Jump into the role of six nutters
It’s a very slow start to the game in terms of actual game-play and the first hour or so merely involves you following instructions to get to a location or listening to characters build the storyline. However, as soon as you begin your investigations and meet the young adults in the institute the game really begins, the puzzle solving starts and the story expertly unfolds.With ambient and electronic music playing in the background, similar to what you'd hear in an X-Files episode, you enter the cells of each of the psychopaths and use hypnotism in order to help them to remember the past week in their lives and discover what has led them to becoming so violent.
It’s at this point that you switch characters and play sections of the game from the perspective of the inmate, solving puzzles as you re-live parts of their traumatic experiences. This is where the majority of puzzle solving takes place, for example, you’ll need to work a way to escape over a fence and use the pistol in your inventory to shoot at a barrel to pierce a hole in it to empty it of its liquid to make it lighter so you can push it against the high fence, but in truth, none of the puzzles are really that taxing or well thought-out; Overclocked is all about its storyline and presentation.
Overclocked's presentation is impressive, with atmospheric moody locations, dramatic cut-scenes and a simple and clear interface. But, despite the title suggesting that you’ll experience moments where you’ll be scared out of our wits - and despite the16+ rating - it’s not really that creepy. Aside from the mental institute setting, which always makes you feel edgy no matter which game you're playing, there aren't too many heart-pumping or thrilling moments in this ‘thriller’.
Click for larger image
Click for larger imageNevertheless, and this could be said of many games in the genre, it is an intriguing, intelligent and well-narrated story with a simple control system that should appeal to the point-and-click audience. And, while the puzzles that you encounter and the combining of objects is fairly self explanatory and don't really test your brain power to the limit, character switching does work really well and effectively helps to immerse you in this thought provoking tale of lost memories and violence .
Overclocked: A History of Violence is due out on PC on 02 May, 2008.
Fancy a free copy of Overclocked? Head over to our competition page where we have five to give away!
Pros
Well-written
Interesting subject matter
Character switching gets you involved in the story
Cons
It's more about the story than the puzzles or game-play
An above average point-and-click adventure thanks mainly to its intriguing story-line.
HEXUS Awards
Overclocked: A History of Violence (6.5/10)
