Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth

The E3 show is coming to a close and one of our last endeavors was to pay the folks at Bethesda Softworks a visit. Their main project this year is... still Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. And after all these years of development, it looks as though the developers will actually see this one through to the end.

Something just doesn't add up.

It's time to shoot some pigeons.

You probably heard the details on the story many times before. If you haven't check 'em out this way.

Aside from the interesting narrative, based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft, the horror-themed atmosphere is something that'll keep you going throughout the game. So, is it that creepy? Hell, yeah! From what we've seen, this one should literarily scare the pants off of you. The most intriguing bit is that there is no hud or indicators of any kind to ruin the experience. Fighting enemies and having to cope with various puzzles without conventional aids (such as health bars, ammo indicators, etc.) actually comes off well in the game. Throughout the entire demo we discerned an emphasis on graphic violence and language. We became aware of this when Jack's insanity started kicking in. When your character sees something unnatural, he starts shaking and his vision blurs. This looks really cool, and it pushes the bar of creepiness and horror a bit further. Basically, players will have about 12 different visual aids to understand what is going on to poor ol' Jack.

One segment of the demo showed Jack on a floating ship, struggling against a bunch of creatures (Deep Ones) as they hoped on board. In one particular section, Jack encountered a huge creature called King of the Deep Ones. As this huge thing towers over the prow of the boat, Jack, utters what we the audience were thinking: "Oh fuck!" Other parts of the demo included classic action and stealth missions. Some areas give you an opportunity to use weapons (rifles, Tommy guns, pistols, etc.), while others require you to use your noggin (intellectually of course).

The game looks very good on the Xbox - that's the only version we got to play. According to Bethesda, you'll be able to play the Xbox version in Q4 2004, while the PC version will follow some time afterwards. (Oh dear Lord, we're looking at a 2005 release date for the PC game?! Damn! - 2Lions)

Similarly to certain modern-day action games (think Far Cry and Halo), Call of Cthulhu won't allow you to save the game at any moment. Instead, your may save the game once you've completed a particular section or if you've solved a puzzle. This checkpoint-style feature will, apparently, be present in both PC and Xbox versions of the game. The development team is simply keen to preserve the feeling of horror and doesn't wish to spoil the challenge by allowing you to save the game every second.

All in all, we are a little concerned that it's taking Headfirst so long to finish the game. Call of Cthulhu looks good; scary as hell and very moody, and it doesn't pull any stops when it comes to translating the sinister and gruesome scenes portrayed in the works of H.P. Lovecraft to our TV screens and monitors. This year, Headfirst and Bethesda were only showing the Xbox version, which is understandable given that the PC release won't happen till 2005. Damn! (DAMN!! - 2Lions)

Once you have that shiny CD in your hands though, turn out the lights, put the kids to bed and bring a change of underwear. This one's going to scare the crap out of you! Bethesda once again blazes a trail in the gaming world.