13 Dec 1996
13 Dec 1996 - PlayStation
01 Oct 1997 - PlayStation
01 Feb 1998 - PlayStation
22 Feb 2012 - PlayStation Portable
22 Feb 2012 - PlayStation 3
28 Aug 2012 - PlayStation Vita
Clock Tower, known as Clock Tower 2 in Japan, is a PlayStation point-and-click survival horror game and a sequel to Clock Tower: The First Fear. One year after the events of Clock Tower: The First Fear, in late 1996, Jennifer Simpson has been adopted by Helen Maxwell, the assistant of a renowned psychiatrist, Samuel Barton, and is currently undergoing treatment at a university research building in Oslo, Norway, to help her cope with her traumatic experiences in the Clock Tower case and possibly shed some light on the mystery that was the Scissorman.
One year after the events of Clock Tower: The First Fear, in late 1996, Jennifer Simpson has been adopted by Helen Maxwell, the assistant of a renowned psychiatrist, Samuel Barton, and is currently undergoing treatment at a university research building in Oslo, Norway, to help her cope with her traumatic experiences in the Clock Tower case and possibly shed some light on the mystery that was the Scissorman. As Barton hypnotizes Jennifer, Helen takes Jennifer home early, saying that she's not ready to remember the murders yet. Barton then leaves the room and talks to Harris Chapman, an assistant at the university. If Barton talks to him twice, Harris slips his affections for Jennifer and the player will become Jennifer rather than Helen. Barton goes downstairs and is interviewed by Nolan Campbell, a reporter, and then he gives the Demon Idol statue to either Rick, a former butler for the Barrows family, or Sullivan, the curator of the local library. Remembering where the statue went is crucial in determining the ending.
The game is very immersive, and I really enjoyed the experience. The graphics are okay, the controls are comfortable enough despite it being a point-and-click, and the sound design is fantastic. I’d really like to give this game a higher score, but honestly, I just can’t for two main reasons:
The first one is that Scissorman almost never feels like a real threat. He’s very slow, and the game gives you plenty of simple ways to avoid him (which can be repeated endlessly). Running away from him quickly turns into more of an annoyance than something scary.
The second reason is very personal, so I don’t think it’ll apply to most players: there are multiple endings, and I’d like to see them all, but some sections of the game are REALLY slow (especially the dialogues, which can’t be skipped), and the only part that truly makes a difference is the final phase. But to reach it, you have to play the whole game from scratch. You'll also need to recycle at least 3-4 save files to get all the endings for just one of the two characters... and honestly, I just don’t feel like doing it. There’s nothing in the game that motivates you to go through with it... not even the story.
I’ll definitely play through Jennifer’s path and check out some other endings later on... but I think it’s a shame that a 4-hour game doesn’t have much replay value (for me at least).
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• Helen's Ending (C)
• Jennifer's Ending ×