Overclocked - PC

Overclocked definitely has some flaws, but I still enjoyed this game quite a bit. As some other reviewers have mentioned, the puzzles are generally easy. As psychiatrist David McNamara, most of the gameplay lies in playing audio clips of patients' sessions in order to stimulate the other patients' memories. It's usually pretty easy to figure out what clip you need to play, and to whom, but the clips are all short so it's not a big inconvenience if you accidentally pick the wrong one. Once you stimulate the patient's memory, you go into his or her memory and actually play as the patient, which is a pretty cool device. The flashback puzzles are more varied, but they're still pretty easy. In most cases, your location and inventory are so limited that you can't help but figure out what to do. I have to give credit, though, because the puzzles are all pretty logical and use real-world objects, so don't worry about having to open any antique puzzle boxes or anything like that.The backstory of what happened to the patients is okay, but a bit hackneyed. It won't take most people long to figure out what happened to the kids. I could forgive that if the characters were a little more interesting, but sadly, the patients are all pretty bland. That makes sense when you first meet them in the mental hospital, but as you go into the backstory (the flashbacks unfold in reverse chronology, "Memento"-style), the characters should have become more distinct, and they just didn't.What saved the game for me, though, was David McNamara. He's easily the best adventure game character I've come across in a long time, and the side plot about David's personal demons and imploding marriage was far more interesting than what happened at the hospital. David isn't always a nice guy, but that's part of what makes him such a good character. There were a couple of times when I cringed at his actions, and one point where I flat-out tried to stop him from doing something (without success), but he is definitely the most interesting part of the game.Despite the game's subtitle, there's not as much violence as you might expect. There are a few murders, although you only see one of them happen. There is one disturbing part of the game where you're forced to commit an act of violence, and even though it made sense, I still had a hard time going through with it. Still, unless you're very sensitive, that shouldn't stop you from playing this game.Overall, I enjoyed Overclocked. The gameplay was logical, and the story ranged from "okay" to "compelling." Most of the voice acting was quite good, and the backgrounds were sparse but appropriately gloomy. The ending was mostly satisfactory, although there were a few loose ends, and the very last scene was a big "huh?" moment. Still, if you enjoy adventure games, I'd say this one is worth picking up.

Almost less of a game, and more like an interactive movie, though. After playing so many games with lame, predictable plots, bad voice acting, and dull characters, Overclocked was a real breath of fresh air.Navigation:While I am not usually a fan of third-person games, I didn't mind it so much in this game. Navigation is your basic p&c, and there are a few places where the perspective changes during navigation in such a way as to create confusion. But again, I didn't really mind, because I was enjoying myself so much. You can make your character run if you want, but it's not much of an issue because you transition quickly from one scene to the next.Graphics:The scenes were mostly lovely, gloomy and spooky, but I got tired of it raining all the time. The characters do some pretty bad mime-acting when interacting with objects.Sound:The music is very beautiful and the sound effects are effective. The voice acting is definitely a cut above most games I have played. I liked that the dialog is not the kind where you have to always choose between a ton of meaningless subjects. On the other hand, there are some very long dialogs, where you just need to sit back and watch and listen. It was also a little tiresome to have to wait for David to get into position in front of a character before you find out that there is nothing new to talk about. The ESC key is a big help with this.Story:The story was great! I was up all night once the patients started to talk. I kept telling myself, "Just one more flashback and then I have to get some sleep". Although I must say I was getting pretty tired of David's pathetic personal drama intruding on my fun. If I wanted that kind of entertainment, I'd be playing Syberia... or watching Jerry Springer. I found out at the end that David's personal baggage has something to do with the story, so hang in there.You might notice that David sleeps in his clothes and never changes them. Actually nobody changes their clothes in this game, ever. I guess that's what you get with third person games. I also have never seen a bartender give a whole bottle to a patron before. Looks like he was just askin' to host a brawl in his barroom.At the conclusion, some things were not resolved to my satisfaction, but I guess there's no harm in having some things to ponder.Puzzles:If I remember correctly, most are inventory based, and none are very hard, but some are tedious enough that I chose to consult a walkthrough to find out which recordings I should be playing, and which tapes I should be looking at.Content:I was concerned about the full title, "Overclocked: a History of Violence", because I am a little squeamish, but it turned out there were only two scenes to worry about, and neither was much worse than what you see on prime-time TV, so don't hold back on that account.I knocked off a star for fun, because there really isn't that much to do in this game, but I gave it five stars overall because it is unlike any game I have played, and I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend it.