Eternal Darkness, anyone else love it?

[SharkAttack]

Well I just found out there is a torch to be found on Luther's Cathedral Chapter so that would explain the pitch black stairways

[Adam Stone]

Something I just thought of - The brightness on my tv is about right for my eyes but seems to leave this game VERY dark in places. So dark at times that I am waiting for a strike of lightning to be able to see where to go. If I mess with the option panel brightness settings does this improve things? It has a note on that page as if it will make the not so dark sections look like poo. AND if you do edit the option screen brightness can you set it back to default somehow?

I found this too, took me a while to adjust the right brightness... at first i was trying to use the in-game options, but then tried my TV, in the end i made a complete dog's ear of it so just left the settings as default.

When it is all said and done, it was definitely the story that did it for me. I have described my love for this game previously, but the script is something special. It really is. I highly recommend you guys read the script if you ever can. Please just ask if you would like it sent to you, i would be more then happy to either PM or E-mail the text... It made me appriciate the game a great deal more anyhow.

I wouldn't say Eternal Darkness was a scary game... nor mentally disturbing as so many reviews cried out on its release, but it is thought-provoking and sometimes a little spine chilling. The music did a great job of sending a few shivers and the history of real-life events created a potential truth that is very clever indeed imo.

There is definitely a dark theme that runs through all the cutscenes, but the one(s) which really impressed me was when Maximillian was put into the asylum... for reference

I tried?.I tried to tell them?.but, they wouldn?t listen to me?Damn them! Damn their eyes! They didn?t believe me. Strange creatures?.the world in peril from unseen foes?The death?.The DARKNESS! Instead they jeered and threw me into this forsaken place ? a place of empty souls and fevered thoughts, reeking of foeter and decay, thinking me mad with delirium! *laughs* The fools cast away their hopes of salvation, by locking me in this damned asylum!

May the rats eat your eyes! I am now lost to your cause? The Darkness comes! It will damn us all!

Also, another is when Brother Luther walks towards the Xel?lotath Black Guardian... the architectural design here is fantastic imo. Also the whispering.... and the conclusion of this scene was most unexpected, and quite shocking, but fantastic nonetheless...

[SharkAttack]

That asylum "speech" was so good it sent a shiver down my spine both in the E3 trailer it was first shown and the updated prison clothed real game version.

[Ady]

May the rats eat your eyes! I am now lost to your cause? The Darkness comes! It will damn us all!

Aw come on, they're not that bad, surely!

I'll get my coat.

[JR]

I got this when it first came out and I didn't like it at all. But I got it again a few weeks ago because it was in Games pre owned deals, and I'm really enjoying it this time round. This time I've been able to play it on the big TV as opposed to my 14", which is hooked up to the Hi-Fi. So I've been able to play it at nearly full volume with surround sound and at times it can get really be freaky especially when your sanitys low. I've found it more disturbing than scary.

The thing that I'm really enjoying is the story, because I've started to become interested in these types of story, all these ideas of ancient civilizations and strange happenings in the world.

[Commander Marklar]

I really enjoyed this when it came out. So much so, it was all I played for a few days while I completed it 100%. The music did it for me, it kinda conjours up, er, twisted things? And, I gotta say, that scene in the bathroom really did scare the **** out of me. And I mean properly scare too -- me and the missus were both laughing about it, nervously, after it happened and I can still see that image

The OST is available to buy, I think, although I did download a stack of MP3s (I think they were also on rllmuk at some point) if anybody wants. I think they're game rips, ain't sure -- they're good though, defo one for the fans 'cos it'll bring back memories of playing (you know, like the Halo music does for the blessed who have played).

[SharkAttack]

I need help!


*EDIT by MartyG - Use spoiler tags dude*

*SPOILERS*

I am on the war chapter - Peter Jacobs. I am on the fight with the guardian but my magic seems to have NO effect on him once he starts summoning Zombies.

I start off by shooting the blue balls he creates then quickly firing off 5 or 7 point Magical Attacks which cause him damage. However - The magical attacks don't shoot off electricity as I read they should, it is more of a power surge outwards. And when any balls are still left it doesn't effect him at all, just destroys the balls!

