Eternal Darkness was the reason for choosing the GameCube over the PS2 or any other game system back in the day.
Eternal Darkness is the most immersive game ever made for the Gamecube. I realize this is kinda vague and generalized, but once I popped into my GC, I was hooked for months on end. This game seriously blew me away, with the really cool graphics, the A.I., the special effects, the sound effects.
What truly sets this game apart from the rest are the psychological and visual effects. The Sanity Bar has got to be the coolest thing ever in a video game. No game has ever done that, and as far as I know, no other game has ever done anything like this ever since. Once your sanity starts slipping away, this game becomes intensely more terrifying and extra freaky. Don't play it alone! The insanity effects are awesome and they add a whole new level of immersion and game-play that is truly satisfying.
Actually they leave you craving for more, because this game messes with your own sanity playing tricks on your senses, such as tilting the camera angle, or going blank with fatal error messages and not allowing you to restart the GameCube, fake stages or enemies, changing size and ratios, bleeding walls, character premonitions, etc. The game designers did a fantastic job.
This game took over my life for quite a long time, and when I wasn't playing it, I was thinking about it. Especially about those almost impossible parts where you just seem to not be able to get through; I suffered and toiled through it all and absolutely loved every minute of it.
This is one of those games that hook you from the moment you turn it on till the moment when you turn it off for the last time. And trust me when I say this game is awesome, because you don't ever get sick of it. The more you play, the better it gets. And just to prove my point, check out the price tag on it on any store, if you can find a copy anywhere! You'll notice that even the used ones cost almost just as much as brand new ones. That alone should tell you something about this game…