Clock Tower

"Only for the patient."

Clock Tower is, without a doubt, one of the creepiest games I have ever played. Unlike most Survival Horror games, which rely on tons upon tons of blood and gore, Clock Tower uses a feeling of suspense to generate horror (like a good Alfred Hitchcock movie). Of course, there is blood, and lots of it, as nearly everyone in the game is brutally murdered as part of the story, or just killed based on your actions. However, there are some pretty big flaws, mostly in graphics and control, that keep this game from reaching its complete potential. Well, if you want a scare, go for it.

Graphics: Not all that great. While the bloody corpses and bodies were done quite well, less detail was spent on the living characters. Movement appears a little jerky, characters are quite blocky, and objects tend to blend in with the background sometimes. But what was done well was quite good, so the score was bumped up a notch. 8/10

Sound: There is actually quite little in the way of music. In fact, the only time any music plays is while an important plot point is going on, and while Scissorman is chasing you. But what's there is excellent, especially the creepy chase music. The sound effects are also good, especially the sound of Scissorman's scissors. The voice overs, however, are pure junk. Everyone talks in a quiet monotone, and no real emotion is ever showed. Also, whatever they paid for voice actors was too much, as the voices themselves sound awful. 7/10

Gameplay: This is a point-and-click game; in other words, you move the cursor until it changes into a crosshair (indicating a ''hot spot''), and you click. Clicking where there isn't a hot spot simply moves the character to that area. Sounds easy? Well, it is-until you enter Escape Mode. Escape Mode is what you're in when you're being chased by Scissorman. All hot spots are disabled except for doors, hiding places, and items that can knock Scissorman out. That's right-you don't bust out a small army of guns here; you just have to hide. The only real problem with Escape Mode is how slow you move, and how fast Scissorman moves. He can easily outrun you, and since you can only use a hiding place about once before he catches on and just kills you, you'll be exhausting yourself pretty quickly. Only two buttons are used: the X button (click), and the Square button (Panic). If you get caught by Scissorman, or get yourself trapped in a situation requiring strength, you have to pound the Panic Button quickly, and lose a bit of strength, or just die. Scissorman is quite the master of hiding, and will ambush you when you least expect it. Also, if you take too long, he'll just hunt you down. Pretty rough on the nerves. Good gameplay in general, just needed to fix the point-and-click system. 9/10

Story: This revolves around Jennifer, heroine from the first Clock Tower game (released only in Japan). It's a full year after she narrowly escaped the infamous murderer, Scissorman, and she's now living a comfortable life with her gaurdian, Helen. Sadly, fate isn't so kind, and soon the news reports that a new wave of mass murders have begun, with all the victims being sliced up by what appears to be a giant pair of scissors. Naturally, Helen is the only one who believes Jennifer when she says Scissorman is an immortal monster. Stan Gotts, assistant inspector for the Oslo Police Department, is assigned to the case. Nolan Campbell, a reporter for a tabloid magazine, is trying to uncover the truth-and is getting dangerously close to it. And Professor Barton, Helen's boss and top criminal psychologist, is trying to prove that Scissorman is nothing more than an insane murderer. You get a chance to control any of these characters, with different outcomes depending on who you choose. Uncover the truth about Scissorman and stop him, or die trying. That's it. And with ten different endings, you'll hopefully come back for more, since this game is VERY short. 10/10

Conclusion: If you like your games scary, and your movement slow, then this is the perfect game for you. If not, at least try it once. You either love it or hate it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/16/02, Updated 05/16/02