I've somehow managed to make it twenty whole years not really knowing what Eternal Darkness is beyond the basics: a survival horror game with "sanity effects" that kick in the more spooked your character is, though even then I had no concept of what those could be outside of tilting the screen at a dutch angle (which is a fancy way of saying "sideways.") As a result of being kept in the dark (har) for so long about the specific ways the sanity effects prey on the player, I actually got spooked a couple times, though in ways that were perhaps made more unique to the time and setting I experienced them in.

The first was when the game simulated a CRT shutting off. This tricked me only for a moment, but in that flash I thought "oh no, it took me forever to find this CRT, I can't go hunting for another one." A half second later I realized the set was still humming and all was well, but the thought of my TV breaking and having to scour the Facebook marketplace for a replacement put the fear of God in me.

A short while later I wrapped up the game's second chapter when it transitioned to a screen thanking me for playing the demo of Eternal Darkness and to look forward to the full game. Anxiety crept over me as I was tricked into thinking I just wasted two hours playing an extended demo and would have to repeat all of that. After all, I'm playing this on a modded Wii and it's not like I've never accidentally downloaded an ISO of a demo version of a game before (in fact I did that with Rogue Squadron III while gathering games to put on the system.) Had I experienced this back in 2002 I wouldn't have doubted myself for a second, I'd have a genuine disc and box assuring me that I did in fact have the full game, but in 2022 Eternal Darkness' little demo and CRT fake outs take on new life.

I also found the game's structure to be really interesting. Rather than controlling one character in a confined location, you're treated to 11 survival horror vignettes, with protagonist Alex Roivas' investigation into her grandfather's death serving as a framing device. Each chapter features a different character, and each character shares the same dungeon with at least two others. It's fun to see how these locations slowly open up over time, becoming more involved and deadly the closer you get to the modern day. Spells introduce another unique twist on the standard survival horror formula, requiring you to enchant items with the right elements both to solve puzzles and get an edge on enemies, all while preserving your sanity.

A consequence of this segmented design is that progression feels pretty linear. Each chapter has a well telegraphed route through it with not much room for experimentation, and puzzles aren't always given enough room to unfold. Later chapters also start to drag as there's a whole lot of running back and forth to ferry items over great distances. While this is a staple of survival horror games, Eternal Darkness' linear design means running down straight hallways with little deviation, and after a while it starts to feel like it's just wasting your time. This is especially bad during a late game segment where you're tasked with activating a teleportation device. You have to jump through a portal and activate a rune, then survive a short combat encounter before dragging your ass back to the teleporter. You repeat this nine times, and a couple chapters later you get to do the whole process over again. It sucks.

Combat is also a bit wonky, requiring you to hold the right trigger and move the analog stick to select body parts to target. Removing specific body parts will disable enemies in unique ways, with different enemies having different body parts you need to prioritize. This is a really interesting system on paper, but in practice it just feels off. You could excuse this by saying it's similar to tank controls, it's not meant to feel good because that's what builds tension. I've made this argument for poor design choices in survival horror games before, but even I know that after a while the excuse stretches thin and is just used to mask things that are shitty without being purposefully so. In this case, I think it's just another example of the Gamecube's clown controller making things feel like crap, and jankiness that's more generally characteristic of this era of games.

My gripes aside, I think Eternal Darkness holds up. I was surprised by the way the game was able to get to me, and I think its structure is pretty unique. Reminds me a little of Clock Tower 3, and I think more survival horror games should be like Clock Tower 3. Just a shame what happened to Silicon Knights, virtually blowing their own legs off at the kneecaps trying to go after Epic Games like that. But, hey, at least you can get Too Human for free now! You can't beat free...

this little shitfaced monkey has the audacity to, first off, be so curious it became his identity. which i just find ridiculous. curious about what? he's not smart enough to understand anything anyways. but secondly this little ape has the worst double jump in all of gaming. you gotta press the jump button twice before it registers, you can't double jump at a point during the first jump you gotta commit immediately. I'm sorry everyone but curious george on ps2 isnt that good. i know that's hard to take in and im sorry

Heavily inspired by Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Tormented Souls is an absolute dream of a game for anyone looking to scratch the survival horror itch..y, tasty!

The setting is brilliant, an old creepy mansion turned hospital, can't get a much better combination.
The tight corridors, fixed camera, soundtrack and sound design in general all work together to keep you on edge at all times. There wasn't really any moment besides save rooms where I wasn't on high alert.

