Search
Search results
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem in Video Games
Oct 28, 2019 (Updated Oct 28, 2019)
Psychological Warfare
Contains spoilers, click to show
Eternal Darkness- why does no one talk about this game. It is amazing, its horrorfying, terroryfying, spooky, creepy, thrilling, chilling and so much more. Plus it came out only for the gamecube, which is huge because nintendo doesnt put out or release alot of horror games. This, luigi's mansion and Resident Evil 4 were the big horror games for the gamecube. Maybe more came out, but those 3 were the big ones. Lets talk about this game, shall we....
The narrative of the game's story switches between two phases. The main phase focuses on a series of chapters in which players take control of a new character each time. The other phase acts as an intermission. The game boasts twelve playable characters, split between four distinct locations, and from different periods of time.
The story features multiple paths that can be taken. This choice not only determines which of the game's three other antagonists are aligned to the plot, but it also has subtle effects on the gameplay in chapters and intermission periods. Some changes include slight differences in puzzles and items, but most changes revolve around enemy placement, which will determine how the player engages them. This can even have an effect on the relative difficulty of the game in certain situations. Red tinted enemies, for example, are tougher than their counterparts.
The other distinctive gameplay aspect comes from "Sanity Effects", the game's standout concept that Nintendo patented. Upon beginning the game's second chapter, players must keep watch on a Sanity meter – a green bar which decreases when the player is spotted by an enemy. As the bar becomes low, subtle changes to the environment and random unusual events begin to occur, which reflect the character's slackening grip on reality.
While minor effects include a skewed camera angle, heads of statues following the character, and unsettling noises, stronger effects include bleeding on walls and ceilings, entering a room that is unrealistic before finding that the character never left the previous room, the character suddenly dying, and fourth wall breaking effect such as "To Be Continued" promotions for a "sequel", and simulated errors and anomalies of the TV or GameCube. While the latter does not affect gameplay, they can be misconstrued by the player as being actual technical malfunctions.
Lets talk about the plot/story....
The story of Eternal Darkness takes place over four principal locations which the game skips back and forth between. They include an underground temple complex called the Forbidden City, in Persia; a Khmer temple in Angkor Thom, Cambodia; Oublié Cathedral in Amiens, France (not to be confused with Amiens Cathedral); and the Roivas Family Estate in Rhode Island, which also leads to an ancient underground city named Ehn'gha beneath the mansion. Each time a location is visited, it is done so in a different time period. Spanning from 26 BC to 2000 AD. Almost half of which take place in the 20th century. Each different era and character offers a different periodic and personal perspective on the location.
The chapters found in the game are not discovered in chronological order. Instead, to make the narrative more dramatic, each chapter jumps around the timeline of the plot. However, despite the overall story skipping back and forth through time, the chapters do follow chronological order within their respective locations. This is because each setting also has its own contained story.
This game is so good, its epic, im surprised that not of people know about this game and heard about this game.
I highly reccordmend playing this game.
Lastly shout out to @LeftSideCut for getting the hints/clues for this review.
The narrative of the game's story switches between two phases. The main phase focuses on a series of chapters in which players take control of a new character each time. The other phase acts as an intermission. The game boasts twelve playable characters, split between four distinct locations, and from different periods of time.
The story features multiple paths that can be taken. This choice not only determines which of the game's three other antagonists are aligned to the plot, but it also has subtle effects on the gameplay in chapters and intermission periods. Some changes include slight differences in puzzles and items, but most changes revolve around enemy placement, which will determine how the player engages them. This can even have an effect on the relative difficulty of the game in certain situations. Red tinted enemies, for example, are tougher than their counterparts.
The other distinctive gameplay aspect comes from "Sanity Effects", the game's standout concept that Nintendo patented. Upon beginning the game's second chapter, players must keep watch on a Sanity meter – a green bar which decreases when the player is spotted by an enemy. As the bar becomes low, subtle changes to the environment and random unusual events begin to occur, which reflect the character's slackening grip on reality.
