose in the beginning of the game. Green is easy, Red is medium, and Blue is hard. Each difficulty has its own separate main enemy, each enemy being one of the three Ancients. The game itself is around 10-15 hours long the first time through and significantly shorter the second and third times through.

Overall, Eternal Darkness is an extremely well done game. It's obvious that Silicon Knights took a lot of time in making the game of high quality, instead of rushing it like many other companies would have. The game has a lot of originality, which is good to see in this age of "video game clones". The game is definitely worth your time and your money. With Silicon Knights working alongside Konami on Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, it looks like the company is on the right path to being one of the best.
Graphics: 9.7/10
Sound and Music: 9.8/10
Storyline: 9.9/10
Gameplay: 9.7/10
Controls: 9.8/10
Replayability: 9.5/10
9.7
Out of 10