''Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock'' is a 2012

action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

based upon the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. It was intended to be the first of a series, but it was announced in 2013 that the sequels have been put on hold. It was released in digital stores by

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

and in physical media in Europe for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

and

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Team Soho was a British video game developer based in Soho, London. It was formerly the video game development division of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe before being spun off to develop ''The Getaway'' series; a second unit at Cambridge ...

Cast

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Prince Philip in Netflix's historical series ''The Crown ( ...

reprises his role as the

Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation (otherwise known as regeneration) of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As wi ...

. Similarly

Alex Kingston Alexandra Elizabeth Kingston (born 11 March 1963) is an English actress. Active from the early 1980s, Kingston became noted for her television work in both Britain and the US in the 1990s, including her regular role as Elizabeth Corday, Dr. Eliz ...

returns to her role on the show as River Song.

Plot

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 Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

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

Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in th ...

Cybermen The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ...

, Silurians, and

the Silence Silence is the lack of audible sound. Silence or The Silence may also refer to: Places *Silence, a district of southern Brussels, Belgium People with the name *Silence Dogood, a pen name of Benjamin Franklin * Silence Mabuza (born 1977), South ...

. 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 "A Good Man Goes To War" and "Let's Kill Hitler" or after the events of "The God Complex". It is sure that the events in the Doctor's timeline are not after series 6 finale because The Silence tell the Doctor that one day he will find his doom, referring to Utah in "The Wedding of River Song". In the context of subsequent seasons of the series and on-screen appearances by River, it is unclear where this takes place in relation to the 2015 episode " The Husbands of River Song" which chronicles her final meeting with the Doctor (in this case the

Twelfth Doctor The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, the protagonist of the British Science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three ...

) prior to the events of "Silence in the Library".

Reception

According to review aggregating website

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, the PS3 version of the game received an average review score of 39 out of 100, based on 21 reviews. The game received a 3.5 out of 20 from the Australian game critics Stephanie Bendixsen and Gus Ronald on the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...

television program '' Good Game: Spawn Point'', later describing what they truly wish a ''Doctor Who'' game would be like.

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

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

References

External links

playstation.com blog
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