Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

"This game has some of the most amusing adventure puzzles I've seen; a strong compliment, coming from an old-time adventure gamer, who's played the likes of Zork, Alone in the Dark, Gabriel Knight-2, and Under a Killing Moon."

---from the review

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Sidebar :

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The Dreamcatcher curse... Looking at adventure games like this, from superior alternate sources, I often wonder is Dreamcatcher is an asset to the adventure game industry, or a curse. This game may be overlooked, thanks to people being gunshy after playing half a dozen games from Dreamcatcher that stink. Even though adventures like this (and The Longest Journey) are made by companies other than Dreamcatcher, they are placed in the same unfavorable niche. It isn't fair.

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The Watchmaker is another one of those signs that the adventure game genre is far from dead, and when put to good use, is even better than it ever was. It has a gripping story, some truly challenging-yet-doable puzzles, and the best use of 3D acceleration I've seen so far in an exclusively-adventure game title. If you love adventure games, and clamor for a good one whenever possible, this is definitely the game for you.

You play as two characters at once --Darrel Boone and Victoria Conroy-- who have been employed to unearth a mystery involving a relic clock, stolen from a museum. This clock is rumored to have once been used for some sort of powerful magic, which would be shrugged off as mere myth, except that the very life lines of the earth have begun the fluctuate ever since the clock's disappearance. The trail for this mystery ends in an old, renovated castle which Darrel and Victoria must visit as guests, and discern any secrets of. This mystery will lead you to the origins of the clock itself, its true purpose, and putting things right again.

Much talk has been done about the chronology of the game, since time is the whole story behind Watchmaker. However, don't fret; this is not a game that gives you a mere X number of game hours to solve it. The story progresses only as puzzles are slowly solved. So feel free to search every nook and cranny of this startlingly imaginative, luxurious castle. Spend your time leisurely looking throughout the castle's own planetarium, chapel, gym, indoor pool, and much more! Just about every room either provides a puzzle or provides part of the solution to one. You'll be spending much more time playing this game than the "24 hours" Victoria and Darrel are given to solve the mystery.

This game has some of the most amusing adventure puzzles I've seen; a strong compliment, coming from an old-time adventure gamer, who's played the likes of Zork, Alone in the Dark, Gabriel Knight-2, and Under a Killing Moon. Most puzzles are enhanced by choosing which of the two characters is best to solve that one puzzle. While many can be performed exclusively by your favorite character choice, there are some Darrel cannot solve that Victoria can, and vice versa. Darrel is burly enough to push heavier objects, for example, while Victoria has a better sense of etiquette with house guests, where a "bull in a china shop" approach is best avoided. Combined with a few puzzles that must be completed in unison, this puzzle environment should keep adventurers guessing for some time.

The storyline is equally enhanced by a theatrical approach, superior to many "interactive movies" I've played in the past. The cinematography is exceptional, and when communicating with the staff, you are not simply answered via a stoic close-up of their face. Conversations are filled with close-ups, medium shots, and long shots, often depending on the question asked. When asking the administrator's trophy wife how she likes her married life, the camera pans out to show her sitting in the opulence of an indoor pool room, with a huge mural behind her and a crystal-window wall overlooking the Greenery of the backyard. It's visuals like these that pull you into the story far more than other games, which would've had her simply say, "Um, yes, I like it here." The term "interactive movie" has rarely been done this exceptionally.

By comparison, AI of the characters may not be extraordinary, though it is amusing that each house guest has their own "routine" within the mansion, as the "day"
progresses. The supervisor's wife will read a book by the pool, then exercise in the gym, and then relax in her bedroom, all with alternate costumes/texture maps of each activity (a bathing suit, a leotard, etc.). The supervisor will start the game in his office, though if you threaten him with the possible exposure of a cover-up later in the game, you'll see him in the barroom drowning his sorrows. The lifelike way these suspects go about their business enhances the story's appeal.

In the end, I can't think of any gripes, so I'll keep the review short and sweet. Sure, at times, the voice actors sound like they're reading you an audio novel more than acting a role, though when it's important to audibly hear every clue, this is a good thing. It sure isn't as bad as the campy voice acting they had in Max Payne; that's for sure! In the end, adventures are best judged by an excellent storyline and great puzzles to solve. Watchmaker includes both.

---Techtite