Product Description

Set against the backdrop of a catastrophic thunderstorm raging over New York City, step into the world of Overclocked as army psychiatrist, David McNamara. You are called to the Staten Island Forensic Hospital in New York City to consult on a case that requires your expertise in forensic psychiatry. Tasked with exploring the minds of five young men and women who were found scared, screaming, and without memory, you make alarming discoveries as you begin to cautiously probe the psyches of your young patients. Throughout the game, you will play as five other characters in this chilling interactive psycho thriller. Features: Experience Overclocked from various perspectives as you play as six different characters throughout the game. Explore 45 diverse locations with densely animated pre-rendered settings. Innovative storytelling techniques create a unique gameplay experience. Meet and interact with a cast of intriguing characters, each with their own distinct personalities. Characters come to life with fluid movements and realistic facial expressions created with Emotion FX 2 technology. Cinematic cut-scenes designed using advanced camera techniques pioneered by feature films. Exceptional visuals enhanced by shadow and shader effects, real-time atmospheric particle effects (rain, snow, lightening), and dynamic lighting. Unique icon-based dialogue system.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2563 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Lighthouse Interactive
• Model: PO00950MB
• Released on: 2008-03-31
• ESRB Rating: Mature
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Me
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: .41 pounds

Features

• Experience Overclocked from various perspectives as you play as six different characters throughout the game
• Explore 45 diverse locations with densely animated pre-rendered settings
• Innovative storytelling techniques create a unique gameplay experience
• Meet and interact with a cast of intriguing characters, each with their own distinct personalities
• Characters come to life with fluid movements and realistic facial expressions created with Emotion FX 2 technology

Customer Reviews

Flawed but worthwhile
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.

Finally done
I really enjoyed the game. I am an amatuer so I really needed the walkthrough when it got to the end. It had some interesting twists and very "smart" game. I highly recommend if you like suspence.

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First thing first. i did not finish the game, not a great sign.the game was actually very interesting and had good graphics, the controls were easy, the puzzles were fun....except....the dreaded voice recordings. The straw that broke the camels back. I must say i love a good story, but the back and forth with voice recordings was not fun at all..it bored me into wanting to play something else.Everything else was fine and fun, but once again..it only takes 1 bad thing in an adventure game to tick you off.