Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth

There have been quite a few games based in and around the Cthulhu Mythos, but DCOTE is by far the best one there is. It takes its ideas from the original pen and paper RPG game, but don't let that put you off as there's an excellent game under its hood. One thing to remember is that it's a first person ADVENTURE game. So if you're expecting the usual auto-aim mindless blaster, then you might need to look elsewhere. In this game, it takes a while before you even obtain your first decent weapon and if you aim it for too long, it begins to waver. Your character is also somewhat averse to things like heights and horrific imagery, which is captured well in the game's sanity system and camera viewpoint. I've played this game on both PC and console many times, and yes, it does have the odd annoying bug, such as physical damage that's caused from simply jumping from small steps, as well as the odd annoying game mechanic like respawning enemies. But you do forgive it for such things and work around them because the story is so strong and game is really that good. The chase sequence in the hotel is worth buying it alone, because that is pure edge of the seat, pant-filling gameplay. You'll even meet a young J Edgar Hoover, and realise that he's a complete and utter B......! It's one of my all time favourite games. Let it also be one of yours.

Much has been said about this game, so I won't go over too much about it. But I will give you a quick overview. Story takes place in the 1920's; you play as a PI, first by request of the police to deal with a cult, later to find a missing person; and I won't say anything more than that just so you can see the story for yourself. As for the gameplay, it works. The shooting is fine, bullets hit the things your shooting, but you can tell it was made for consoles first. Healing is done more realistically, you do pick up health kits, but it doesn't automatically heal you, you actually have to go into the menu and patch up the parts of you that are broken; sometimes you can heal from a injury without aid, but your combat and movement is going to suffer if your not fixed up. Also, this is a Call of Cthulhu game, that means it has a Sanity Meter! I mean yeah sure if you look at something horrific or Lovecraft creatures you'll go insane and die, but you'll be fine when you look away. The stuff that really doesn't work is the Stealth sections; not only do you crouch to stealth but you also hold your breath, and yet there is no way to tell if enemies can see you; the only good thing about it is that it's short and in the beginning o the game so you don't have to do it ever again. And the user interface is lacking to say the least, even if it's done for immersion. And you can't even pick up ammo from enemies even if they are using weapons, understood that it's too keep from being a run-n-gun. I haven't completely finished the GOG version, but I'm sure they put in the patch that fixed the ship issue, so the port still stands up. So, do I recommend this game? In the same way that I recommend Clive Barkers Undying. Sure there's mechanic's that are annoying, but there is a deep fear in this game. You do get more powerful weapons as you go on, but you always feel a sense of dread, like everything you do isn't going to matter. And it's definitely worth 5 bucks.

This is the best adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's nightmarish world. When GOG finially offered it, I bought it without hesitation. For fans of horror games and H.P. Lovecraft, this is the title to be owned and played! The suspense and tension this game offers will scare any player!

The great Cthulhu finally arrives on GoG with all his glory. Forgive us great one, and give us the best Dark Corners of Earth experience ever , here among my fellow gamers.