This is an adult game; I'd go as far to say this is even more adult than Capcom?s classic Resident Evil series because Resident Evil is more of a B-movie whilst this title is one of those epic tales of adventure and confusion. Nintendo don?t normally make adult game but you have the adult content rival consoles brag about but the fun gameplay Nintendo has always been famed for.

Now Eternal Darkness features one of those storylines that is so in depth that even after ten hours of play you don't truly understand what exactly is going on. It all starts horrifically enough, you?re a Buffy look alike named Alex who, after hearing of her grandfathers death, heads off to his mansion. Yet her grandfather has been murdered in a most horrific and brutal fashion and you are determined to discover what exactly happened. After finding a secret passage you uncover the Tome of Eternal Darkness that has several chapters missing. Each chapter tells of a time in history, people, much like yourself, who have unwittingly become involved in this horrific quest featuring the ancients of earth. You play as these individual characters and after each chapter you are forced to find the next chapter page to continue your story. I won't delve much further than that, the story is an intricate part of the gameplay and to spoil it here would be blasphemy. But it is the gameplay that really sets it apart from other games because this is unlike any survival horror game you'll ever play.

Yes it features Zombies, yes it features strange puzzles (although not many) and yes it features fixed (although swooping) camera angles. The gameplay evolves rather dramatically throughout, early chapters feature you beheading zombies and working out simple puzzles, a little later then the sanity element kicks in and later the magick (spelt correctly) system becomes vital in completing the game. The insanity effects are clever, the concept of insanity means that as you deal with en
emies you begin to lose sanity, you can redeem it by 'finishing off' foes yet there will be times when you lose your sanity. This can damage your health yet the most exciting thing about insanity is the effect. Things happen in the game that plays with your minds, footsteps that aren't your own, people banging on doors, blood dripping off the walls are a mere few of in game insanity effects, other effects include messing with the gamers mind. The Magick system is vital for working out puzzles and defeating hard opponents especially when your health is low. All these elements go to show that this is no Resident Evil clone. Graphically you have proper 3D models, which as are very nice, the special magick effects are equally stunning. In the sound department you have music that mimics your state of mind so expect some freaky yet very nice Dolby Pro Logic II sounds.

A large variety in gameplay, an epic quest and without a doubt the best horror game avalible on any console. One of Gamecube?s finest games.

Dringo.