Clock Tower

"If you want a true sequel....You've got it."

Clock Tower returns in its second technical installment for another round of absolute terror.

STORY: 10/10
Picking up where the first story left off (as displayed in the opening cinema), this takes place a year after the first fear. Jennifer Simpson, the lone survivor from last years murders, is now under the wing of Oslo University Professor Helen Maxwell, staying in her dorm. Lots of friendly people, a protective detective (Stan Gotts) and lots of other civilization makes Jennifer feel perfectly safe. But before you can say ''The bastard is back!'', gruesome murders in the Scissorman fashion begin happening here and there....Is last years' terror back for more?

GAMEPLAY: 10/10
The point-and-click adventure still has its' roots from its Super NES origional, and the item usage system is alot easier this time, with the simple drag-and-use system by moving the cursor to the top of the screen, clicking an inventory item, and moving it over what you want to use it on. Movement is great, the game gets a 3-D makeover, and there are LOADS MORE hiding places/interactive objects you can experiment/toy with. Not only that, but you can control a grand total of 5 characters in this installment, from Professor Barton's intro prologue, to the two main heroines Jennifer and Helen, to the two side heroes, Nolan Campbell (reporter) and Inspector Stan Gotts, all giving you their rendition of what-to-do-in-a-scissorman-situation.

GRAPHICS: 10/10
Although the characters and their shadows may seem blocky at times, this disc still manages to show off its visuals in great character animation, origional designs, excellent backgrounds/foregrounds/environments that get a 10 in the believability/atmosphere department, and an even more intimidating scissorman than before. Everything looks great, though, and fully detailed. And if you're a gore hound, happy birthday; this has a decent amount of graphic violence, in forms I won't spoil for you, and plenty of red stuff here and there. Scissorman must be quite angry this time!

SOUND: 10/10
Human Entertainment never cease to amaze, as this also uses the ''Silent Horror'' approach, with sounds at impossible moments, sounds louder than they should be, or sounds that are just sheer creepy at the moment (ominous scootching noises when pushing a stepladder across the wodden floor). Every sound is in the perfect places and moments, however, and everything seems to have its own distinct sound, from footsteps on different floor textures, to scissorman's highly ominous scissor slash trademark, to demented laughter, creaking doors, and worst of all, scissorman bursting out at you from behind an object! The music is also great here. Although the origional had a more sinister approach, this one still does its' part in striking paranoia into you, from low, ominous drones that signify something very bad happened, and gives off that feel that something is going to jump out and get you. Scissorman's theme gets a redux here, in two distinct remixes, and is very fitting/forebodding. Superb job, Human! Easy 10.

SEQUEL LIVE-UP FACTOR: 10/10
The origional First Fear shocked us to the last nerve. Here, the sequel doesn't fail to stand your neckhairs up. Scissorman returns even more demented and creepy than before, and what's worse is he can appear at random this time around, which means whether you're contemplating your next move or just doddling off, that eerie theme will kick in eventually, at random, signifying to the gamer that it's time to haul ass out of there. There are more places to go, including scissorman's origin, big twists, unexplained things from the origional get solved, etc. Definitely lives up to the origional.

DIFFICULTY: 6/10
Not too shabby, but the game does have some points where it involves a decent amount of brain power, especially when it comes to trying for different endings. This installment has a hint list feature, where you collect hints throughout the game and can get pointers on the very tough portions.

REPLAY FACTOR: 10/10
With many paths to take to the end, and a grand total of 10 endings (5 for Helen and Jennifer), you'll crawl back for more, even if you're too petrified to touch th controller. It's always fun to replay and check things you missed, hiding places, objects to use on scissorman, etc. An ''S'' ending can also be obtained, but it all depends on how many people remain alive by the end. In any case, you'll love it.

OVERALL: 10/10
Never tarnishing the franchise, Clock Tower really rocks the survival horror world of the Playstation, going past the limits of many other horrific games like Resident Evil and Dino Crisis. This game, this simple game, can terrorize even the eldest of gamers. Approach at your own risk!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/16/02, Updated 08/16/02