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Preview  Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
- By Mike Schneider [Editor In Chief]


E3 2001 Impressions:

I played this game at E³ last year as an N64 title, and it was very impressive. This year, however, it is simply unbelieavable. I’d put Eternal Darkness right on par with Rogue Leader: Rogue Squadron 2 in terms of wow factor, it’s definitely one of the best games at the show.

In the demo here, you begin by selecting one of three playable characters: A disgruntled lady that uses a gun, a Russell Crowe look-alike, and another warrior. Both of the male characters do hand-to-hand combat.

The most apparent thing about Eternal Darkness is the graphics. The textures are extremely smooth and are some of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in a game. The attention to detail is superb. For example, while controlling the Russell Crowe look-alike, I made a big swing with my axe, while standing right next to a wall. The burly guy reared back, and swung the mighty axe forward with his entire mite. However, his axe struck the wall and his motion immediately got stopped. Moreover, the camera angles are very dynamic and move much more than in the RE series, and the effect is very movie-like and eerie. So, although you get a fixed view in a room, it promptly moves to a new position as you move over a few steps.

When I first played the game, I had a little difficulty with the controls. With this said, I now love them – they really work out well. At the forefront, the “A” button uses your weapon. Ala Zelda and other titles, there is an action button as well. The red “B” button is used for this, in which it allows you such options as picking up things, inspecting, or “finishing” enemies (for example, with an axe, you may leave a skeleton enemy panting on the ground. You then go up to him, press “B”, and your character bends over and delivers a final stab deep into the enemy before pulling the weapon out of their gut. It’s really cool to watch, and is also especially gruesome. With the “R” button on the controller, you can lock onto enemies. When you lock on with a gun, the body segment that you’re going to hit becomes highlighted. You can move it around to various segments, such as the head, chest, arms, or legs. With hand-to-hand combat weapons, using the “R” button essentially locks you onto an enemy. The last handy button is the “L” button, which allows you to run.

A cool gameplay aspect about running is that it can make your character tired. So, if you run too much, you’ll begin to hear him/her pant, and you’ll notice he/she isn’t able to move as quickly as before, and they swing their weapons much slower.

Although there wasn’t much in this demo about the magic system of sanity meter, I did witness some cool things, among which on a few occasions I saw the main character lose their head. Being headless, you can still keep right on playing. When talking with Denis Dyack he assured me that the magic system is very deep and rewarding, and it will play an integral part in the game. Also, there will be numerous puzzles, of which they all have some role in advancing the plot and aren’t in the game simply for the sake of adding puzzles. A last cool detail is that skeletons fight back when they’re missing limbs, and some enemies may even pick up their own arms and use them as weapons after you’ve chopped them off.

Finally, sound effects and music are both very ambient and create a nice atmospheric effect. On occasions when you begin taking down a group of enemies at once, they break down into freaky hymns or chants.

- 5.18.2001