Stick to the book!

Michael Crichton's second attempt at designing a computer game has failed miserably. With Amazon, published in 1984, he complained that the technology was not ready. With his latest fiasco, Timeline, a game that attempts to turn a blockbuster standard-Crichton novel into a historical simulation/family-entertainment, the technology only gets in the way.

You must give him credit for trying, in the same way that the infamous game Daikatana deserves a modicum of credit. As a matter of fact, there are some striking similarities between them- the time travelling storyline, the hollow characters, the odd graphics, the extremely buggy AI...

Timeline begins with some background information about who you are and where you are going. Of course, this isn't really important, it suffices to say that you are Crichton's hero and you will be going back in time to medieval Europe (technically the High Middle Ages) to rescue a Professor. There is the usual subplot about an evil corporation, ITC, and the standard fare about the dangers of technology. This point did get across- it is obvious that such we should keep the technology to create computer software as far away from Crichton as possible.

Where to begin? Perhaps with the graphics, since other reviews seem to speak highly of them. To those reviewers, I wonder is they have heard of Quake 3 or Unreal Tournament or even Doom 2. The graphics in this game, from the menu that looks like one straight out of an old game for the Amiga, to the terrible backgrounds, were awful. And worse because of their inconsistency. I ran the game at multiple resolutions, trying every option, but couldn't fix this.
Characters would be displayed at decent resolutions, albeit with pretty poor facial animations, the castles and buildings would look all right... but there were texture problems, lighting problems, and the viewpoint had some problems too. As a veteran of first-person shooters, let me tell you that it should not be so difficult to tell when you are holding a barrel.

The music was pretty good, but it kept being interrupted by annoying sound cues that were a throwback to Doom. I'd hear birds chirping and a river flowing, take one step forward, and I'd hear things burning or people talking. Worst of all, the dialogue would only occasionally be spoken, and though the voice acting wasn't bad, I'd have to rely on subtitles most of the time. With no apparent attempts to make sounds or music flow from scene to scene, this only heightened the sense of disconnection.

Disconnection was the prominent emotion I felt during the game (which, I must admit, I could not bring myself to finish). Having read the book and enjoying it as a best-seller, they changed the story, eliminated key parts (and characters) to make the game easier and faster, and made the whole subplot even more amusingly over-the-top. I'd laugh if I wasn't so close to crying.

The gameplay was silly at best, forcing experienced gamers to go through an in-game tutorial on how to jump and run. It may be clever and fun for those who are trying their first computer game, but it really should be a menu option. Your companions, one of whom is dispatched quickly, make it very clear that the programmers couldn't be bothered with something as quaint as artificial intelligence- they run around, into walls, out of sight, getting stuck on barrels, making odd motions, popping up with horrible dialogue.

I could look over this if it played well, or maybe taught a history lesson, or even brought forth a new way to look at games. But it makes only a paltry attempt at any of these, the same half-backwards effort they put into making it fun or engaging. The puzzles are stupid- worse than the find a key to open a door variety, because they don't make it puzzling, just time-consuming. The characters give hints like, "To open the door, you need the key"... over and over again. And when I walk up to any of the peasants who line the streets, they don't move or talk, but stand there idly. I'd guess medieval Europe was a truly static and dull place to be, if I hadn't read the afterword to the book which claims it was exactly the opposite.

On the plus side, the save engine is simple- it does the work for you, mostly, and there aren't any worries about dying or save gems. Some of the architecture is neat, and the idea of avoiding violence is also nice. You're not allowed to kill anyone in the game, so you have to use stealth and cunning.

But stealth here is meaningless, since I can jump up and down in front of enemies and they won't respond. Or worse, have them suddenly appear in front of me. I wish there would have been some neat swordfighting, or even some idea of magic.

For those who would like a fun, non-violent game experience- try Thief or Thief 2. They are much cheaper now, and infinitely better. And for those looking for a history lesson, read a history book. This game won't satisfy. As a family game, or a game for first-timers, it might suffice. But there are much better titles available, and you won't have to waste your time on this "game".

Lacking in just about every category from gameplay and graphics to sound and story, the game is without depth or interest and lacks even the redeeming quality of being able to kill bad guys. The best I can say it that is plays quickly, it's pretty simple, and that it might not offend those easily offended.

But it certainly offended me.