Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock

Cover art for the game
Developer(s) Supermassive Games[1]
Publisher(s) BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment
Producer(s) Simon Harris (BBC Worldwide)
Engine Unreal Engine 3[2]
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 (PSN), PlayStation Vita
Release date(s) PS3
23 May 2012[3]
PS Vita
10 October 2012[4]
PC
15 November 2012[5]
Genre(s) Action/Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer
Distribution Download/Blu-Ray Disc

Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock is a video game released on 23 May 2012 based upon the BBC television programme. It was intended to be the first of a series,[6] but it was announced in 2013 that the sequels have been put on hold.[7]

Cast

Matt Smith reprises his role as the Eleventh Doctor. Similarly Alex Kingston returns to her role on the show as the Doctor's wife, River Song. The game does not feature any other companions from the Television Series Doctor Who.[8]

Gameplay

The plot is promised as allowing the player to take on the role of the Doctor and River Song as they travel across space and time in an effort to save Earth by gathering pieces of the eternity clock, an object that is a record of everything that has or will ever happen in all of existence. Along the way is decision making which leads to "multiple possibilities" and puzzles. Players will encounter Daleks, Cybermen, Silurians, and the Silence.[9] The game had previously been confirmed for release on 30 April 2012, but was later postponed to 23 May 2012.

The game takes place just before the events of "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead" in River Song's timeline as indicated by various notes within her diary as well as the use of her title of 'Professor'. For the Doctor the game presumably takes place between series 6 and 7.

Reception

According to review aggregating website Metacritic, the PS3 version of the game received an average review score of 39 out of 100, based on 21 reviews.[10]

The game received a 3.5 out of 20 from the game critics Stephanie Bendixsen and Gus Ronald on the ABC television program Good Game: Spawn Point, later describing what they truly wish a Doctor Who game would be like.[11]

IGN editor Mike Bell gave The Eternity Clock a 5.5 out of 10 stating that "Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock is a game that is filled to the brim with good intentions and does a lot of things right, but that even the Pandorica couldn’t fix the amount of technical issues present."[12]

Developers have responded to some criticisms and released an update. This update addresses bugs, AI issues and adds additional save locations.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock". Supermassivegames.com. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock powered by Unreal Engine 3". Eurogamer.net. 22 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Welcome to Twitter - Login or Sign up". twitter.com.
  4. ↑ "Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock on PS Vita next week". Blog.eu.playstation.com. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  5. ↑ "Twitter / DoctorWhoTEC: We're happy to announce that". Twitter.com. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "BBC Worldwide set to launch major new Doctor Who gaming franchise". BBC Worldwide. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012. Two further Doctor Who console game titles are planned to follow this release with details to be announced next year.
  7. ↑ "'Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock' planned sequels cancelled by BBC". Digital Spy. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013. Originally planned as a trilogy of releases, executive vice president of digital entertainment and games Robert Nashak revealed that the Eternity Clock series has been put on hold.
  8. ↑ "BBC Worldwide set to launch major new Doctor Who gaming franchise". BBC Worldwide. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "The CURSE of WHO: WHY has there never been a decent videogame with the Doctor?". theregister.co.uk.
  10. ↑ "Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock". Metacritic.
  11. ↑ "Good Game Spawn Point - Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock". abc.net.au.
  12. ↑ "Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock Review". IGN. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Twitter / DoctorWhoTEC: Patch update for Doctor Who:". Twitter.com. Retrieved 1 July 2013.

External links