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The works of H.P. Lovecraft have seen a number of interpretations into different mediamovies and games primarilywith mixed results. As such, it was with mixed feelings that I greeted Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth for the Xbox. I had heard about the game long before it was released. Early screenshots and reviews suggested that this was going to be a good game.

When I put the game in, I washesitant. It began with a feel that made me fear that I was going to play a first-person shooter, which is contrary to the whole feel of Lovecraft. As the game went on, my hesitation was rapidly overcome. It was creepy and I found myself jumping at shadows.

And thenit all crashed down. All began well, as my character went to sleep in a creepy inn. However, things quickly went downhill. The fishy townsfolk began to break into the hotel room and there was a furious attempt to escape the room. This in itself was fine, even though my first attempt at flight failed with a death. And the next. And the next. And the next. Maybe I had missed something, I thought, maybe I needed to have a weapon, or maybe there was one hidden in my inventory. And I died. Then I went online to find out that I had not missed any weapon; in fact, there was a labyrinthine path that one had to take, and even knowing the path, it was likely that a player would have to try several times before escaping. In the course of doing so I even died due to a focus ambiguity problem, opening a door when I was trying to bolt the damned thing.

But the damage had been done, the spell broken. Death was no longer a threat. I had already died so many times that death was now just an irritation. Nope. Forget it. Trying a specific game over and over is fine for the arcade shooters of the 80's, but I loathe it in an atmospheric horror game. This same sort of annoyance was what had shattered my appreciation of Doom 3. Honestly, I had expected more from Bethesda.

Despite a fantastic start and the promise of participating in true Lovecraftian horror, the flaws were too insurmountable, and this ended up in the dark corner of my gaming cabinet.

Learn more about this author, Bradford Yale.
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