Other developers need to take note of Silicon Knights ingenious Sanity Meter idea.
Gameplay (10/10): Let us begin with the controls. This games controls are fairly simple, yet make use of most every button on the GCN controller. The B button does all actions (examine...that sort of thing) and then you aim (R) and shoot (A) or slash depending on the weapon you have. You also have the complete D-pad and the Y button to map to spells, along with a run and sneak button. So the controls are done well and it is actually pretty easy to figure out. In fact, at the very beginning when you begin the game, you are pitted against monsters with a shotgun, and you then are forced to quickly learn how to defend yourself. Of course this ends up being a nightmare sort of thing, because frankly speaking that would make the game too difficult to merely begin let alone play. It is a great way to begin the game and starts to eat away at your brain right at the start, which gets me to the next important point to the game: Sanity. Of course you have health, and since you can use magic, you have a magic meter...but one of the most important features in this game is the Sanity Meter, which basically drops lower and lower as your character experiences more and more bizarre things. As one's sanity drops, so does that person's perception of the world around him or her. He or she will begin to hear voices, your screen will tilt a little to throw you off-balance...sometimes the whole entire room you are in will turn upside-down. I could go on but half the fun in the game is discovering all of the strange things the lack of sanity can do, though I shall give another example to better help you understand. The game will inform you that the controller is not plugged in and you will lose control as you are eaten by monsters, even though the controller is plugged in fine, then after you die the game will flashback to the point before that, to indicate that it was merely a hallucination. It is a wonderful and innovative concept that works WONDERS with the game. Moving on to the story, which actually feels quite epic, as it spans the story of 12 people (all are playable at some point) throughout a period of 2000 years. The story feels like an interesting mystery novel almost...and you just can't wait to see what happens next. I will not reveal anything because every little bit of story is best discovered on your own as you play...but let me assure you that it is good. Speaking of characters, all 12 characters are interesting in their own right and each plays a significance to the grand scheme of things. Also each character has his or her own unique size for health, magic and sanity...which actually plays directly into what kind of person they are. Their stamina (after you run for a certain amount of time, the character gets tired and runs slower and needs to catch their breath) also varies according to the kind of person they are. There are plenty of weapons that span different time periods and lastly are the puzzles. Honestly, the puzzles are generally not too complex, but they require you put out some effort at least to figure out, which is good, because you will likely be spending half of that effort fighting or running...depending on your sanity level, which starts to eat at your health once you lose all of your sanity. Lastly of course is the combat. Think an advanced Resident Evil. You aim and shoot in the same manner, with a couple of differences. First is that you don't have tank movement, you move wherever you move the controller stick...which is nice. Second is that the game highlights the part of the enemy's body you are targeting, which rids the game of the need to have first-person view. Mind you, you can select which part of the body to shoot merely by moving the stick as yo uare aiming. There are also spells that take different times to summon depending on the power level. All-in-all...this game has the type of fun and well-done gameplay I have not been able to find in a while in an adventure game.
Graphics (9/10): Since the last section was rather lengthy...I will try to keep this short. Basically first one needs to understant that this was basically a first-generation Gamecube game. With that in mind, the game looks absolutely beautiful, and considering the variety of the environments, characters and detail in all of the structures, they did a good job of still making it look so wonderful. The only complaint is that some animations look..well...flat. Otherwise the game looks great, which is good because this game requires attention to detail.
Sound (10/10): The music is good and nothing more. It gets the job done, sets the mood, but isn't exceptional. With that being said why is this category a perfect? Sound effects. The ambience is very well done, you hear blood-curdling screams and yelling for help when you lose sanity and the voice acting overall was done well. All the characters feel unique. The monsters sound just as intimidating as they need to and sound unique so that if you hear them, you know who they are and...at least to some extent...how to prepare. There are varying footstep sounds depending on the terrain (something I have begun to notice ever since Doom 3's lack thereof) which is a nice touch. Each weapon also sounds like it should, weather it be a sword, a shotgun or a magnum. Another important mention is when casting a spell, it truely does sound arcane, which is also good. For a game that depends on sanity, the sound is top-notch and this is one of those games that you absolutely MUST play on Surround Sound to purely enjoy.
Value (8/10): Honestly...at least for me...I don't like to come back to a game unless it has great extras, because I like to spend my time with something new afterwards. With that being said, this game is actually so creative and fun that you will want to come back. Not to mention that there are three paths (which you choose at the beginning of the game) for you to choose, each with a slightly (and I emphasize slightly) different story. After you beat the game on one path, you can start over with that record saved and start on a new path, and upon completing it each time you unlock something new. There isn't much to look for with extras, but considering that this game is just so darned entertaining, it is fulfilling to play through 3 times to see the slightly different paths and outcomes.
For an adventure game of this type (horror based), this is a pretty good length...for me clocking in at about 16 hours. I don't regret a single minute of it either. Don't make the same mistake I did though, in thinking this is merely another rip-off of Resident Evil. It is far from it and is very unique by itself. Honestly, unless you are absolutely squeamish with blood, this is a game that should absolutely be in your Gamecube colection.