The Clock Tower series was one of the earliest horror games ever created. In it, you would take control of an arrow and command your character to move using a point and click interface. After two failed attempts at horror, Capcom acquired the license from Agetec to work on this latest installment and hopefully give the game the reputation it deserves. The point and click interface has been replaced by a more resident evil style game play, a panic meter has been implemented as your life gauge, and Kinji Fukasaku (mastermind behind Battle Royale) is directing the cut-scenes in Clock Tower 3, sounds like a we have a winner.

In Clock Tower 3, you play as Alyssa Hamilton, a 14 year old girl who lost her dad when she was very young and her mother raised her alone. While in a private boarding school, Alyssa receives a letter from her mother warning her not to hide and stay away from home. Being the “intelligent” type that she is, she ignores her mothers warning and goes straight home and encounters the mysterious “Dark Gentleman”, who looks resembles “The Penguin” in batman, develops a sinister scheme to capture Alyssa in her very own mansion. Clock Tower wouldn’t be a Clock Tower game without stalkers, and you’ll be chased down room to room by murderous villains scattered throughout the mansion. The first boss you’ll encounter is SledgeHammer, the slowest yet probably most violent boss the entire in the game. He even murders a defenseless 12 year old girl. While your out adventuring and finding clues to progress the story, stalkers are out looking for you. If they happen to spot you and be in the same room, the music will change. So pay close attention to the music in the background, it’s a dead giveaway which I honestly didn’t like because it spoils the whole surprise. Another drawback with these stalkers are their AI. They’ll notice you hide in the very closet their facing and turn around dumb-founded. They’ll also repeat the same dumb phrases over and over (ex: Alyssa!/ Where are you!/ Snippety Snap!). When they get tired of searching they area, they won’t exit out the door, but rather disappear like some sort of magic.

Another problem I had with these bosses were the actual boss battle themselves. My sense of horror and terror were immediately diminished when our heroine suddenly gains courage and carries unlimited amount of bows to destroy the bosses. Things get worst when your character is stationary once you charge your bow. You can’t change your aim while your aiming, which makes completely no sense. The final blow from the bow and arrow sends down a stream of energy pouring down on the boss, making for a very strange experience that doesn’t fit the 14-year old, frightened girl.

There are various puzzles in the game. None of these puzzles will require any thinking. The items and solutions are usually near the vicinity of one another. There are also ghost that are victims of stalkers who need help. Usually its something really simple like a notebook across the room or a teddy bear sitting on the trash can. Helping these ghost will save you the trouble of encountering them again because they’ll make Alyssa panic. Some of them even drop items to aid you.

Being the frightened 14-year old girl Alyssa is, she isn’t talented in combat. Instead of pipes, hand-guns, or lock-picks, Alyssa relies on Holy Water. Holy Water is your main tool throughout the game and is used to dispel seals to unlock doors, or to momentarily stun the enemies. Once you run out of holy water, you can re-stock them at a fountain.

The environments are also crucial for Alyssa’s survival. There are areas such as closets, shelters, and lockers where Alyssa can hide to avoid stalkers. For the most part, you can safely re-use these hiding spots to save your hide. There are also moments in the game where Alyssa can perform an action to momentarily take-out the enemy. These are called Safe Points and can only be used once in the entire game. Clock Tower replaces the life meter with a more engaging Panic Meter. When Alyssa enters panic mode, regardless if she’s hiding or not, the screen will start to blur and Alyssa will run like hell and momentarily pause to shiver in fear. If Alyssa reaches full panic mode, she’ll be vulnerable to death in one simple blow. Fortunately, Alyssa can cure her Panic with Lavender water.

The graphics are dark and the environments feel alive, as if your really there outside in the streets or lost in the sewers. Most of the time the game is played in total silence with no music in the background. The only music you’ll hear are the alerting themes when stalkers are in your vicinity. The highlight of Clock Tower 3 are the cut-scenes which are very graphic and fun to watch. One scene has Sledgehammer bursting a 12 year old girls head with a hammer and a pool of blood drips out of the girls skull. There was also another one where a man gets pushed off the 2nd floor and falls onto an axe below, splicing is skull in half. There plenty of blood and gore in Clock Tower 3, and the beautiful cinematic adds flare to the characters. If there was a reason why your playing Clock Tower 3, its probably because of the beautiful cut-scenes directed by Fukasaku. Clock Tower 3 is a good horror game. It can be blown through in 5 hours time. The presentation is top notch, and the cut-scenes will keep you glued to your tube. However the enemy AI and boss battles could’ve been a lot better. This is no resident evil or fatal frame game, the game play is more running and hiding rather than stopping and shooting. Clock Tower has a lot of room for improvement, but the story is one worth experiencing, give it a shot, it’s a high production horror game at a budget price