Ludography
ClockWerx cover

1995 · Callisto Corporation · Puzzle

ClockWerx

ClockWerx is a Puzzle game, developed by Axes Art Amuse and published by Tokuma Shoten, which was released in Japan in 1995.

Released
1995
Platforms
PlayStationSNESSatellaviewSega SaturnWindowsmacOS
Genres
Puzzle
Developers
Callisto Corporation
Publishers
Spectrum HoloByte
Modes
Single-player
Country
United States
Age ratings
ESRB E

About

ClockWerx is a puzzle video game created by Callisto Corporation that was released in 1995. The game was originally released by Callisto under the name Spin Doctor. Later, with some gameplay enhancements, it was published by Spectrum HoloByte as Clockwerx, which was endorsed by Alexey Pajitnov according to the manual. A 3DO Interactive Multiplayer version was planned but never released.

Keywords

  • claymation
  • digital distribution
  • broadcast

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The object of the game is to solve a series of increasingly difficult levels by swinging a rotating wand from dot to dot until the player reaches the "goal" dot. Enemy wands that kill the player if touched march in predetermined patterns around each level's grid. The design is such that, with careful timing, the player can swing through seemingly impassable groups of enemies. Players can also swing from the same dot as an enemy by staying on the opposite side of it, since most enemy wands rotate at the same speed. At higher levels, more enemies are introduced, such as doors that open and close when the player's wand passes over a switch, "hyperdots" that send players to a different dot, and drops of acid that follow the player around.

The player's wand is in continuous motion; the only control is to reverse its direction of rotation, or to swing to another dot. Players can also swing to another dot and reverse rotation at the same time. All player motion is controlled by just four keys (reverse direction immediately, "bounce" (reverse direction when your wand passes by another dot), move to another dot, and move and reverse direction simultaneously).

Reception

Next Generation reviewed the Macintosh version of the game, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Using only four keys and two basic moves, ClockWerx will, nevertheless, keep you awake deep into the night." The game received a largely positive review from Computer Game Review. The magazine's Tasos Kaiafas wrote, "Don't throw your Tetris away yet, just minimize it for a little while."

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Satellaview18 November 1995Japan
SNES8 December 1995Japan
Sega SaturnUnreleased

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Collections5 collections

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.