lyssa Hamilton has a problem. Her mum has disappeared. An almost-15-year-old away at boarding school, Alyssa receives a strange call from her mother that warns her to hide until her birthday passes. Like any good teenager, Alyssa ignores her mother's orders. She returns home and discovers that her mother has gone missing. Furthermore, there's a strange man with a strange hat who seems to be behind it all. It's up to Alyssa to figure out what exactly it is that he's behind before she, and everyone else in the game, is murdered.
Such is the premise of Clock Tower 3, a survival horror game from Capcom. Gamers control Alyssa from a third-person, Resident Evil-type perspective on her clue-hunting quest. From her mother's inn to the bombed-out streets of London circa 1940, Alyssa hunts a brace of heinous criminals. That's typical survival horror stuff. What isn't typical survival horror stuff is the lack of combat. For most of the game, Alyssa is well and truly defenseless. Yeah, she has the odd bottle of holy water to throw on ghouls to keep them off her back, and, yeah, she has a mystic bow-and-arrow thingie that she uses to fight the boss villains at the end of each of the game's three chapters, but otherwise she has little more than harsh language to use on the villains.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing. Alyssa can hide, and Alyssa can stun her assailants with holy water, and Clock Tower 3 isn't always about killing assailants, but rather advancing the plot. You see, Clock Tower 3 is a cinematic adventure game in survival clothes. And for those who like such games, it's one heck of a ride.
Graphics worthy of a legend
The game's cinematics are outstanding. Directed by the legendary Kinji Fukasaku, who guided the cutscenes in the splendid Battle Royale, the game's full-motion animation is some of the best around. Lighting, camera angles and framing add a sense of realism and true creepiness. Gamers will play the game just to get to the next full-motion animation cutscene.
Unfortunately, cutscenes aside, Clock Tower 3 is a mixed bag. Three chapters divide the game. In each chapter, Alyssa must gather clues and hunt an elusive murderer. By the same token, the murderer and spirits of the disturbed dead will hunt her while she is hunting them. She may lay the spirits to rest by solving their restlessness. For example, finding a bloody pen will put one to rest, a ring salves another. Once the spirits are rested, they supply clues or items that help Alyssa. On the other hand, she can do nothing but hide from each chapter's murder until she meets him in the climactic battle. It's a counterintuitive system, and one that frustrates anyone used to solving their gaming problems with a gun.
Nevertheless, the engaging story and cutscenes will keep most enthralled until the end. The game's movielike qualities are its strong point, and it is strength worth experiencing. Most gamers will endure the somewhat cumbersome adventure portion of the game just to see what comes next. This is a game that both scary-movie goers and survival-horror aficionados alike will enjoy.
I loved the cutscenes, but I wish there had been more combat.
— Mark
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