I have both good things and bad to say about this game, so I want to make sure you get the right idea: I recommend Call of Cthulhu, Dark Corners of the Earth, but some of that feeling is due to my Lovecraft bias. In spite of the bad things, I liked it, and wished I could simply play it straight through with out pause for rest or real life. It has a great mix of challenging puzzles and action sequences, and there were times when I was so scared I had to remind myself it was just a game. The story is great, world interaction is pretty good, and the lack of any heads-up display adds a new element of realism. The fact that you can only save when near certain "magic" symbols (or when the game autosaves at a key point) was a mixed bag. It made the stakes higher, and the victories sweeter, but sometimes it got really tedious revisiting the same part of a particular sequence because you kept flubbing on the last villain.

The sound effects and music were awesome, graphics gritty even if underwhelming. Environmentals such as rain and fog were also pretty well done, and the levels were intricate and intriguing.

Also intriguing was the less abstract way in which damage and healing are handled (you may find yourself having to treat a broken arm or leg with a splint, for example, and if you leave a major wound untended for too long, you might bleed to death).

Be prepared for some very frustrating (sometimes idiotic) drawbacks. Also, be warned: the weapon and combat engine is rather poor compared to the rest of the game. Bullets sometimes pass through things they should hit, hits don’t always do the damage you expect, and all the terrestrial guns are about the same in terms of range vs accuracy/damage. It's not horrible, per say, but you shouldn't buy this game if your main interest lies in the shooting aspect; UT or Quake would probably serve you better there.

For these reasons, the game only got four stars. It's a totally awesome puzzle game with a great horror element, but it looks like the programmers might have slacked off a bit in some areas (a few never even got paid by the now defunct Headfirst Studios).

Learning Curve: Takes a second

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