Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth for Xbox Reviews by Gamers

I decided to rent this game after I had talked with a few people who have mentioned how innovative it was when it came to the FPS genre.

I was not let down. I was very skeptical of this game when I started reading user reviews. The instance in the game where you were being chased by enemies and you had to close and latch the bolts on the door was a scenario I feared would ruin the game for me. Well, hearing about how many times people died in that part led me to believe I would in turn do the same.

I didn't die once until I was in the warehouse trying to sneak past armed guards (I didn't know where to go). But this game is pretty amazing for it's time. Keeping an eye on your sanity and having to search for clues is something I really enjoyed. The healing is also goo/ bad. I really love how some injuries will slow you down and take the color out of your vision. I also liked how you couldn't instantly heal. Having to find a safe place to heal added to the realism this game tried to bring to the table as well.

The story is very deep and I enjoy reading every last article I find or enter into my journal.

The stealth approach is also a nice break from the typical 'run & gun' FPS games.

This game does have it's flaws. Mainly the gun mechanics and some scenes were just tedious. In one scene I was riding in the back of the truck and I would come to the point where I would need to shoot explosive barrels on another truck was a bit grueling since I was also being shot at and died 6 times in the process. The 4th time I attempted it I passed it, but then my 360 was no longer able to read the disk. I didn't make it to an auto save point, but that was a hardware failure. Not the games fault.

I have only experienced the game crashing that one time. I have also read someone say that it's impossible to play this game on the 360 since there are no white or black buttons on the 360 controller. I could only chuckle knowing the RB and LB were the replacement buttons.

9/10

Story: The game is based not on HP Lovecraft stories, but on a table top RPG that is itself based on HP Lovecraft stories. So, it's a game based on a game based on the stories. The continuity of the story is mostly presented in written journal entries by the detective, which can be a bore to read sometimes, but if you don't mind reading, the journal entries and the cut scenes go hand-in-hand and give a very demented, twisted outlook on reality as we know it. Twists and turns abound. (3/5)

Gameplay: Unique gameplay. From being given limited ammunition (essentially taking away the "Rambo" option that you normally see in FPS games), no "instant med kits" (you must hide and heal specific body parts), and the use of sanity (which makes the detective's vision go blurry, makes him see and hear things that aren't there, etc.), this game has many things that you wouldn't normally find in a game. What genre is it? Adventure? Survival horror? FPS? It's all of these combined. A very mature, intelligent first person shooter. The only thing lacking is fast paced action and intelligent enemies. Most of the enemies just gather around you and shoot you as a means of killing you. (4/5)

Controls: Medium-easy controls, easy to learn and get used to. Pretty much all buttons on the controller are used for something specifically. It might make it hard for "newbie" gamers to pick it up and casually play. (4/5)

Sound: No background music on this one, just eerie sounds that are really darkly ambient and set the mood for the game. (5/5)

Replay Value: Pretty much none, I'm afraid. Once you finish this game, you'll probably stop playing it anymore. (1/5)

Overall: If you're looking for a more "adult" kind of shooter, one in which you don't just mindlessly go in and shoot things up, that combines survival horror and adventure elements, this is the game for you. A bit slow and tiresome, with confusing puzzles that take a while to complete. But overall, a very different kind of game. (17/25)