Enemy design is brilliant, they can be incredibly tanky which makes ammo conservation really worrying.

Overall I thought the puzzles were really good. Even the ones I struggled with were good puzzles in hindsight, I did feel like some were a bit convoluted and disconnected though. I've never used a guide before but I had to use one for some of these puzzles.

One thing I disliked was the map. Every single time you use the map it opens on the wrong page, unless you're on the floor of the default page ofc. Made taking a quick look at the map a real chore and you do need to use the map a lot because the place is confusing as hell.

Oh yeah, the voice acting was...very questionable too, not sure if they were going for an old school RE kinda thing but it didn't work, it wasn't cheesy enough to be charming, it just sounded pretty bad lol

Great game though and it's definitely one that I'll replay and I think will be a classic.

Lost Planet 3 is a video game. It's okay.

If that sounds like an underwhelming intro...then I agree with you. It's just that Lost Planet 3 is one of those games that doesn't really sit with you. It's not a bad time; there were some frustrating moments, but every time I was done I felt fine. I also never had the feeling of desperately wanting to play more though. It's one of the most middle-grounded gaming experiences I've had.

The game stars Jim Peyton who is headed for E.D.N. III, a frosty planet, to mine for T-Energy to solve the energy crisis back on Earth. While the premise is simple, the story is one of the better parts of the game; there's a few nice surprises along the way, Jim Peyton himself is written quite well, and the plot keeps you engaged with what's happening all throughout. Tonally, the game does feel somewhat odd. The setting and situation at hand would seemingly lead to more serious and desperate situations, but most of the crew that man the home base are kind of goofy and weird. There's Gale, a young guy who's in charge of your machine and is pretty hyper, a crewman constantly on the lookout for the warmest spot in the base, a kooky scientist, a pair of engineers where one only ever mumbles,... The actual plot never turns goofy, but all the writing around it definitely takes a less serious tone.

Gameplay-wise, Lost Planet 3 is a bog-standard third-person shooter. There's a cover system, but it's only relevant in specific encounters; the majority of the enemies you'll face without any cover, and it doesn't feel like a huge loss in those scenarios either. What is not bog-standard in games however, is the Rig.

See, Jim Peyton doesn't mine with a pickaxe. He uses...well, he uses little posts that absorb energy, but to get there, he uses his Rig. The Rig is basically a big, lumbering machine. Think a Gundam if our current engineers had to seriously build one. Yes, the Rig unfortunately is as lame as it sounds. It's clear that the designers wanted the Rig to be a core aspect of the game, but it just doesn't really work. It's very slow; I wouldn't say that you as a person are faster than the Rig, but it certainly feels that way, so every time you're traversing areas it just feels like it takes forever.

This is exacerbated by fights in the Rig. Whenever you encounter normal enemies (the alien Akrid, endemic to the planet), you can try to kill them with your Rig or get out to shoot them. Shooting them is much quicker and easier; it's not that the Rig doesn't do damage, it's just that hitting them when you're so slow is just a major pain in the behind. Once you encounter bigger Akrid however, you'll generally be locked in your Rig, leading to a fight. These fights generally turn into QTE-events; you block a few attacks, then a scene happens where the Rig grabs the pincer/stinger/arm that was attacking it, you hold it up, and then you use your drill or welder to deal damage. You repeat this a few times, and the enemy Akrid dies. None of these encounters are thrilling; they just feel like a chore. These Rig fights also have problems throughout the game; you can pick up parts to improve your Rig, but at the start, you are not very tough, and the chance of the Rig going down are pretty high. Later on, you'll have gotten a few upgrades like a welder or a shock-claw, but these are tied to story progression, so it's very easy to forget you have them, can use them for combat,...or what button they're tied to. I don't have a perfect memory, but it hasn't happened to me before that I've had to check my keyboard config in the penultimate boss fight.

Technically, the game is okay. I enjoyed the snow planet setting; while snow areas generally get boring after a while, I feel the design of E.D.N. III had enough variety to not have me bored throughout. There's also some great sound design when you're navigating Akrid nests, as it sounds very gross, and icky, and intense. The game does a really good job of tensing you up in areas, potential dread around every corner. It's not a horror game, but it takes inspiration from them for some parts, and the sound is a big part of it. I did have to turn off the Rig radio though; country rock only? No thanks.

All in all, if you just want an enjoyable third-person shooter, you could do quite a lot worse than Lost Planet 3! You could, however, also do better.