Most video games have a theme: fantasy, comedic, horror, sci-fi, and so on. And there are games that try to recreate an experience, such as Madden NFL, which tries to feel like a playable version of a football game on TV, or Uncharted, which tries to be a pulp adventure movie in game form.
The original Clock Tower for the SNES is, quite ambitiously for its time, an attempt to be the playable version of a horror movie. And even with the limited tech it was designed on, it works.
The story is pretty much just in the background and can be summed up in one sentence. But once Jennifer is separated from her friends, the only thing you need to worry about is trying to survive.
The pacing is excellent. You can explore the mansion at your leisure, but at any time, threats - in the form of both the supernatural, and a very persistent killer - may show up. At any point, the game could suddenly switch from exploring, to running and hiding or trying to escape. Once you're safe, you can explore again.
Threats and scares are randomized. The first time I examined a certain mirror, hands came out of it and strangled me. Most other times I examined that mirror, nothing happened. Sometimes you turn on a faucet and blood comes out. Or maggots come out instead. Usually, it's just water. The unexpected scares not only startle you since you're not expecting them, but they also add replay value to the game. And it makes it as unpredictable as a good horror movie. Notice I said a "good" one.
What's more, the game is rather open-ended. There's 9 endings to get, all based on actions you take and things that happen. Besides that, your actions can affect many things in the mansion. Which of Jennifer's friends will die? Or will any be alive to help her? How about that man locked in a cage - if Jennifer gets locked in with him, will he go insane and kill her, or can she help him?
The main problem with the game is its length. 9 endings and randomization do what they can to add replay value, but once you've experienced it all, there's not much to come back to gameplay-wise. And, while this is the only SNES game to actually be unsettling to me at times and make me jump, once I learned all its tricks, it stopped being scary.
Even while it's imperfect, this game is still very innovative for its time, and worth checking out.
(SNES game review) What Uncharted does for pulp adventure, this game did for slasher horror
Most video games have a theme: fantasy, comedic, horror, sci-fi, and so on. And there are games that try to recreate an experience, such as Madden NFL, which tries to feel like a playable version of a football game on TV, or Uncharted, which tries to be a pulp adventure movie in game form.
The original Clock Tower for the SNES is, quite ambitiously for its time, an attempt to be the playable version of a horror movie. And even with the limited tech it was designed on, it works.
The story is pretty much just in the background and can be summed up in one sentence. But once Jennifer is separated from her friends, the only thing you need to worry about is trying to survive.
The pacing is excellent. You can explore the mansion at your leisure, but at any time, threats - in the form of both the supernatural, and a very persistent killer - may show up. At any point, the game could suddenly switch from exploring, to running and hiding or trying to escape. Once you're safe, you can explore again.
Threats and scares are randomized. The first time I examined a certain mirror, hands came out of it and strangled me. Most other times I examined that mirror, nothing happened. Sometimes you turn on a faucet and blood comes out. Or maggots come out instead. Usually, it's just water. The unexpected scares not only startle you since you're not expecting them, but they also add replay value to the game. And it makes it as unpredictable as a good horror movie. Notice I said a "good" one.
What's more, the game is rather open-ended. There's 9 endings to get, all based on actions you take and things that happen. Besides that, your actions can affect many things in the mansion. Which of Jennifer's friends will die? Or will any be alive to help her? How about that man locked in a cage - if Jennifer gets locked in with him, will he go insane and kill her, or can she help him?
The main problem with the game is its length. 9 endings and randomization do what they can to add replay value, but once you've experienced it all, there's not much to come back to gameplay-wise. And, while this is the only SNES game to actually be unsettling to me at times and make me jump, once I learned all its tricks, it stopped being scary.
Even while it's imperfect, this game is still very innovative for its time, and worth checking out.