Eerie 'Clock Tower 3' is creepy fun

Art and horror don't always blend well, especially in the erratic world of video games.

After two critically rejected versions, "Clock Tower 3," from Capcom for the PlayStation 2, has been rejiggered to the point where it's an artistic success -- in a gruesome sort of way.

OK, it's art, but is it a good game? Absolutely.

"Clock Tower 3" has you playing as a 14-year-old girl named Alyssa, who has been ordered into hiding by her mother and told to avoid the family home.

Being the student of horror that she is, Alyssa immediately heads for the family manse in London to find her Mom. Instead, she finds a bizarre mystery that involves several periods in history.

She also finds a series of savage killers, the Evil Servants, who live on the life force of their murdered victims.

Each chapter forces you to complete a mission in which you return mementos to the ghosts of the dearly departed.

Once you do that, you face off against the killer-boss.

Strangely for a game offering this level of violence, Alyssa's main weapon is a bottle of holy water. Combat is a word used loosely here, and there isn't any in the true sense of the word, although our heroine does have a bow with arrows that can be charged up for boss combat.

Adding to the fun is Alyssa's "panic meter," which fills as the ghosties and goblins chase her around. Once it is filled, she becomes almost impossible to control. Slip her into a hiding place until she calms down and you regain control.

That aside, the exploration part is fun, if slow. The family home is a treasure trove of the weird and bizarre.

Graphics get a B. Everything is eerie, with plenty of shadows to explore. The images are detailed and suitably spooky.

Control gets a B. I found little Alyssa hard to operate at times, but otherwise the game is cooperative.

Sound gets another B, but more for quality than quantity. Music tends to reflect what's going on in the game.

"Clock Tower 3" gets a B, mainly for the originality Capcom's developers have shown in advancing the series so it's more in line with other horror favorites. It's not up to the likes of "Resident Evil," but the novelty displayed makes it worth the time.

"Clock Tower 3" gets a fully justified M rating, for ages 17 and above. Scenes in this game are absolutely not for the grammar school set.