Keep the lights on!
No horror game would be complete without various puzzles to solve. The puzzles in COC have a perfect difficulty level. They are neither excrutiatingly hard nor mind numbingly easy. One of the first puzzles is to unlock a safe. By reading through your journal you find out that the combination is the date of the diary entrants daughter's birthday. Now if you had listened to previous dialogue you will know that she was 10 years old the day before. So by checking today's date you have the answer. Dialogue is extremely important throughout, it provides clues as to where to head to next and reveals the intriguing storyline, as well as adding to the intensity of each situation. Early in the game the words '"Mum's in the attic, dad's locked her in there'" sent a shiver down my spine as I knew that I would have to head up there to investigate,alone. Clues are found in the form of diaries and newspapers, all of which you will keep in your journal. Your journal provides an essential reference if you are stuck at any point.
Cut scenes cannot be skipped and, if they could, the story, which runs side by side with the gameplay, would be irrelevant.The story of the mysterious cult who darken the streets of the Old Town is compelling.
The graphics in the game are worthy of a mention.The dark streets and corridors can sometimes be too dark but the option to turn up the brightness helps you see exactly what is lurking in those gloomy corners.Moths hover around lights and beetles scurry across the floor.The fine attention to detail in many of the shop fronts and rooms is admirable. The Old Town is superby designed with narrow alleys connecting the streets and the whole town captures the underlying evil superby.Character animations are not fantastic but are adequate, the main characters appear somewhat emotionless but the dark often hides this problem.
Click for larger imageThe main issue ,in an otherwise fantastic journey into the unknown, is the character acting. Now this only relates to your character, Jack Walters. Jack's voice portrays no emotion, his speech is evenly paced and he never appears to be nervous or scared. At times when I have almost fallen off my chair in horror Jack's speech gives the impression that he is unperturbed by any of the grisly goings on. In direct contrast, the characters of the Old City have menacing voices which convincingly display the pain and anguish that hide behind their brutish faces. Through the use of moaning, screaming, creaking and music the game comfortably accomplishes what it originally set out to achieve, to scare the living daylights out of you.
Click for larger imageCall of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of The Earth is an intense and unique first person horror game that makes your hands sweat with anxiety. At one stage I almost broke out in a cold sweat I was that scared! Although the 360 has arrived, classic games such as this should not be overlooked. Lovecraft deserves a huge pat on the back for bringing us this unique blend of psychological horror, as do Take Two for having the courage to create his vision in all its splendid detail.
Pros
Unique features
Intense gameplay
Great Story
Superb, atmospheric environments
Scary as hell! Compatible with 360
Cons
Long loading times
Emotionless Characters
A spine tingling journey into the unknown. A great storyline and unique gameplay ensure that Call Of Cthulhu is a game not to be missed.
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