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Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is a Lovecraftian horror first-person shooter developed by Headfirst Productions. It is based on the works of H. P. Lovecraft, author of "The Call of Cthulhu" and progenitor of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Plot

In Call of Cthulhu, the player controls detective Jack Walters who is committed to a mental institution after an encounter with the Mythos. A few years later, he is released while still suffering from amnesia and schizophrenia, and subsequently takes up a new case with a connection to the Mythos — a missing persons case in Innsmouth. Jack must try to survive and remain sane despite the horrors of the new case and his afflictions.

The game takes particular references to "The Shadow Out of Time" and "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" as the main influences of the story. Characters featuring in Call of Cthulhu role-playing game Escape From Innsmouth make an appearance in the game, and several scenarios taken from Escape From Innsmouth are utilized (such as a raid on the Innsmouth gold refinery).

Gameplay

The game environment is based on 1920s New England decor and includes no HUD (i.e., no health or ammo meters in first person view). A sanity system causes the character to lose sanity from stressful encounters (e.g., seeing mutilated bodies) which lead to hallucinations and visions, manifested as graphical anomalies, sound distortion and changes in control sensitivity. The game also includes a health system that requires healing different injuries with different remedies (e.g., a splint for a broken leg).

Gameplay mostly comprises unarmed escape and evasion, together with investigative exploration, although weapons and combat are introduced later on. As with most survival horror games, ammunition is limited and must be conserved carefully for situations when it will really be indispensable, occasionally requiring the player to avoid combat even when armed. The game as a whole is linear, with only one path through the chapters from start to finish, in contrast with some earlier survival horror games such as the original Alone in the Dark (also based on the Mythos).

Weapons

Activating the secondary function on most ranged weapons will switch them to aimed mode, which allows for better accuracy.

  • Crowbar
    The first of two mêlée weapons available in the game. Rather underwhelming and only really useful for situations where one wishes to conserve ammunition, such as against a helpless target.

  • Knife
    A fixed-blade knife with a clip-point tip. There is dried blood on it, and can be used to perform a quick one-handed strike or two-handed stabbing thrust. The thrust attack will quickly and silently drop an enemy if he is unaware of the protagonist.

  • Tommy gun
    A Thompson feeding from a 50-round drum magazine carrying .45 ACP in an ammunition pool separate from the M1911's. The weapon's high rate of fire and hard-hitting power make it unmatched for handling multiple enemies.

  • Energy weapon
    A powerful Yithian directed-energy weapon that can be fired in quick taps or charged for more power, but too much charging causes a shut down. The white energy beam produces fantastic electrical effects, especially when used on water.

Locations

This listing goes in order of appearance.

Strange House

A decrepit manor located in Boston, Massachusetts first visited on September 6th, 1915. The manor was inhabited by a cult called the Fellowship of the Yith which numbered about 20, and was led by one Victor Holt. While a mess on its own, the areas directly underneath were revealed to bear a morgue, related medical facilities, and incredibly enough, functioning Yithian technology.

Arkham Sanitarium

The infamous psychiatric hospital from the Mythos. First visited after the abovementioned manor investigation, owing to a significant and sudden change in the protagonist's personality and mental features. A notable number of surreal flashback sequences involving the Sanitarium are experienced throughout the game, and a few actual revisits take place.

Innsmouth

A run-down and xenophobic New England port town with very little communication with the outside world, first visited on February 7th, 1922. Its overall nature and strange history was suspicious enough for the government to have it placed under surveillance.

Marsh Refinery

A gold refinery owned by the Marsh family in Innsmouth, which was watched carefully as its high gold bar output did not match up with its low ore input. The refinery was raided by the FBI on February 8th, which uncovered a Cthulhu shrine and evidence of efforts to sell a deadly contagion to enemies of the state. Subsequently demolished with explosives.

Esoteric Order of Dagon

The entire town came under a combined land-and-sea siege on the 9th following the refinery raid. The only thing that proved problematic was the main Order building, which was spared from heavy weapons due to the wanted arrest of a man still inside, and showed itself to be nigh-impossible to breach by US Marines.

Urania

A United States Coast Guard cutter with modest armament, visited on the 10th. Aiding the raid effort, the ship was part of a group heading to Devil's Reef, following up on a lead provided by the FBI. Unfortunately, its close proximity to the Reef brought it the unwanted attention of the Deep Ones and Father Dagon himself, which resulted in damage to the ship and possibly loss of all hands.

Devil's Reef

A tumultuous and unsafe reef that lies about half a mile from Innsmouth harbour, just off the coast of Massachusetts. While authorities know that Devil's Reef has old smuggling tunnels that lead all the way beneath the seabed, only a few know that the area is also home to a great underwater city.

Y'ha-nthlei

A large underwater city located a significant distance below Devil's Reef, well out of the sight of most people. A USN submarine part of the raid initially had difficulty in trying to torpedo it, due to the presence of a protective magic barrier that was being maintained by Mother Hydra.

Pnakotus

The great library city of the Yith. Only seen formally if one gets the highest-ranking possible at the end of the story, although parts of it are seen in earlier, intermittent sequences. Even then, the formal viewing is brief as it starts just a few moments before a Flying polyp assault.

Mythos elements

  • Persons
    • Zadok Allen provides the protagonist with a detailed recent history of the town.
    • Obed Marsh's descendants play a large and prominent role in the story.
    • A few fictional members of the Waite family also play a small part in the story.
    • See their respective entries in Cthulhu Mythos biographies.
    • Real-life FBI director J. Edgar Hoover appears as a ruthless agent, personally leading his agents (and the player) into the Marsh Gold Refinery in Innsmouth.

  • Entities
    • The Innsmouth sewer system hints at the presence of a shoggoth through numerous human skeletons and strange residue that is highly-corrosive to organic material, but the creature itself isn't directly seen until the refinery raid.
    • In addition to the other races already mentioned, the Flying polyps and Star-spawn of Cthulhu also make brief appearances.
    • While not present, the Mi-go are mentioned in passing.

External links

2005 computer and video games | Cthulhu Mythos | First-person shooters | Survival horror games | Windows games | Xbox games | Computer and video games based on licensed properties

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth".

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