Techtite's PC Game Reviews!

Timeline

This game is no longer for sale; order link removed.

A Techtite Review

If released as little as five years ago, Timeline would likely be heralded as a very amusing, acceptable adventure game. It's based on an actual novel, its detail (or so the game tells you) is authentic to the 14th-century timeframe, and its cinematic look and feel (graphics, voice-overs, and soundtrack) are excellently chosen. With all due honesty, I had fun throughout the entire time I played the game, from beginning to end...all of two hours! The end result is a game that is great while it lasts...though that's not long enough!

The story is based on a recent novel of the same name, also by Michael Crichton. Yale grad student Christopher Hughes must travel back in time to 14th century France, to rescue his professor. While the game doesn't get into enough specifics about the novel's evolving storyline, the distributors of the game (Eidos) wisely include the complete novel, for free, right in the game box (for now, anyway). If you're wondering why who's-after-who, just read the book! Oddly, the game changes a few key story elements, though it still coaxes you to read the book, as it was intended to.

Admittedly, the free-in-box novel would cost far less if bought in a bookstore, leading to the inevitable question: What does the game offer, for that much higher of a price? Well, it offers a well-designed, 3D interpretation of major events in the book's storyline. It offers some amusing interactive moments, like swordfights, and a jousting tournament (memories of 1988's Defender of the Crown come to mind). There are also several environmental puzzles, including sneaking through a castle and trying to find secret passages. Such interactivity is intriguing, and the excellent graphics make it even more enjoyable.

However, sadly there isn't enough interactivity to last a gamer more than two hours. this is not surprising, when Michael Crichton is more used to translating his books into two-hour films. For such a heftier price, the comparable two-hour game is quite disappointing. There are certainly thrills within those two hours, and graphics, music, and intriguing voice acting make you only want more, not less. Light effects show beams of light coming through cracks in the ceilings of rusty old tower structures, while character movement has apparently been based on the mapping of the movements by actual human models. Be that as it may, more is always better, especially when competing software titles like Deus Ex offer much more game, for the exact same price.

Timeline was created by Michael Crichton's new game company, Timeline Computer Entertainment. Old-hats to adventure gaming will remember that this is, in fact, the second such computer entertainment company under the guidance of Crichton: "Filmtrack" was his first. That company resulted in a rather amusing graphics-and-text adventure in 1982, called Amazon, which was one of my favorite memories in my Apple ][e years. It even made it onto my elite choices, for Top 50 Multimedia Classics. Quite a tough act to follow! If this game had a bit more "oomph" to it, it might be worthy for such a list as well. Instead, sad as it is to admit, the 19-year-old Amazon game lasted longer than one made nearly two decades later.

There are a few perks added to the CD, though they don't amount to much. These include a narrated tour of major game moments, where Crichton himself explains why these areas are so authentic to 14th century France. This is intriguing --and far better than Stephen King's foray into multimedia last year, F13-- though it still is not worth the price of admission. If interested in the novel itself, by all means, buy it. As for the game, I can only recommend it to people who loved the novel enough to want to see 3D interpretations of the story's most pivotal moments, for all of two hours. Timeline definitely offers that much...though I can't help feeling it could've offered so much more. 

	Final Rating : Near Miss. It's wonderful to see Michael Crichton back in the game business. However, this is not half as good as his 1982 Amazon classic, and he could've offered something much better.
For more on this site's ratings system, click here.