Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
System: Gamecube   Publisher: Nintendo   Developer: Silicon Knights   Genre: Action   Release Date: 06/23/02

The gameplay is far from repetitive.  You play as twelve different characters and each of them comes from a different time period.  Every character has their own special abilities and weaknesses that you must adjust to.  The older characters cannot run as long or as fast as the younger ones, but the younger characters do not hold up to stress as well.  Each character carries a different weapon than the last and their performance with magic varies on their knowledge.  You begin the game as Alexandra Roivas who comes to her grandfather’s mansion when she finds out that he has perished.  Alexandra searches for clues about her grandfather’s murder throughout the mansion when she comes upon these stories of her ancestors.  When she reads each story you act them out using the characters that she is reading about.  Some of the characters to expect are Pious Augustus from 26 B.S. in Persia, Ellia from 1150 A.D. in Cambodia, Karim from 565 A.D. in Persia, Dr. Maximillian Roivas from 1760 A.D. in Rhode Island, USA, and Dr. Edward Roivas from 1952 A.D. also in Rhode Island, USA.  Alexandra uses these stories as clues to her grandfather’s death.

Alexandra begins to learn that there is an ancient evil that has been around for eons.  The ancients once ruled this planet a long time ago before they were banished and imprisoned.  There are secret organizations run by power hungry people that try to release the ancients from their imprisonment; they use blood rituals, worship and sacrifice.  Yet there are a few people that are chosen to save humanity, they do not know why or how they are supposed to do this, but it is their burden nonetheless.  Alexandra is one of these chosen few.

Alexandra must gain access and explore every part of the mansion to find out what is going on.  Things that may seem insignificant can hold the most important information.  Along the way she must keep her sanity about her because when her sanity fades things aren’t always what they seem to be. 

Every new character has a puzzle or two to figure out in order to proceed through the level.  Most of these puzzles are not too difficult, but some of them can cause a bit of a headache.  Just remember, sometimes it’s best to take a break and come back with a clearer head; you will usually find that it was staring you in the face the whole time. 

The melee fighting has a remarkable lock on system that allows you to target different parts of your enemy’s body.  You can lop off an arm, leg, or even a head.  The head is usually the best place to start because they cannot find you once you’ve taken it out.  Take off the head then work on subduing the rest of the body.