While minor effects include a skewed camera angle, heads of statues following the character, and unsettling noises, stronger effects include bleeding on walls and ceilings, entering a room that is unrealistic before finding that the character never left the previous room, the character suddenly dying, and fourth wall breaking effect such as "To Be Continued" promotions for a "sequel", and simulated errors and anomalies of the TV or GameCube. While the latter does not affect gameplay, they can be misconstrued by the player as being actual technical malfunctions.
Lets talk about the plot/story....
The story of Eternal Darkness takes place over four principal locations which the game skips back and forth between. They include an underground temple complex called the Forbidden City, in Persia; a Khmer temple in Angkor Thom, Cambodia; Oublié Cathedral in Amiens, France (not to be confused with Amiens Cathedral); and the Roivas Family Estate in Rhode Island, which also leads to an ancient underground city named Ehn'gha beneath the mansion. Each time a location is visited, it is done so in a different time period. Spanning from 26 BC to 2000 AD. Almost half of which take place in the 20th century. Each different era and character offers a different periodic and personal perspective on the location.
The chapters found in the game are not discovered in chronological order. Instead, to make the narrative more dramatic, each chapter jumps around the timeline of the plot. However, despite the overall story skipping back and forth through time, the chapters do follow chronological order within their respective locations. This is because each setting also has its own contained story.
This game is so good, its epic, im surprised that not of people know about this game and heard about this game.
I highly reccordmend playing this game.
Lastly shout out to @LeftSideCut for getting the hints/clues for this review.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Creepy (Kuripi: Itsuwari no rinjin) (2016) in Movies
Nov 29, 2017 (Updated Nov 29, 2017)
The title spells it out to a tee
This absolutely stomach-wrenching film from the masters of Japanese cinema, literally blows your socks off. It is understatedly creepy, no dramatic background music and a deeply horrifying body count. For fans of psychological thrillers such as @Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2014) and @Oldboy (2013) (Korean version) this is another expertly crafted movie that leaves you in knots.
It begins with a detective interviewing a psychopathic suspect, who then manages to escape the police interview room and hold a woman hostage. In the process, the detective is badly injured and as a result leaves the force to pursue an academic career in criminal psychology. Shaken by his time as a detective, he and his wife move to a leafy suburb of Japan with incredibly unsocial neighbours. Soon after moving, he is approached by a former colleague asking for help in a particular case, in which three members of a family mysteriously disappeared six years ago, leaving only a daughter behind. The case was never solved as the daughter's constantly changing statements were seen as inadmissible evidence. And soon after he realises that the case is much closer to home than expected.
Sharp storytelling despite a few plot holes which is left to your imagination. Totally recommended for followers of Eastern cinema.
It begins with a detective interviewing a psychopathic suspect, who then manages to escape the police interview room and hold a woman hostage. In the process, the detective is badly injured and as a result leaves the force to pursue an academic career in criminal psychology. Shaken by his time as a detective, he and his wife move to a leafy suburb of Japan with incredibly unsocial neighbours. Soon after moving, he is approached by a former colleague asking for help in a particular case, in which three members of a family mysteriously disappeared six years ago, leaving only a daughter behind. The case was never solved as the daughter's constantly changing statements were seen as inadmissible evidence. And soon after he realises that the case is much closer to home than expected.
Sharp storytelling despite a few plot holes which is left to your imagination. Totally recommended for followers of Eastern cinema.
FilmIntuition (33 KP) rated The Kiss Quotient in Books
Jun 28, 2018
Bold & Original Romance Adds Up
Back when I read the First Impression excerpt of The Kiss Quotient on Bookish First this past spring, I knew Helen Hoang's novel was sure to be one of the most talked about romances of 2018.
Bolstered by its inclusion as one of June's Book of the Month Club titles (which is where I nabbed my copy), it has fulfilled that promise and more as the genre's most popular summer beach read.
Taking familiar romance genre paradigms and giving them a new spin, Hoang's startlingly sexy title might bill itself as a gender swapped Pretty Woman but it actually reads more like a politically correct version of Fifty Shades of Grey... only with econometrics, martial arts, and fashion design filling in for the Red Room.
