While fun, it lacks the spark the other games in the Clock Tower series have.
Clock Tower 3 sets you in the location of London, England. You are playing as Alyssa Hamilton, a young girl who was sent to a Catholic school when she was younger by her mother until she turns 15. Alyssa doesn't know or understand the reasons behind this until she recieves a letter from her mother one day and realizes that the "tone" of the letter is a lot different from the other letters her mother has sent her in the past.
Worried, Alyssa travels to her home against the wishes of her mother, who tells her not to come home.
Alyssa finds no one home when she arrives, she only meets a mysterious man in all black who she doesn't recognize or know, this is where Alyssa's descent into her very own real-life nightmare begins.
Clock Tower 3 breaks away from the tradition of the other games in the series as a "point and click adventure", you now no longer need to click areas to get to where you're going, or click on objects to examine them or even click on doors to go through them: You simply walk up to something, hit the action button, and voila, you're done. While this may sound like a refreshing change to the series, it takes something away from the game. You can move faster and whatnot but having the freedom of controlling your character easier also proves to be the downfall in some cases. Alyssa is able to gather various items and use them: lavender water, invisibility bands, and other items needed to free the restless spirits of people murdered throughout the game, each special item you find being tied to a restless soul within that particular area of the game.
Your choice of weapon is no longer limited to just what you can find within the rooms of the various locations you travel to. You are now given a small bottle which carries holy water. The amount you can carry at any given time is increased as you progress through the game. This allows you to "stun" the enemies you will encounter and perhaps save you if you're stuck in a tight spot and need to stun an enemy so you can escape to a safe spot. Speaking of safe spots, you will always have at least one spot in each scenario that allows you to hide until Alyssa calms down if she is in 'panic mode.' Using a lavender water will also lower the "panic meter" considerably, which is another addition to the game series.
The difficulty of the game is lowered dramatically as most hiding spots and items you need to discover are highlighted, items having the same sparkle that you will see in Resident Evil games, and hiding spots usually having a green swirly-type symbol appearing over them to symbolize that you can hide from the enemy that is chasing you. Overall, Clock Tower 3's difficulty is very easy and you won't need to worry about "dying" too much.
Enemy wise Clock Tower 3 has no real ones. The restless spirits only serve to raise your panic meter very little if they manage to latch onto you for a moment, but it can all be avoided as soon as you return the item that is relative to the victim. When it comes to the "main enemy" you are being chased by one of six subordinates, depending on which scenario you are playing through, it changes. All of them are mass murderers who are bent on stopping Alyssa in her journey to free the restless spirits and restore order to the world that she is exploring at the time. After you've solved all the puzzles and you've reached the "boss area" so to speak, you will be stopped automatically and a cutscene will ensue where Alyssa will battle a the boss using a bow and an unlimited set of "light arrows." Other arrows include repel arrows and arrows that can 'pin' the boss down for easier attacks and faster battles. Overall, the enemies are by no means any challenege to you while playing the game.
Storyline wise Clock Tower 3 has a lot of potential. The story is good and you enjoy learning about each character, and the story behind each subordinate, victim, etc. as it is all explained to you via items you discover throughout the game.
Overall the game is still fun and it's great for players who don't feel like wading through the first installments of the series, but not particularly the best game in the series to begin playing if you're looking to get the "real feel" of the series. Clock Tower 3 definitley deserves a sequel or an entirely new game to the series but the next time, creators should take into account that sometimes it's not always good to follow the saying "out with the old, in with the new" in terms of gameplay and difficulty.
Clock Tower 3 is a game for the avid fans of the series, or players looking for a quick, super easy survival horror game. You should only buy this game if you find it for a really low price and you're overly curious, otherwise you're better off playing a different game in the survival horror genre.