Eternal Darkness
GameCube £44.99 Nintendo ****
The scariest things in a Nintendo game used to be the garish colours or twee soundtracks. Not any more. Eternal Darkness is out and not since mthe eerily creepy Silent Hill 2 has a game unnerved its players so much. From the start it's clear this is a lavish product. Widescreen and surround sound options are included, as is a 60Hz setting for those with suitable TVs.
From the start, as you explore a deserted mansion, the action grips and rarely lets go. Unlike Resident Evil, from which ED borrows some elements, the control system works well, with swift and easy character movement. But it is atmosphere and narrative that are key to the appeal of Eternal Darkness. The sound effects, all whispering voices and creaky floorboards, are impressive, creating a disturbing ambience.
The Lovecroftian intergenerational tale, taking in Ancient Rome and Medieval Europe along the way, is a cut above the videogame norm. The chapter-divided game structure, which concentrates on one character at a time, urges you on to the, usually bloody, outcome. Then there is the insanity meter. Every enemy you meet causes the meter to go down. Let it get too low, by not killing enough beasties, and your character starts hallucinating. This is brilliantly depicted with disappearing walls, exploding heads and numerous other surprises offering a unique videogame experience. Unfortunately the combat is fiddly, the puzzles are fairly simple and the game ends a bit too quickly. But Eternal Darkness is adult horror gaming at its finest and a reminder that you don't need sunglasses to play everything Nintendo publishes. (GH)
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
GBA £29.99 Pocket Studios/ VU Games ****
As the two biggest commercial events of the year, Christmas and the release of the second Lord of the Rings film, rapidly approach, so the deluge of tie-in games titles begins. One of the first out for the GBA isn't based on the action-orientated spin of the first film at all, but takes its inspiration from Tolkien's first book, in a more RPG-lite version of the classic tale.
Initially you get Frodo and Sam to explore with, but gradually the whole nine members of the fellowship join your party, although to avoid confusion you only control one member of the party at a time, with the whole group emerging during combat.
Of course in the same way the film was, it's a much more simplified version of the book, as endless hours trudging and singing ditties wouldn't make a fun game. Instead there are set pieces in recognisable areas like Bree, Rivendell, and Moria. The amount of puzzle solving involved, is for most part pretty simple, but some like Tom Bombadil's forest, which keeps rearranging itself every time you change screens, really work well in making the game come alive.
The role-playing elements are fairly basic such as levelling up skill or health points, while combat is handled in a turned based way but without the depth of Golden Sun. It's a nice looking game with a decent amount of gameplay time and some nice little touches, which are likely to appeal to those with a casual interest in the book, rather that die-hard fans who will always find things to complain about. (RP)
The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
PlayStation 2 £39.99 Electronic Arts **
This officially licensed product reeks of money from the moment you encounter it. It is initially impressive: video sequences from the first two films morph into in-game video sequences that seamlessly turn into the beginnings of missions.
The Two Towers is one of the best-looking PlayStation games. Unfortunately, it is considerably less impressive in gameplay terms.
Perversely, since Tolkien's books spawned the popular role-playing game genre, Electronic Arts has opted to create a hack'n'slash game. It makes the odd nod towards RPGs (you can purchase new attacks as your character gains experience), but most thought hack'n'slashes had disappeared for good when games turned 3D.
You can play as Legolas, Gimli or Aragorn, which will please Tolkien obsessives, and the backgrounds and missions are sufficiently well realised to bring an air of familiarity. But despite the need to swap between types of weapons and adopt marginally more strategic approaches when you encounter boss-monsters, the gameplay is repetitive.
It is just as well the game contains lovingly crafted backgrounds, as your attention wanders when you find yourself wearily dispatching yet another horde of identikit orcs. Before you buy it, ask yourself whether you are a gamer or a Tolkien fan. (SB)