Centering its sexy Pygmalion narrative around a heroine with Asperger's whose disability does not define her – a premise that originally attracted me to the novel – the book is both a refreshing step forward for fictional disabled representation and a bold work all around.
While it inevitably suffers from predictable genre conventions including a slightly clunky start that moves from Point A to Z at an unrealistic pace, once Hoang balances out her equation, The Kiss Quotient really adds up.
Note: I would probably give this book 7.5, if able to award half points.
Bolstered by its inclusion as one of June's Book of the Month Club titles (which is where I nabbed my copy), it has fulfilled that promise and more as the genre's most popular summer beach read.
Taking familiar romance genre paradigms and giving them a new spin, Hoang's startlingly sexy title might bill itself as a gender swapped Pretty Woman but it actually reads more like a politically correct version of Fifty Shades of Grey... only with econometrics, martial arts, and fashion design filling in for the Red Room.
Centering its sexy Pygmalion narrative around a heroine with Asperger's whose disability does not define her – a premise that originally attracted me to the novel – the book is both a refreshing step forward for fictional disabled representation and a bold work all around.
While it inevitably suffers from predictable genre conventions including a slightly clunky start that moves from Point A to Z at an unrealistic pace, once Hoang balances out her equation, The Kiss Quotient really adds up.
Note: I would probably give this book 7.5, if able to award half points.
Power Score: Your Formula for Leadership Success
Geoff Smart, Alan M. Foster and Randy Street
Book
Whether on the sports field or in the boardroom, leaders and teams intuitively know what it feels...
Popular Mechanics Man Crafts: Leather Tooling, Fly Tying, Ax Whittling and Other Cool Things to Do
The Editors Of Popular Mechanics
Book
This is a series of ten pamphlets given to the US army on their return from WW2, reprinted in a...
How to Grow Berries and Currants: A Practical Gardening Guide for Great Results, with Step-by-step Techniques and 185 Colour Photographs
Richard Bird and Kate Whiteman
Book
This is a comprehensive illustrated guide to a wide range of delicious soft fruits with information...
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Dance For Me (Fenbrook Academy, #1) in Books
Jan 7, 2021
I received this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
This is about Natasha, a dancer–-ballet being her favourite–-who goes to an audition for a role in an advert but gets distracted during the audition by someone running into the room. Darrell, the distractor, is captivated by her and the ballet she performs and asks her to dance for him as his muse so he can figure out a way to make his latest project work.
Darrell was rather intriguing from the start and I liked how we saw him from Natasha’s POV first before seeing how he came to be at the audition from his own POV.
Helena must have done ballet at some point or this is one really well researched book.
Several chapters had me wanting to look online at the moves Natasha was performing with how well they were written; how beautiful it all sounded. Maybe it was Natasha’s feelings at those points in the book that made them seem so charged and captivating. And this coming from someone who has never had an interest in ballet.
I liked Clarissa. And Neil. And Jasmine. I liked everything!
Would recommend you read this if you like a nice love story. It certainly had me captivated from early on.
This is about Natasha, a dancer–-ballet being her favourite–-who goes to an audition for a role in an advert but gets distracted during the audition by someone running into the room. Darrell, the distractor, is captivated by her and the ballet she performs and asks her to dance for him as his muse so he can figure out a way to make his latest project work.
Darrell was rather intriguing from the start and I liked how we saw him from Natasha’s POV first before seeing how he came to be at the audition from his own POV.
Helena must have done ballet at some point or this is one really well researched book.
Several chapters had me wanting to look online at the moves Natasha was performing with how well they were written; how beautiful it all sounded. Maybe it was Natasha’s feelings at those points in the book that made them seem so charged and captivating. And this coming from someone who has never had an interest in ballet.
I liked Clarissa. And Neil. And Jasmine. I liked everything!
Would recommend you read this if you like a nice love story. It certainly had me captivated from early on.
Carlos Reygadas recommended Army of Shadows (L'Armée des ombres) (1969) in Movies (curated)
