Clock Tower 3 is a classic survival horror title that will make you scream, panic and run like a little school girl.
The whole game circles around the myth of the "Entities": evil spirits possessing a person and making him commit brutal murders. The catch is that the possessed individual, also known as a "Subordinate", cannot truly be killed, and keeps coming back from the dead again and again to renew his killing spree. The only person who can stop a Subordinate is a "Rooder": a teenage girl with the power to fight the entities. Here is where Alyssa comes into the picture.
The first noticeable thing in Clock Tower 3 is the unique twist on the survival horror genre. While most survival horror titles pitch the player against terrifying monsters, armed with a lead pipe or a gun, CT3 is all about the running. It is impossible to fight off the attacking ghosts (no monsters, just ghosts), and the only way to beat them is by finding a specific, personal item, and returning it to the ghost's dead body. This will allow the tormented spirit to ascend to a higher plain, and reward Alyssa with a useful item. There is a way to slow down ghosts a bit by spray some holy water at them, but it can only be done a limited number of times before Alyssa will need to find a fountain and refill her little ornamental cup.
But ghosts are not the main danger in the game. Each level introduces a Subordinate for Alyssa to defeat. Unfortunately, it is impossible it harm him straight away, so Alyssa is forced to run away, hide, or use the environment to her advantage. Instead of a life-bar, the game uses a "Panic Meter", measuring how frightened Alyssa is; being hit or chased around will slowly fill it up. Once the meter is full, Alyssa will enter "Panic Mode", and while in this state Alyssa runs around almost blindly, stumbling from time to time, and even freezes to the spot for a few seconds. The really annoying part is that one hit during "Panic Mode" and it's game over. There are of course items to help reduce the panic, or even turn Alyssa invisible, but none of them is too helpful.
In the end of each level Alyssa is forced the face the Subordinate in a sort of boss-battle and defeat him. Once the final battle starts, Alyssa's holy water cup transforms into a bow that shoots out lightning bolts. The game contributes it to the powers of the Rooder, but it still feels a bit silly every time it happens. The battle itself is pretty straight forward – aim the bow at the Subordinate, charge up an arrow (the longer it is charged, but more damage it will inflict) by holding down the Triangle button, shoot the arrow (by releasing the button), repeat. There is a way to unleash a super attack during the battle, which will inflict a massive amount of damage, but with the exception of the first boss battle, it is really tricky to pull off. Once the Subordinate is vanquished, the level ends.
As most people know, atmosphere is a major part of any horror title. CT 3 kicks off with a promising start, but fails to deliver a truly scary experience. The first level of the game is probably the scariest one, due to its setting and visuals. As the game progresses, it loses some of its initial promise and dark themes, and gives way to ridiculous bosses and boring level design. The only thing that works well through the entire game is the subtle gore Alyssa witnesses from time to time. Bloody corpses, disembodies heads and brutal murders are spread evenly throughout each level, but the gore is never too excessive to feel out of place.
One thing that did make the entire game a little uncomfortable is the fact that the developers tried real hard to portray Alyssa as a shy school girl, with a slight erotic undertone. That is all fine and dandy, since a lot of Japanese games portray women in such an undignified way, except for the fact that Alyssa is under 15 years old. The developers intentions became very clear each time Alyssa was forced to crawl under an obstacle and the camera panned for a rear view of her skirt. Not only that, but the once the game is beaten, the player can choose from a verity of skimpy outfits for Alyssa to wear the second time around. Personally, I think it is just wrong.
Visually, Clock Tower 3 looks pretty darn good. The in-game graphics are nice, and the character models are well made. Although most of the ghosts look the same, each Subordinate have a unique look to it; some are scarier than others, but all of them look creepy or disturbing enough for their role. Although the game is supposed to take place in England, all characters (apart from the final boss) look awfully Japanese, which can make the game feel a tad more unbelievable. The peak of the game's graphics is its cut-scenes; they feature amazing animation and great looking environments. Each level offers a completely different setting and design, and while Alyssa's house is rather dull, it only serves as a gateway to each different level (so Alyssa never spends too much time exploring it anyways).
As in most English versions of Japanese games, the voice work is CT 3's weakest point. Apart from the first Subordinate, who talks in a really eerie manner, all of the characters (especially the supporting ones) sound horrible and fake. The attempts of mastering the British accent are mediocre at best and some characters are completely ruined by the bad voice acting. Unfortunately the soundtrack and background music are equally as bad, and not only that, but are louder than they should be. From time to time the game will "attack" with sharp string music that is way too loud for being dramatic, and end up just being an ear sore. Some sound effects are ok, but most of them hopped on the same train to annoyance-vile the entire sound department has commandeered.
I believe anyone who will pick up Clock Tower 3 will find something he enjoys about it. There are adventure, survival horror, and even action elements that are well implemented within the game. The only real problem is that with so many aspects in the game, it is hard to recommend it to veteran gamers, who know what they are looking for in a game. Adventure gamer like me will enjoy the item hunting and the clever use of certain items to fight off the Subordinates, but will probably hate the boss battles, while action gamers will feel the exact opposite. So if you are up for a short adventure (and I do mean short, the game will be over in under 7 hours), and are into horror games, give Clock Tower 3 a chance; it may surprise you.