Call of Cthulhu: DCOTE has some very realistic gameplay, and an interesting story to accompany it.
The next day though, I had nothing better to do, so I thought I might as well give it another chance. I forced myself to finish the boring first level, and... wow... I'm glad I did. This game is, in actual fact, great. On the verge of superb, even. It has its shortcomings, but overall I can happilly say that this game rocks. Period.
This game is SCARY! But not the 'jump out at you and rip your head off' sort of scary. This game builds up a terrifying atmosphere and immerses you in it. It has mediocre graphics, but still pulls off that scaryness perfectly. There is a part where you walk through a sewer quite early into the game. It was 3AM where I live (demonic witching hour OMG) and there I was, with nothing but a pistol with one bullet in it, walking through this dark, gloomy sewer, hearing nothing but a steady "drip... drip... drip". Every now and then you can hear the scurrying of a rat, and each time I kept expecting something to happen. Then you hear the laughter of a little girl, sounding so close, yet nothing is there. Nothing made me jump, or cry out, or anything. But that was one of those rare occasions when I just quit out of the game right then, and went to play The Sims 2. I was so immersed in the game, so freaked out, that I just couldn't play anymore. Yeah, I know Im a wuss, but trust me, this game is guaranteed to freak you out. Anyone who says different is a liar.
The story in this game is very good for a first person shooter. Its not suprising really, seeing as this game is based on a famous book (ive never read it myself, but hope to one day). Also its very realistic. Sure it has monsters and demons and stuff. But other than that... You know. You dont have a crosshair, the weapons you receive dont have almost infinite ammo, and you explore a quarter of the game without a weapon at all. Each action in this game has its own animation. So, for example, you dont walk up to a door, press a button on the keyboard, and it opens of its own accord. You see a hand reach out and turn the door knob. When you climb down a ladder, you dont just walk off the edge and float to the bottom. You see hands reach out to it, and grab each hold as you descend. Also, you're not made out to be some kind of superhero. You cant run very fast, you cant take much gunfire without dieing, and when you get shot you can start limping or whatever (depending on where you get shot of course). And you heal yourself with bandages from a medkit (which doesnt just happen instantly like on some games. You watch as the character bends down, takes the bandages out of the medkit, and ties it round his leg).
If you're up for a fast paced, jump-around-and-shoot-everything-that-moves shooter, then give this game a miss. (Not that mindless shooters arent fun, of course.) If you can appreciate a slow paced, atmospheric, story-driven experience, then Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth is the game for you.