The Watchmaker

[Foggy_Moors]

The Watchmaker was a good game. I wouldn't rate it in my top ten, but it was definitely worth playing once. The game had the feel of Clue, with all the characters, such as the Gardner, Cook, and Maid. The story line was good and easy to follow, but I was somewhat disappointed with the graphics, which looked early 3-Dish. The music was nice with a soothing feel to it. I felt they could of incorporated some more puzzles and cut down on the walking from room to room to room and back to the same room. All in all this is a very entertaining game.

[middletoe]

I give the gamemakers credit for trying to make a 3D game engine that could be controlled by mouse.
Unfortunately, it didn't work very well. You could click on a spot in front of the character, and he'd turn around and run to the other side of the building.

[Symphonic Echo]

I thought the game had so much promise but was just let down to much on the acctual gameplay of it. The story started out well and intriguing but, in the end, I switched it off after about 20 mins in. I really didn't think the fluidity of the game was handled well. Maybe I just didn't give it enough time but I really don't think this game was all is had the potential for being.

[Chris]

I really didn't think the fluidity of the game was handled well.

I agree. And there seems to be no real merit in having 2 characters to switch between.
The movement of Victoria and Darrel is somewhat frustrating - its hard to get them moved to your intended destination. They seem to navigate somewhat arbitrarily, stopping to comment on this and that when you're trying to keep them moving right along.
I'm well into the game and intend to finish it, but only gave it a 3 in the poll.

[Ghostlady]

I also think the Watchmaker rates a 3. I enjoyed all the rooms in the castle and actually liked the story but the switching between characters, blocky graphics and terrible navigation brought that score down. Still worth a play.

[Jalax]

I enjoyed this game a lot. It had some problems with the control system and the graphics and sound were not first class but the story was really good.

[sierramindy]

When I played the game, I would have rated it a 3, but since then I have played other games and in comparison to them, I now give it a 4 rating. At least I was able to finish it even if I had problems with it.

[Angelfire]

I started it, put it away. Thought I just wasn't in the mood. But tried to play again and couldn't even make myself finish, one of the few I haven't played all the way through.

[Phlebas]

Speaking as someone who's finished the game, then:
The control system was quite a minor concern. Or would have been if the game had been better designed.
As it is there's endless backtracking, lots of sequences where you have to talk to someone then wander around all the other characters to see which of them responds to the single piece of new info you've learned, and when you eventually find the right one they'll just give you one more fragment of info and you're back to guessing who's next, generally without any clue so you have to try everyone again. And you have to do this twice, because sometimes it matters which of your characters you use for the conversation.
Obviously if you're doing that much walking around, an interface which makes it a nontrivial task to get anywhere is a very bad thing indeed.
Add to this a so-so script, atrocious voice-acting, too many puzzles without any clues to point you in the right direction, a few dead-ends and sudden deaths...
All of which is a great shame because there were a lot of good ideas in there and a lot of work and love seems to have gone into it - it could have been a terrific game. I didn't have a problem with the graphics - it's not showy but the emphasis is on the story rather than being like say the Myst series where exploring a beautifully realised setting is integral to the experience. If you were planning on playing the game through with a walkthrough from the start without even trying to work things out for yourself, none of the real problems would be issues as far as I can see (though why you'd want to play a game like that is more of a mystery to me).
A sadly missed opportunity.