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  • Clock Tower: First Fear (PlayStation)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/764829916914155520/obscurevideogames-2006japan2002-clock-tower

    Clock Tower: First Fear isn’t really a sequel to Clock Tower but an updated port. The original was released for the Super NES in 1995 while First Fear was updated and released on the PlayStation in 1997. These games could best be described as point and click survival horror games. To make matters confusing, this game was never released in the U.S. There was a Clock Tower released for the PlayStation in the U.S. but this was actually Clock Tower 2 in Japan.

    The premise of the game revolves around a girl with a split personality. A “normal” one and an alter ego named Mr. Bates. It’s sort of a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde sort of thing. Your role of course is that of the girl in question. To makes things worse, you have a family with homicidal members. Your goal is to figure out the source of your dual personality.

    While mostly the same as the original, First Fear does have some differences. First, the graphics have been improved. The remake took advantage of the improved hardware of the PlayStation over the Super NES. Improvements include better animation, 3D character models, and more detailed models among other things.

    Likewise, the sound and music were improved. The PlayStation allowed for things that were not really possible on the Super NES such as voice acting and animated cutscenes. The music was also improved not that the Super NES had bad music.

    There were also some game play and control differences. While First Fear retained the same basic point and click interface, you could move the character around with the analog stick instead of having to point and click where you wanted to move. This made the game a little bit easier to play. Another change made was to the ending. An alternate ending sequence with more closure was provided.

    While whether or not some of the changes above are really improvements or not can be a matter of personal preference. However, I would say that if you were going to pick one of these games to play, I would go with the the remake, Clock Tower: First Fear, over the original Clock Tower. However, the original feels a bit more like the classic point and click adventures you would find on the PC. So at the end of the day, like I said, it comes down to a matter of personal preference.

    For the most part, I’m not a huge fan of point and click adventures but there are definitely exceptions. LucasArts made some great ones and I think the suspense that the survival horror theme makes works well with the genre. So if you are a point and click fan or a survival horror fan, this one is at least worth giving a try. There are fan made translations so it is possible to play in English language form even though there was never an official release.


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  • GamePro (June 1996)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    Source: GamePro – Issue Number 93 – June 1996

    GamePro was one of the most popular gaming magazines of the 1990s. I didn’t pick up GamePro very often because there were other magazines I preferred (e.g. Electronic Gaming Monthly) and I didn’t have unlimited funds for magazines. GamePro always felt like it had a slightly younger target audience but it was still a solid magazine. The June 1996 issue includes:

    FeatureS

    • GamePro Readers’ Choice Awards – The best games and systems of the year as determined by readers. Some of the highlights include Myst (Saturn) for best strategy game, Chrono Trigger (SNES) for best role-playing game, Zoop for best puzzle game, PlayStation for best overall system, Ultimate Mortal Kombat for best arcade game, Road Rash 3 (Genesis) for best 16-bit racing sim, Donkey Kong Land (Game Boy) for best handheld game, Destruction Derby (PlayStation) for best next-gen racing game, and Doom (PlayStation) for best next-gen corridor shooter (I guess “first person shooter” wasn’t as universal of a term as it would become?). There are a bunch of other categories with each category having several entries.
    • Electronic Entertainment Expo Sneak Previews – Better known as E3, this used to be an important event in the gaming industry. Some new things shown (most still under development at the time) include Star Wars: Shadow of the Empire (Nintendo 64), Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64), Turok Dinosaur Hunter (Nintendo 64), Shredfest (PlayStation, Saturn), Tigershark (PlayStation, PC CD), Pandemonium (PlayStation), Bogey: Dead 6 (PlayStation), Jumping Flash 2 (PlayStation), Dark Forces (PlayStation), Rebel Assault II (PlayStation), Bubsy 3D (PlayStation, Saturn), Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Saturn), Tomb Raider (Saturn), Gun Griffon (Saturn), X-Perts (Genesis), Vectorman 2 (Genesis), and lots more.
    • War Gods: First Look from the ACME Show – A first look at the War Gods arcade game. This was a new 3D fighter from Midway.
    • Watch Out for War Gods: A Fighter’s Edge Special Report – A detailed look into Midway’s new 3D fighting game.
    • 16-Bit Gamer’s Survival Guide – 32-bit consoles had been around for about a year at this point but 16-bit consoles were still going strong. This is a look at some of the latest games for 16-bit systems including Bass Masters Classic ’96 (SNES), Bugs Bunny in Double Trouble (Genesis), Ken Griffy Jr’s Winning Run (SNES), Lobo (Genesis) Marsupilami (Genesis), Maui Mallard (SNES), Mo Hawk and Headphone Jack (SNES), Time Killers (Genesis), and more plus a couple of best of lists.

    SWATPro Strategy Section

    • Resident Evil PlayStation ProStrategy Guide – A detailed strategy guide for the game that popularized the survival horror genre.
    • Super Mario RPG Super NES ProStrategy Guide – A strategy guide for Super Mario RPG. These guides aren’t something you want to use unless you are really stuck. Otherwise, I think they spoil the game.
    • SWATPro – Hints, tips, cheats and more for Bases Loaded ’96 (PlayStation), NHL All-Star Hockey (Saturn), Earthworm Jim: Special Edition (Sega CD), Return Fire (3DO), PO’ed (PlayStation), Doom (3DO), ViewPoint (PlayStation), Last Gladiators: Digital Pinball (Saturn), Raiden Project (PlayStation), Shinobi Legends (Saturn), Sega Rally Championship (Saturn), Darius Gaiden (Saturn), Toy Story (Super NES), and more.
    • Lunar II: Eternal Blue (Sega CD) – A guide to reaching both endings in this RPG. I always wanted this (and its predecessor) for the TG-16 CD-ROM but for some reason never got around to playing them.
    • Return Fire (PlayStation) – Tips for this overhead helicopter combat game. It reminds me a bit of the Strike series (Desert Strike, Urban Strike, etc.).
    • Zero Divide – Special moves and combos for this robot fighting game.
    • Samurai Showdown III (Neo Geo) – A move list for this classic fighting game on the Neo Geo.