ALSO I read that when he starts to glow white he is charging up and its a good time to attack...BUT as soon as I do he stops glowing and starts stamping on me!!!

Right so I can get past the balls bit and still have 5 lots of Magical Elixir to use. But once the Zombies are there I'm hopeless. I can't kill them all in time to cast the magic on him, If I DO manage to the magic just goes through him. If the Zombies are there, it just kills them and doesn't touch anything else. I have tried being all sorts of distances from the guardian from far off to as close as I can get.

It is starting to grind now. Am I missing something?

Also, does anyone know a way of breaking out of a "Finish him" attack once it is started? I keep doing themon the Zombies to get my Sanity back up but then the guardian starts stomping and I just stand there like an idiot! Bah!

* END SPOILERS *

[PeteJ]

So what do people think of my review then? Ie, that the Sanity effects are funny, but destroy the atmosphere almost entirely and are not implimented well enough to work as intended.

I did enjoy ED, but it should have been a heck of a lot better. Most unscary horror I've ever played, but also one of the most playable.

Perhaps for horrors to work, they need to play harsh and unfair...

Which is exactly why I love the genre so much - it just doesn't make sense

[Commander Marklar]

SharkAttack:

It's all in the timing. IIRC, you use the magical attack spell (which ever colour he is, use the dominant) when he is charging but the key is to time it right so yours goes off as he is doing the build up. Stick a powerful wall around yourself (fend of them zombies) and stick to a mid-range distance so your attack will hit. Then, after three of your hits (again, IIRC) he changes the attack again

I don't think I've read NTSC-uk's review to be honest. It's one of those that kind of gets covered everywhere (being a fairly, mainstream title) and on the forums, word of mouth, etc... and then the review comes like a month later, when it's all done and dusted so I'm past caring. Sorry man, I'll have a read later and let you know what I think, if you're bothered

[PeteJ]

Of course I'm not bothered

[Garibaldi Biscuit]

So what do people think of my review then? Ie, that the Sanity effects are funny, but destroy the atmosphere almost entirely and are not implimented well enough to work as intended.

The sanity effects are a very mixed bag, I agree. Some are just a bit pathetic, such as the blood leaking from the walls, whereas others rely on making you believe that the GC has suffered a technical error ( which, for my money, falls under a kind of 'cheap shock' umbrella ).

Call of Cuthulu for the P.C which is currently in development seems to have the right idea for sanity effects. The few that I have seen, such as when moving up to a rope bridge your viewpoint pitches down and forward, as though your character is suffering from diziness and about to fall from the ravine, are very effective.

[scottcr]

So what do people think of my review then? Ie, that the Sanity effects are funny, but destroy the atmosphere almost entirely and are not implimented well enough to work as intended.

I did enjoy ED, but it should have been a heck of a lot better. Most unscary horror I've ever played, but also one of the most playable.

Perhaps for horrors to work, they need to play harsh and unfair...

Which is exactly why I love the genre so much - it just doesn't make sense

Thought the review was a bit harsh. I loved every minute of it, although it was quite short, it was certainly one of the most novel games of its type, it dared to be different with regards to storyline and kept my interest all the way to the end. Also, one of only a tiny handful of adventures that I have replayed since completing.

[SharkAttack]

Nintendo and Sillicon Knights never claimed it to be a survival horror with creatures jumping out to scare you. They even labelled it a Psychological Thriller (and then the gaming media laughed that title off...Yeh right its a survival horror).

I don't think the Sanity effects harm the atmosphere at all. I think they add to it. Especially sound and camera wise. Some of the more comical ones that do catch you out occasionally, in my opinion, added a touch of humour to the game, a nice addition.

[Valiant]

Is there any fundamental differences between the paths (the gems or magic colours) that you choose at the end of the first chapter? Does this alter the game in anyway?

I've completed it once through and have never went back to the game since.

[Commander Marklar]

Not really; the story/chapters kind of unfolds the same, just the bad guys are different. The creature that the dead dude is trying to free is obviously different as well, including the guardian that crops up a couple of times in the game. I'd say there was enough to warrant replay, especially as you get a bit of an extra little ending bit when all three have been played through.