Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth Review (Xbox)

If there were a poster game for the term “in development”, it would hands down have to be Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. Based upon the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft, an early 1900s author most known for his works of sci-fi and horror, Dark Corners of the Earth was originally announced to be in development before the Xbox was even on store shelves. To top it off, in recent years, there have been upwards of six Cthulhu titles in the works, none of which have seen the light of day until now. Not to the confused with Call of Cthulhu: Destiny’s End, which is a 3rd person action/adventure title based in this same world, coming out next year, Dark Corners of the Earth is a first-person-shooter, that blends elements of action, horror, and suspense, to bring the works it is based on to life.

Developed by Headfirst Productions, Dark Corners of the Earth tells the story of Jack Walters. A private investigator, Jack has a brush with the occult in an old depleted mansion, before losing his mind and winding up in a mental hospital. Taking place in the year 1922, players will guide Jack through his journey that has brushes with the occult, evil alien creatures, and everything else that goes bump in the night. A plot heavy journey, saying much more about the actual story would ruin some key surprise moments later on in the game.



Gameplay

While a first-person-shooter at heart, Cthulhu doesn’t fit the typical mold of this genre. After booting up the game, the most noticeable feature of this experience is that there is no HUD to speak of on the screen. I refer to this game as an experience, as shortly into it; players get sucked into this dark and depressing world. With nothing displayed on the screen to distract players from what they are viewing, gamers won’t manage health or check radars via colorful displays, but focus solely on what is unfolding before them. Blood and rain also bead on the screen, other on-screen characters look right at the player when they talk, and later when Jack’s sanity comes into play, it affects the players' view as well.

As players progress through this depressing and eerie story, they must keep Jack’s sanity in check. Viewing gruesome scenes; such as people being murdered, experiencing stressful events, or seeing horrifying creatures, all affect Jack’s sanity. Adding to the immersion of the game, these affects also manipulate how the game looks and feels to the player. A heightened heart beat shakes the controller, the screen will blur when Jack is anxious or tense, and the audio is softened as Jacks’ surroundings fade due to stress. This is an excellent feature to the game, and was implemented well, so a normal controller griping situation is heightened by the adverse affect to the player.

Gameplay Controls:

Controlling Jack is a fairly simple task, as the controls don’t take much getting use to. The game runs very smoothly as Jack explores his environments, and as he is a private investigator, players will need to inspect their surroundings in every room. By pressing the A button, a player will examine various objects and hear Jack’s inner thoughts as well. Players won’t lay Jack’s mitts on a weapon until a few hours into the game, which isn’t as bad as it sounds, but the controls work well for each. The basic control layout is below:

• Left thumbstick - Move
• Right thumbstick - View
• D-pad – Cycle/Ready Weapon
• Left trigger – Aim
• Right trigger – Attack/fire
• A button – Action
• B button – Crouch
• X button – Jump
• Y button – Reload
• Black button – Inventory
• White button – Quick heal

Platform:
Xbox
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Publisher:
2K Games
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Developer:
Headfirst Productions
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Genre:
Action/Adventure
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Release Date:
10/24/2005
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Game Features:
Offline Players: 1

Ratings :: 2
Average :: 9.5
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