Does Eternal Darkness feel outdated?

Foo228

Foo228

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My main concern in whether or not I should ever play or pay for this coveted classic is if its just too outdated in terms of games nowadays.

Details would be great. Tank controls? Beautifully done game until 2007?
Go ahead. ;)
 
I had had it sitting in my backlog forever. I finally played it about two years ago. Was enthralled and actually finished it, rather quickly even. I don't finish many games these days, much less quickly. I mention that it was my first play through only to note that it was definitely not nostalgia keeping me playing it.
 
people rave about the story, not the gameplay so much, if that tells you anything. It felt clunky to me even last gen, though slightly more responsive then Resident Evil/Silent Hill.

Then again, I've always felt survival horror "realistic" controls were a bad excuse for not having enough points of articulation in the animation. Real people don't move like tanks or take 10 minutes to inaccurately swing a pipe/stab a knife. Also, there's no consistency in the "realism" that gamers say these games use-- Chris Redfield in RE1 is just as shitty of a fighter against slow moving zombies, despite being trained to fight, as Heather (or w/e her name was) is in SH3.

Thankfully RE4 and RE5 changed all that. Even Deadly Premonition finds a nice middle ground between old and new survival horror.
 
It does things to your mind that haven't been close to comparable by any game since. Gameplay is meh anymore, but the mind-fuck factor... priceless.
 
[quote name='tgk2044']It does things to your mind that haven't been close to comparable by any game since. Gameplay is meh anymore, but the mind-fuck factor... priceless.[/QUOTE]


oh yeah, I totally forgot about that angle. if you can get it for cheap Foo228, it's worth it just to see this stuff. Don't read anything more about the Sanity Meter and just experience it. Preferably alone and in the dark. just like that game...Alone in the Dark
 
IMHO one of the most overrated games ever. It has not aged too well, but I also say the same about Perfect Dark and Mario 64. Its like a tekken 2 low res Nina Williams meets Resident Evil wrinkle in time. The game is unique, and that makes it worthwhile, clunky controls and all. That said, i would probably buy a this-gen sequel.
 
I bought it around summer of '03. I had found it for like $17.50 new. Later I was mad because I saw everywhere selling it for $5-10. When I finally played it a couple of years ago I no longer had any remorse about paying what I did.
 
I think it's still a great game. The graphics look dated, sure but otherwise, it's held up well, especially the story.

Some people might call the controls clunky but the controls are fine. The actual gameplay might seem clunky though... it's not as slow as the old RE games but it's not fast paced either and you can definitely use strategy or brute force to get through enemies.

The sanity effects might not hold any appealing for you though... since you have probably heard about most of them already.
 
I found it to be a little clunky even when it was released, but it did manage to overcome it's negatives with the interesting ways it freaks you out.
 
i bought it years ago but only played it for a few minutes. i heard alot of positive things about it and i feel bad that i didnt try to play it again. maybe someone has a video of it on youtube or something.
 
Great story and atmosphere but the combat is just plain clunky. I'd say it's worth a single play through but the payoff for a triple play through (e.g. 100% completion) just isn't worth it.

I will say the combat does get infinitely better as the chapters progress and your characters get better equipment.
 
The only thing I know about the game is that
there's a part where it says your controller is not plugged in
but that's it.

As for a price, it's through my friend's bud so it's alright - nothing great.
 
[quote name='cochesecochese']Great story and atmosphere but the combat is just plain clunky. I'd say it's worth a single play through but the payoff for a triple play through (e.g. 100% completion) just isn't worth it.

I will say the combat does get infinitely better as the chapters progress and your characters get better equipment.[/QUOTE]

For some reason I did 3 playthroughs straight in a row when it came out. The different ending wasn't worth it at all but I still had a blast playing through it 3 times. I only played it once when I recently replayed it though.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']For some reason I did 3 playthroughs straight in a row when it came out.[/QUOTE]
Well if you really enjoyed it then you might as well go back for the alternate ending. The one good thing about playing through the 2nd and 3rd times is that you can blaze through the game rather quickly since the puzzles and story are not drastically altered. It was pretty awesome seeing the alternate bestiary that belonged to each of the three gods.
 
[quote name='Dead of Knight']For some reason I did 3 playthroughs straight in a row when it came out. The different ending wasn't worth it at all but I still had a blast playing through it 3 times. I only played it once when I recently replayed it though.[/QUOTE]

I did the same thing. Played it through the 3 times right in a row.

It was one of my favorite games of last gen. I haven't (and won't) replay it so I can't say how it holds up today though.
 
[quote name='cochesecochese']Well if you really enjoyed it then you might as well go back for the alternate ending. The one good thing about playing through the 2nd and 3rd times is that you can blaze through the game rather quickly since the puzzles and story are not drastically altered. It was pretty awesome seeing the alternate bestiary that belonged to each of the three gods.[/QUOTE]

Since I had already seen the alternate ending when I first got the game and played through it 3 times, I really didn't see a need to go for it on my 4th playthrough. And yes, you can blaze right the fuck through the game if you go for the 3 endings. I chopped off well over half my playtime on my 2nd and 3rd playthroughs. It's just not something I'd do twice. I'll replay the game every few years, but only once at a time.
 
i don't know if it was just my disc but every cut scene skipped like a bad DVD. I don't care it was still fun. a FEW of the insanity effects fall short nowadays but over all it was still fun.
 
The graphics are quite outdated but the gameplay mechanics are concrete.
Combining spells was pretty fun. Although by the time we got to the final boss, me and my other half kinda dropped the ball and never finished it.
Maybe it can be a project soonish. Who knows?
 
I don't know why but I never really liked it. I played through it once but couldn't be bothered to do it 2 more times to get the "true" ending or whatever. It wasn't bad or anything - just not as great as everyone was saying. I'd give it a C+/B-.
 
If you read Lovecraft or anything inspired by him; not terribly. Yes, it looks like an early Gamecube game, but so what?

The audio, however, is still excellent by today's standards.
 
[quote name='CoffeeEdge']NO. This game is fuckING FANTASTIC and it is the BEST SCARY GAME.[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't say the game is scary, but it is a great survival horror game. Shame the developers decided to jump the shark with Too Human.
 
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