Holy ****!
GAMEPLAY - It's hard to explain the gameplay without talking about the story, so you might want to read that part first. Basically you play a family ancestor or someone who's been affected by what's going on (I'm not sure if it's one of the two or both), and it describes what happens to make that individual either die or pretty much be permanently scarred by what happens to them. That's all I can really say without going into a lot of detail on the story, but you're going to be using items and things associated with the time period. For example, if you're in ancient times you'll probably only have a sword, but if you're in a more recent era you'll have guns and other items. Take my word for it though, the gameplay on this one is great. - 10/10
STORY - This is really the bare bones of what this game is. You play a young lady who is investigating the murder of her grandfather, who died in his own house without a trace of a cause. In the process you stumble upon the Necronomicon, or the book of the dead. As you continue to explore the house, you find chapters of the book, which are basically short stories you relive in which people encounter the book and the forces of darkness. It's really difficult to explain more beyond that without giving too much away, but needless to say this story is an amazing one. And what's interesting is that the more you see and do regarding the supernatural, the more you wonder...is this really happening? Did my TV just turn off and back on? Am I starting to lose my mind, or is it just the game? - 10/10
GRAPHICS - The graphics are fine. Nothing spectacular, but I'm sure for the time they were very good. This is hardly where the appeal of this game comes from, however. - 8.5/10
SOUND - The voice-acting, music, and sounds are all quite astounding. This game is all about the story and its presentation, but surprisingly the sound matters more than the graphics in this case. - 9/10
LENGTH/REPLAY VALUE - This game is fairly lengthy. You could probably beat it in an afternoon if you were really trucking along, but this game is best served in small doses. Plus you're going to want to play this game with the lights off for the full effect. Replay value is good, as choosing all three paths and completing them allows you to pick and choose which memories you want to relive from the main menu rather than playing through again. - 9.5/10
BOTTOM LINE - Eternal Darkness is really a gem compared to a lot of other games out there. Not a lot of people tend to truly appreciate it for what it is, and more still have probably never even heard of it. Believe me, this is one game you will not want to pass up. It's difficult to find nowadays, but only because it's such a classic that a lot of people own it. This is one of the only games that has actually made me have to turn it off because I was so scared by it. Resident Evil games may give you a jump and a surprise here and there, but this one really chills you to the bone. This is easily one of the scariest games you'll ever play, so if that's what you're in the market for, pick this up and give it a try. It might start off slow, but by the end of the third memory I think you'll be hooked. - 9.5/10