Headfirst Productions created
this game and then started a couple of sequels
before going into liquidation and closing down.
So Call Of Cthulhu is the only game we'll ever
seen from them, which is a shame because this
showed a lot of professionalism for a first
title.
It's by no means perfect, the
gameplay is quite flawed. But where Call Of
Cthulhu shines (metaphorically, certainly not
literally!) is in it's atmosphere and environments.
The engine is decent but obviously won't give
id tech or unreal engine a for their money.
The level designs are adequate with just enough
detail. But the atmosphere itself is very well
realised for the Lovecraft universe. The journey
takes you through the town of Innsmouth, represented
in dark, claustrophobia complete with sea monsters
and dangerous cultist. You'll sneak and fight
your way through buildings, factories and a
refinery before the game takes a turn and places
you on a coast guard ship, completed with a
massive attack from the giant Dagon.
You wash up Devil's Reef and
end the game in an epic but unfortunately confusing
chapter through underground (and underwater)
caves and temples.
So the game and story feel
like a Lovecraft creation. They fit well, as
does the constant reminder of otherworldy creatures
stalking you.
Where Call Of Cthulhu fails
is it's gameplay. And at least for me, it failed
miserably. I was hoping for something more action
and fun. The first half of the game is spent
in stealth mode. But the stealth is unsophisticated
and holds nothing on the Thief or Splinter Cell
series'. You eventually get some weapons and
play the rest of the game with a mix of stealth
and firepower. Unfortunately the enemies pack
a punch and can hurt your health quite quickly.
Combine this with unlimited spawns in some instances
and very limited health/ammo and Call Of Cthulhu
is a challenging game. That alone is fine; that's
how Headfirst Productions intended it. But then
comes the biggest issue - this is a challenging
stealth based game with NO QUICKSAVE! Instead
you get poorly placed checkpoints. A number
of times you'll be forced to play long periods
multiple times due to difficult encounters or
even badly placed instant death traps.
While this game make look a
few years dated in 2006, it's atmosphere is
pulled off well. But it could have been an infinitely
more popular game, in my opinion, if they took
a more action-oriented approach and ditched
the stealth completely by the second or third
level. Add in a proper quicksave, some better
weapons and some puzzles that were a bit clearer.
As it is now, the only reason
to play this game is for the dark atmosphere
and interesting story, and that's not enough.
