A poor first impression is enough to avoid Clock Tower 3, especially not being fans of survival horror.
- Interesting setting
- Unique gameplay and scares
- Decent story and cutscenes
Negative
- Enemies are almost impossible to outrun
- Dull graphics and poor voice acting
- Horrendous camera
* I haven't played much through the game, only until the first boss so in this review I will talk up till there*
Clock Tower 3 is a survival horror, which disappoints in almost everything. The game's gameplay is similar to Haunting Grounds which has almost the same exact problems. Story is interesting and will keep you going, but the dull graphics, poor voice acting and frustrating gameplay hold it back.
The game makes you play as Alyssa, a British teenage girl living in a boarding school. After receiving a stressing message from her mother, she rushes homing only to not find her. There isn't enough in the initial part to fully tell what the story is about but the first you know is that you find yourself in London in the war period. Thankfully the story will interest many. Throughout your journey you will meet sprits and to get rid of them you must find the item that they want that is keeping them in this world.
Gameplay is very disappointing, and at times frustrating. Alyssa can't fight ghosts or enemies, but you can use holy water to stun them for a moment. The amount of times you can use it is limited to 3 times, but you can refill it as many times as you want. In the chapter when you are in London you will find them around town and you can save as well there. Throw holy water with the triangle button, you can duck with the O button. Walk normally with the square. To move forward, Clock Tower 3 blocks your way with some clever, tough but not impossible puzzles. Sometimes you need an item to open doors or to find something. Some doors will be locked with seals, so you need holy water to unlock them.
In this chapter, a man will follow you with a big hammer which is fast and it is almost impossible to outrun him. You can hide, but most hide spots are for one use only, and unless you distance yourself from him, he will find you. Alyssa can only run from him, and she doesn't have HP but a panic meter. If the panic meter becomes full, Alyssa will go in a state of panic, and will run very fast away but sometimes stop and you won't be able to move her. If the enemy hits her when in that state it is game over. This guy swings his hammer when very close and is enough to make her panic. Lavender water will decrease panic. The controls are decent enough, but the camera is standard terrible. It is fixed but I don't take it as a surprise considering having played survival horror games with the same problems. There are boss battles as well, and surprisingly the bosses have a different layout than the gameplay, making them fun. The first boss is quite easy, but requires patience and maybe trial and error.
Maybe this game looked quite good in 2003, but I've seen better looking games even older ones. The models are ok, but the faces could have been a little better. The quality of the graphics is average making it look old. There is too much brown and not enough production value in it. Passable visuals. It won't make you miss items though.
Cutscenes are superior, but nothing out of the ordinary. It is quite obvious that a lot of attention went into them, but because of the graphical quality they aren't as clear as they should be. Some scenes are violent, making the game a Mature theme and a lot of blood as well. Music is what is to be expected in a horror game, quite with moments of music change when the enemy approaches and follows. Characters are voice from British people, and some of them are horrific.
Since it was a loan, this is as much as I can tell from playing the game. The game isn't scary in the beginning and is disappointing all the way around, making some people stop playing even after half an hour. I've heard the rumors, but Clock Tower 3 is a complete letdown from other survival horror game. I know I didn't play enough to fully understand the game, but the game gave a terrible first impression.
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Graphics = 6.3
Dull and ugly graphics which lack a lot of color. Environments have decent depth but not enough.
Sound = 5.0
Horror games are meant to be scary and Clock Tower 3 is no exception. Music plays when enemy follows, and it fares well. The voice acting is horrific.
Presentation = 6.5
The game isn't scary enough at first, but this is an M rated game because of the violent scenes and blood. The cutscenes quality is good. Lacks production values.
Gameplay = 4.0
Poor gameplay consists only of running and throwing holy water, which you can only hold up to 3 shots. The guy with the hammer is way too fast to hide, and panic meter is a bit annoying since Alyssa gets scared easily. There are some clever puzzles, but most of the time you have to search to find the item needed. Decent controls, horrible fixed camera.
Story = 6.7
OVERALL = 56 / 100
A poor first impression is enough to avoid Clock Tower 3, especially not being fans of survival horror.