    Departments

    • Letter from the GamePros – A look at some of the latest changes to the magazine.
    • The Mail – Letters from readers about “palette swap” characters in games, NBA in the Zone, AC adapters for the Sega Nomad, and more.
    • GamePro Gallery – Video game related artwork from readers.
    • Buyers Beware – Questions answered about the shareware version of Duke Nukem 3D, the price of Killer Instinct 2, Squaresoft, XBand keyboard repair, playing old games on new systems, and more.
    • ProNews – Angry mom gets Primal Rage removed from store shelves; Sega, Sony and Nintendo cut console prices; PlayStation sales go over the 1 million mark; new VR baseball game; and more.
    • GamePro Online – Some of the GamePro content you can find on America Online, various web sites, and more.
    • The Cutting Edge – A look at the $150 28.8bps modem for the Sega Saturn.
    • GamePro Labs – A look at a new disc called The Game Guru for the 3DO that provides cheats by altering saved games.
    • PC GamePro – PC coverage was a bit of an afterthought with GamePro. This section has brief looks at HyperBlade (PlayStation, Saturn, PC CD), Vikings: The Strategy of Conquest (PC CD, Mac CD), and Kingdom O’ Magic (PC CD).
    • Hot at the Arcades – A look at some of the latest arcade games including Virtua Fighter 3, War Gods, Tokyo Wars, Ace Driver Victory Lap, Dirt Dash, NBA Hang Time, Dunk Mania, Batman Forever, NBA Jam Extreme, Run and Gun 2, Midnight Run, Crypt Killer, Metal Slug, Dungeons & Dragons, Art of Fighting 3, and Street Fighter Alpha 2.
    • Overseas ProSpects – A look at new and upcoming arcade games in Japan including Virtua Fighter Kids, Prop Cycle, Sonic the Fighter, and Star Gladiator.

    …and more!


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  • Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (PlayStation)

    Posted on by Azrael Comment

    While survival horror games existed before the Resident Evil franchise, I would say that the Resident Evil franchise is what brought that terminology into common parlance. “Resident Evil 3: Nemesis,” released for the PlayStation in 1999, is the third game in this franchise and like the others was published by Capcom. It immediately follows the events of “Resident Evil 2” continuing the story of the zombie infested Raccoon City. The main character of this game is Jill Valentine, a member of the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (STARS). The story involves her attempted escape from the city during the continuing zombie outbreak. And of course ther is a new major antagonist to deal with. This one is called Nemesis, hence the title of the game.

    The main goal of Nemesis is to hunt down surviving STARS members. Nemesis, of course, is much more powerful than your average run of the mill zombie. It also has a nasty habit of popping up seemingly at random. You might find it smashing through a nearby wall or otherwise sneaking up on you at any time.

    At least Jill isn’t alone in her struggle. In this game she teams up with Carlos Oliveira who is a member of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (UBCS). He also finds himself trapped in the city and like Jill, he is trying to escape.

    This game could best be described as a refinement of the two previous entries in the series. It has all of the zombies and various mutations of the previous games along with some new ones, most notably the Nemesis. The graphics are excellent for the time featuring pre-rendered backgrounds, detailed character models, and otherwise nice looking imagery. Likewise, the soundtrack and sound effects are excellent and help add to the sense of suspense. The voice acting is really just okay but it was about as good as you could expect based on the standards of the time.

    The game play mechanics are also refined. This iteration of the franchise introduced a more action oriented approach vs. the first two games. Whether this is actually an improvement or not is somewhat a matter of opinion. If you are like me, then you might prefer the slightly slower pace of the first two games. For those that prefer action though, I’m sure this was generally seen as an improvement.

    Nemesis does offer quite a bit of replayability so at least it isn’t (or doesn’t have to be) a game limited to one play-through. There are multiple endings based both on your choices and how well you do. However, assuming you survive long enough, you will eventually have a final showdown with Nemesis and escape (or not) the city.

    There are a variety of locations to explore throughout the course of the game. Thse include the Raccoon City police station, the streets of Raccoon City, underground areas leading to Raccooon City’s sewer system as well as a laboratory, and more. The environments are highly interactive and you will have to explore and solve puzzles to unlock certain areas. As mentioned above, there are multiple endings and the storyline ends up evolving from a mix of scripted events and player choices.

    If you are a fan of survival horror or the earlier Resident Evil games, then this is one you will definitely want to play. While it isn’t going to be the choice of most for best game in the series and it does not represent as big of a leap as Resident Evil 2 did over the original, it is still a solid game worth playing. In order to play the original you’ll have to grab a copy off of ebay and have an original PlayStation (or PS2) lying around or use emulation. Resident Evil 3 was also ported to the Dreamcast, GameCube and Windows however, despite some improvements, they are also flawed in various ways. It’s probably best to stick with the PlayStation version though the differences are not huge. While Resident Evil 3 was remade for various systems in 2020, I usually tend to always recommend the original. Having said that, the remake is said to do a pretty good job of recreating the feel of the original and it has the advantage of looking much nicer, especially on a high definition screen so there isn’t anything really wrong with the remake if that is the direction you prefer.


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