Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
Platform: GameCube
Genre: Adventure
Publisher / Developer: Nintendo / Silicon Knights
That is because as it happens: once the "children's" attachment GameCube in a few months became almost the primary platform for the bloody thrillers. Emigration series Resident Evil, it turns out, was not the culmination of reincarnation, as the product of Canadian studio Silicon Knights, according to many critics, has overshadowed the brainchild of Capcom. Comparison of Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem and "Resident" - it is rather the inevitability than a hint of similarity between these two games. Of course, the authors of Blood Omen: The Legacy of Kain borrowed something from their Japanese counterparts. But in spite of this, "Eternal Darkness" is a very unusual survival horror.
As usual, the story describes the horror is not the most iridescent period in the life of heroes. A playable characters, among other things, as many as 12 pieces! Protagonist among them is a pretty lady named Alexandra Roivas (Alexandra Roivas). Her misadventures begin with the news of the death of beloved grandfather. A look at the dismembered body of the deceased (one leg - here is another - there) have brought investigators to believe that old man died not from old age. However, the police, by comparing the weight of evidence and their own laziness, went and closed the case. It was then on the stage and there is Alexandra, who, of course, there was no more important things to do than to roam the night manor, looking ghostly killer. And though the plot ED confused and florid, the script further action is easy to predict: zombies, monsters and mystery. But is it really all that simple? Not at all! The beauty of the game lies in the quality of the original incarnation of ideas.
The first thing that distinguishes us from the usual ED survival horor - is control. Speed and agility of your character does not fit with the classical manner a helpless victim. Gives additional confidence not only an arsenal of firearms and bladed weapons, and magic. Do not rush to remember Onimusha and Parasite Eve, because these parts Arcane system is unlike any other. The magic is based on three elements: red, blue and green. Red spells are good against the green, green - against the blue, and blue - against the Reds. Sami spells get you in the form of artifacts - rune'ov. Combining them, you can create a completely unique magic. Affliction has a lot of destinations: the destruction of enemies, gain weapons, unlocking the secret paths. There is even a spell that turns the hero into a scorpion, who can shoot poison and penetrate into nooks.
Despite the abundance of opportunities, the oppressive feeling of fear you will not escape. In many ways, this contributes to the so-called effect of insanity (insanity effect). The more often you meet a monster, the faster skudeet scale of mental health. Once it is empty, begin oddities: everywhere you will seem incomprehensible sounds, screams, and sometimes tangible obstacles that in reality does not exist.Recover from stress it is easy enough to finish off a couple of enemies or use the appropriate spell.
Fights, incidentally, are in a somewhat unusual manner. It is very important to find the right weapon for the situation. A heavy cleaver, for example, slows movement, and a long sword waving silly in a narrow corridor. You can choose which part of the body of the enemy attack. The same zombies can be neutralized, deftly chopping off his head. It will not kill a dead man, but only make it less dangerous. The victory over the enemy will bring much more joy, if we apply a beautiful finished the similar fatalities from Mortal Kombat. One of the characters even know how to conduct an autopsy of defeated monsters, in order to study their weaknesses. Not without bosses, but they occur much less frequently than desired.
The abundance of playable characters - a direct result of confusion of the plot. Despite the fact that the action starts today, later you will have to dip into the past. ED events are scattered over twenty centuries. As you look at it to be in the shoes of a Roman centurion, or priest, the Inquisition? Each character has its own characteristics and weapons, the corresponding epoch.
Dark places, which have hit the road, replete with not only enemies, but with puzzles. Their complexity is increasing gradually, but they solved logically. An experienced gamer will be the game for 20 hours, but without finding secrets. I guess I did not reveal the secret, if I say much about the presence of four different endings!
One of the key attributes of survival horror - it's cinematic. Angles ED are not only beautiful but also convenient. The environment is fully three-dimensional, and the camera sometimes moves behind you, no interfering Review. Scenery look very realistic and detailed. Especially good lighting effects. The character models are not so smooth, but the animation is on top. Thanks to the wonderful facial expressions, good voice acting and spectacular music (Resident Evil shade visible) screen saver engine to look very lively and natural.
Eternal Darkness for the project from the very beginning of great expectations and, as we now see, not in vain. The first announcement was even 99-year, and the game was out on the Nintendo 64. Flapped a couple of years, developers were not too lazy to change the platform, and all this time, they painstakingly debugged, balanced and polished gameplay. As a result, was born one of the best representatives of the horror genre. And most importantly, we found that not only the Japanese can do excellent thrillers.
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