ClockTower/THE BITTER END: A Survival Horror and Gaming Community

CLOCK TOWER

By Fury Of Polaris

Introduction

Most people, even fans of the survival-horror series Clock Tower, are unaware that the first game was actually for the Super Famicom system, released only in Japan. When the second game, the Playstation Clock Tower was released outside of Japan, they simply ignored the originals existence and named the second game Clock Tower, the third game Clock Tower 2, and so on...

Story - 9

In 1995, four teenage girls from Granite Orphanage are simultaneously adopted by a wealthy man named Simon Barrows, who resides in a nearby mansion that locals call The Clock Tower, named so for it's most noticible feature. As the girls arrive in the mansion, they are left alone by their escort, Miss Mary, and are soon seperated. It's not long before it becomes apparent that things are not right within the Clock Tower, and one girl, Jennifer Simpson, soon finds herself seeking answers. Where is Simon Barrows? What is the mystery of the Clock Tower? And who will survive the night...?

Gameplay - 8

Clock Tower certainly isn't for everybody, especially those who enjoy fast action and fighting. The entire game is played in a click-and-point fashion, where you use the D-Pad to control an arrow, not your character. Aiming the arrow and using the various controller buttons allows you to walk, run, or use items where ever you are aiming the arrow.
When Jennifer is faced with a threat, she doesn't fight back. Instead you must use your mind and seek out hiding places, often times relying on a little bit of luck to see you through the danger. If you're unable to find a way to escape or hide, or if you physically push the poor gal too much, Jennifer's health will drop from blue, to green, to yellow, and finally to red. You can regain your health by standing still in a safe place.
For those that can stomach the simplistic, indirect action of the gameplay, most will agree that it adds to the tension and fear while playing. It's one thing to be attacked by a murderous monster when you can run, turn, and fire a gun at it. It's a whole new scenario when all you can do is start looking for a place to hide and cross your fingers...

Graphics/Sounds - 10

The graphics in this game, for the time, were pretty remarkable. They even have some cut-scenes during important parts of the games, done through rather detailed drawings that are animated to an extent. The characters are well designed and their movements are rather realistic. The backgrounds for the mansion are also good, well-detailed and sometimes very creepy.
As far as music goes, it is used very rarely. Usually only during intense scenes and a few important story-related moments. However, any fan of horror should be able to tell you that silence itself is a power thing. It makes things all the more frightning when the music finally kicks in and you're running for your life.

Scare Factor - 7

Unfortunately, due to it's limited capabilities, Clock Tower isn't exactly the scariest game out there. Some moments are spine-tingling and your adrenaline will start pumping when your life is on the line, but there are no truly terrifying moments and nothing will stay in your thoughts or haunt your dreams.

Replay Value - 9

With multiple endings, plenty of different ways to proceed through the game, and even multiple death scenes for some characters, Clock Tower is definitely the kind of game you can play through again and again. It doesn't hurt that the actual game itself is short, it's possible to beat in less than an hour if you know what you're doing.

Overall - 8 (Not An Average)

In the end, Clock Tower prevails as one of the best survival horror games out there, despite having been made on an earlier system with limited capabilities. Although it's hard to get ahold of, especially if you have moral issues with a little illegal thang called emulation, it's highly recommended to survival horror fans, and especially to fans of the later Clock Tower games who want to know how it all began..

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