mechanic and poor storytelling methods. Joe Fielder of GameSpot described the puzzles as counter-intuitive, like being stuck on a Rubik's Cube and coming back later to find the cube solved. In the same vein, he noted how sometimes events are triggered or areas become accessible only after spending time exploring other unrelated areas. Mark MacDonald writing for Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine shared these sentiments, saying the player spends most of their time wandering around, hoping to trigger the next event. The point-and-click interface was also criticized as slow and inaccurate. Fielder criticized the graphics as "pure first-generation PlayStation" and believed the sound design was also poor. Marc Nix of IGN argued the sound design was good and the graphics were clear and sharp but the scenery was ultimately lifeless. The story was criticized by some, but MacDonald found it to be more adult and "out there-spooky" than any other PlayStation title yet. Mark Kanarick of AllGame heavily criticized the voice acting, describing it as the worst aspect of the game. Ultimately, Fielder could not recommend Clock Tower II as an adventure or horror game, saying "leave this one for the antique collectors". Nix felt the game fell considerably short of its potential. He found the rumble feature the "sole perfect feature of the game". MacDonald called the game "seriously flawed, but unique". He described it as a terrible game in a conventional sense, but like a cult film, it is redeemed by its willingness to take risks and stand apart from the mainstream and therefore is "strictly for hardcore niche gamers". Kanarick called it a poor attempt at a survival horror game, but that fans of Clock Tower (1996) may enjoy it. The Electric Playground presented Clock Tower II with its 1999 "Console Adventure Game of the Year" award. The editors called it "decidedly the best of the few challengers" in its field, despite competition from the PlayStation release of Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror. Notes References External links Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within at Agetec (official site) 1998 video games Clock Tower 2 Human Entertainment games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation Network games Point-and-click adventure games Video games developed in Japan Video games set in California Video games set in Osaka Video games featuring female protagonists Dissociative identity disorder in video games Single-player video games Agetec games Video games with alternate endings