CT3’s story is set in London, England. The main protagonist, Alyssa Hamilton, is an ordinary teenager who returns to her house after receiving a letter from her mom. Shortly after an encounter with a strange, portly man in her house, she is transported to a different time where she’s caught in the middle of a murder as it’s about to occur. Alyssa soon finds that she has the power to rid of evil spirits that keep souls in a torturous state, and the mystery behind her family and the strange man’s existence start to unravel.

Alyssa isn’t your standard, brave heroin. In fact, if she sees an evil spirit, she gets scared and her panic meter raises. If she touches a spirit or is injured by one, her panic meter will rise until she flat out loses it. At full panic Alyssa will run with arms flailing, at times unable to keep her footing. If she’s scared one more time at full panic, she dies and the game ends. To keep this from happening, holy water is spread throughout the different locals. Splash some holy water on an evil spirit and they’ll be stunned, giving you time to run away. To cure the whole reason for their tortured state, Alyssa will have to search for an item that was related to the spirits cause of death. Once used in the appropriate fashion, the tortured spirit is relinquished and he/she even leaves a helpful item. Items like lavender water fully decrease Alyssa’s panic meter.

Evil spirits that were the cause of a tortured souls’ death act as the boss of that particular area. You’ll be introduced to each one by being thrown right in the middle of the murder scene as it occurs. As you search for clues and items to help further your progress, the evil spirit will make unexpected appearances to hunt Alyssa down, similar to the Nemesis in Resident Evil 3. You can keep running for your life, or find hiding spots. Depending on if the spirit was near you when you use the hiding spot, you’ll be able to keep clear of it and let your panic meter decrease. If there just isn’t anywhere to hide, Alyssa can use an invisibility ring that keeps her transparent for a little while. The rings are found as items in each local and can help you lose that evil spirit.

Once you solve a murder mystery you’ll have to take on the spirit that’s been chasing you. Alyssa has access to only a holy bow and arrows to fight the boss with. Kill the boss and the tortured souls will be freed.

There are a few things wrong with Clock Tower 3 that just make the experience too shallow to enjoy. First, Alyssa runs more like an 80-year-old woman than a teenager. She’s slow, clumsy, and controls like molasses. The only time Alyssa controls well is when she’s at full panic, running for her life. At times when you’re ready to splash some holy water on a spirit, her slow animation will cause you to get pummeled instead. If it was the developer’s intention to have her control poorly to up the tension when you’re being chased, it only makes the ordeal frustrating and tiresome. Alyssa’s combative actions are few and the ones that are there aren’t fun. Boss fights tend you involve Alyssa running away, stopping to shoot her arrow, and repeating that until the boss dies. Bosses have pretty lengthy power meters so you’ll be running in circles for a good 5-10 minutes.

The game’s strong points lie in its presentation and mood. The cinemas directed by Kinji Fukasaku use motion capture to show Alyssa or victims tripping, rolling, and fleeing in terror. The murder scenes are so graphic that Resident Evil’s zombies can’t hold a candle to them. The mood is also well presented with old, creepy locations in London that are as unique as they are unsettling. The story is interesting and well written, and the game’s voice acting is high quality. The visuals are a bit mixed. Alyssa’s character moves like an action figure in in-game graphics, and many locations seem sparse on textures and detail. The backdrops that are well realized bring a great sense of terror as you’re walking through them.

Clock Tower 3’s murderous plot line and creepy mood can’t save its bare-bones gameplay. Alyssa does what she can to rid of evil demons, but it’s not enough to keep players dying for more.