Reviews// Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock

Posted 31 May 2012 14:43 by Mark E. Johnson

“EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!” It's a phrase I never thought I'd be happy to hear. Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock has proven that I hadn't given the matter proper consideration.

First up, some disclosure: I am a Doctor Who fan. I wouldn't go so far as to describe myself as a 'Whovian' and I mostly stick to post-relaunch stuff (I'm snobby about old special effects) and the occasional book, but I would describe myself as a 'fan'. I'm not the sort of fan who turns his nose up at adaptations of stuff I love, either. If anything, I lean into the more forgiving end of the spectrum if I don't have my critical faculties switched on for a review. So, I hope you can take me seriously when I tell you:

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock is not a good game.

Developed by Supermassive Games, it takes the form of a '2.5D' sidescrolling platformer, with occasional switches through to another 2D plane, a la Shadow Complex. The plot revolves around a time storm centred on a particular spot in London, with the 11th Doctor (voiced by Matt Smith) and River Song (voiced by Alex Kingston) trying to sort it out.

While the action's centred on one plot of land, it's spread across four time periods – the Elizabethan era, Victorian era, modern day and a future period. Dotted throughout these eras are Cybermen, Silurians, Silence and Daleks.

Because the Doctor's allegedly a pacifist most of the gameplay (barring a few spots where River uses her laser pistol) takes the form of puzzling and being stealthy. Some of the puzzles are of the move-blocks-around sort, some of the mini-game sort. The action's split between the Doctor and River, with emphasis placed on two-player co-op in situations where(/when) both characters are needed to complete a puzzle.

Although I'm tempted to question the merit of a boxed release for a sidescroller (even at Ł20) these days, there's nothing wrong in principle with the game's set-up.

In fact, there are some good ideas at work. Given the Doctor's (alleged) pacifism and the fact that The Adventure Games already have the point and click genre covered, platforming is a sensible direction for Doctor Who on our games consoles. And there's actual, clever use of time travel to solve puzzles! For a programme about time travel, Doctor Who has a strong tendency to duck the actual effects and mechanics of screwing with the space-time continuum. Here, though, actions in one period will directly affect levels in future eras. It's a very nice touch.

There's also some good work from Smith and Kingston, as well as some natty dialogue and generally strong writing. For all The Eternity Clock's faults, it has a whiff of authenticity about it that fans will appreciate – especially given that we still have a wait on our hands for the next series.

Sadly, however, it all falls down in the execution.

The controls don't work very well, for starters. They're clunky and unresponsive. In situations where timing's important, it's really no good having a half-second lag between your button-press and the on-screen action that's supposed to correspond to it. Annoyingly, there are explanations of puzzles in which you're supposed to press X for the next prompt, but X just doesn't work.

The puzzles are repetitive. Some work better than others, but in certain levels you're expected to just repeat the exact same puzzle multiple times. There are other times when you're expected to complete a puzzle while under imminent threat of being killed off. At one point you have to use the sonic screwdriver to disarm opponents. This consists of wiggling the right analogue stick to match up two wavelengths on an on-screen monitor. The problem is, you're taking constant fire as you do this, with little recourse to avoid being shot. In another, you're expected to complete a maze-type puzzle that blocks out the entire screen while Cybermen come to 'delete' you. You have absolutely no idea what point they'll catch up to you, though. Having a puzzle with a time limit is one thing, not telling you what that time limit is is another. Which leads me to my next point...

The game is very poorly balanced. There are sections that are grindingly, punishingly difficult, followed by half an hour of gameplay you'll skip through without a second glance. More annoyingly, the bits that make you want to stick a sonic screwdriver in your eye are frequently difficult thanks to poor conception.

At one point (not that far into the game, I would add) I was getting absolutely nowhere in a puzzle-based battle against some Cybermen. I mean, nowhere. Eventually, my failure prompted the game to make life easier for me. I wasn't given more time, or a few less enemies. No, the solution was to just stop sending enemies at me altogether, leaving me to wander around aimlessly for three minutes waiting for something to do. It was not a graceful solution.

You may be tempted at this point to assume it's my own ability that let me down, to which I'll respond: I'm not amazing at games, but I don't suck this much. And remember, this is a title that should be appropriate for kids.

It's glitchy, too. When relying on the AI instead of another human to help you in co-op segments, they'll sometimes just get it completely wrong. On one occasion a level transition led me to a darkened screen. When I quit out and restarted I was put back not at what I thought was the last checkpoint, but at the start of a level that had taken around 20 minutes to complete.

If you're a seriously dedicated Who fan I'm sure this review won't stop you buying The Eternity Clock, but... well, I warned you.

It might smell like Doctor Who, but it's not fun. It's a missed opportunity. It's the kind of missed opportunity that makes you want to walk into a room full of Weeping Angels and blink.

Pros: