''Eternity's Child'' (previously known as ''Angel's Eternity'') is a side-scrolling

platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action game, action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform game ...

based on a fairy tale created by

Luc Bernard Luc Bernard is a British game designer and artist best known for creating the video games '' Death Tales'', ''Eternity's Child'', ''Mecho Wars'', '' Desert Ashes'', '' Plague Road'', '' Pocket God vs Desert Ashes'' and '' SteamPirates''. He is ...

. It was released by Luc Bernard and Silver Sphere Studios on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...

July 31, 2008.

Gameplay

The gameplay involves the player controlling two characters simultaneously. In the Wii version, one will be controlled with the analogue stick of the Nunchuk and the other with the pointer function of the

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact ...

Development

''Eternity's Child'' was initially developed for

Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is a digital video game download service available through the Xbox Games Store, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360. It focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independen ...

, and was one of the first games to be made with the XNA toolset. On September 9, 2007, it was revealed that it was changed to a retail Nintendo DS game as well as a downloadable

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii ...

game. Because of the move to the Wii, the gameplay style of the XNA version has been changed in favor of one that takes advantage of the Wii Remote.

Alten8 Alten8 Ltd. was a British video game developer and publisher. It produced both licensed retro games and current format video games, including the emulation code for C64 titles on Nintendo's Virtual Console service. Alten8 ceased trading in D ...

are porting the original code, and adapting the game to Nintendo's standards for the Wii version, and hope that previous errors can be resolved.

Reception

''Eternity's Child'' was panned by gaming site ''Destructoid'' for "flawed design", "horrible animation" and "broken controls". In reviewing the game, which he gave a 1/10, Anthony Burch went so far as to say that it was "the worst game I've played in several years." Bernard responded to the review, calling it "highly unprofessional", and defended the title by stating that ''Destructoid'' did not play the patched version. Bernard has drawn further criticism after he decided to remove the ''Destructoid'' robot from the game in response to the review. The game was also panned by Mike Fahey of

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for its "story, or lack thereof", two-character mechanic, poor AI, and somewhat chaotic level design. However, he also noted that its visual style and music are appealing, and that the included level editor was also an extra bonus, and stated that the game "does have a lot to offer for $5". He concluded that the game is "still very much a work in progress". ''Eternity's Child''s soundtrack was nominated on the GANG Awards for "Best Audio Other".

References

{{reflist 2008 video games Cancelled Nintendo DS games Platformers Video games developed in the United Kingdom WiiWare games Windows games Wii games Multiplayer and single-player video games