It's the kiss of death. Based on Michael Crichton's latest best-selling
novel, Timeline arrived on store shelves to everyone's surprise late
last week. What's so bad about that you ask? Well, this is a tactic
often employed in the film industry. The idea is to slip the product
into the marketplace without allowing the press to view the
material before consumers can get their hands on it. The goal is to
avoid or delay the potentially poor word of mouth for as long as
possible in hopes that it won't dictate the product's success or lack
thereof. Now, I'm not saying the good folks behind Timeline had
this scheme in mind, particularly since video game publishers
don't rely on opening weekend sales like the film studios do, but
the fact Eidos Interactive did nothing to hype Timeline up prior to
release speaks volumes about the game. Unfortunately, despite my
hopes to the contrary, Timeline is not an exception to this rule.
Based on Michael Crichton's novel, Timeline opens on the
threshold of the twenty-first century in a world of exploding
advances on the frontiers of technology. Time travel has been
actualized, bringing with it the intrigue and potential danger of
visiting eras gone by. One such curious scientist, Professor Edward
Johnston, has gone missing during one of his archeological time
travel expeditions and it is now up to you, Christopher Hughes, as
one of his students, to locate the good scientist and bring him back
to the present, by travelling back in time to fourteenth-century
feudal France, and oh no I've gone cross-eyed! In all seriousness,
the story is compelling and whether or not you've read Michael
Crichton's blood-soaked novel, it shouldn't prohibit or limit you
from enjoying the game, that task belongs to the disastrous
gameplay. Houston, we've got a problem.
Timeline gives new meaning to the term story-driven. In fact, it
focuses so much on the storyline that, much like the ill-fated
Professor, the gameplay mysteriously disappears as well. Now
don't get me wrong, I love a good plot as much as the next time
traveller, but I felt like I was doing little more than turning the
pages of a book.
After an introductory movie, and a training session designed to
demonstrate the first-person shooter controls to beginners, the
game opens as you and your fellow student, Katherine Erickson,
prepare the time machine to take you back to France in the year
1357, smack dab in the middle of the Hundred Years War. The
game is broken down into a series of movie, cutscene and action
sequences. Unfortunately, the action sequences are often no
longer than a couple of minutes before the next cutscene or movie
starts up. Upon arrival, one of the first action sequences requires
you to travel down a mountain in order to reach the town of
Castelgard. It's at this point of the game where you'll realize not
only is your sidekick Katherine an Architectural Lead, she's also an
employee of the Psychic Friends' Network. She knows everything!
She tells you which fork in the road to take, she tells you where
you can locate important items and how to go about obtaining
them, and she tells you how to approach or avoid guards. At one
point in the game, while Katherine was in captivity, she told me
that I needed to light a candle on a statue in order to reveal a
button I had to press to open a secret door. Who with the what
now?!? Listen lady, how about you let me figure things out for
myself, otherwise it sounds like you've got things well in hand
here. Perhaps you'd like to do this on your own?
The helpful hints from Mrs. Know-it-all, which unfortunately can't
be turned off, isn't the only gameplay deterrent, there's a general
lack of depth in the game as well. The action sequences are
frequently limited in terms of where you can go. Often consisting
of a few rooms, it's usually not too long before you hit a locked
door. These action sequences seem like they've been designed
with beginners in mind, as you can often run through each
sequence in about 30 to 120 seconds. Exploration is non-existent.
Once in Castelgard, you're just a joust match, a horseback ride
through the streets, a two-inch adventure, and a visit to a Knight's
tomb away from coming face to face with the climatic finale where
you'll have to save both Katherine and the Professor from the
nemesis of the game, Decker (an ending that screams sequel
might I add). An hour and a half later you could be done with
Timeline and considering there's no replay value due to the lack of
multiplayer, you'll realize you've got a lemon on your hands.
Timeline is a non-violent game. Contrary to the blood-soaked
novel, when you get yourself in a sword fight, opponents will kneel
down and give up when you've hit them enough times. Once
again, don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to non-violent games,
there's just a general lack of action in this game, period. Using
stealth to sneak up on guards, you'll be able to knock many of
them out without starting a conflict. In fact, besides a sword fight in
the middle of the game that is unavoidable, you could essentially
complete the entire game with very few encounters. It's only at the
end of the game, when you meet up with the main bad guys, that
your combat skills will be put to the test. Besides a sword and a
stun stick, the only other weapon available is a bow and arrow, a
weapon I only needed to use once in the game to impress a
bouncer. Instead, Timeline relies on joust matches, boat rides, and
puzzles to provide the thrills, sequences that are often dull and
simple to complete. There's no difficulty level setting in the game
and veteran gamers will not find anything in Timeline challenging.
Timeline boasts a "highly interactive world", but I couldn't
disagree more. A sequence near the beginning of the game allows
you to pick up barrels and toss them at oncoming guards, but that
was about as interactive as the game got. It seemed as though
every item was bolted to the ground, every door locked, every
window closed. I was impressed to hear many residents of
Castelgard speaking French, but they'd never speak to me, only to
their comrades. The entire game felt scripted. The story completed
dictated the game. I felt constrained throughout the game too
follow a certain path. It was their way or the highway.
Giving credit where credit is due, Timeline features a strong audio
department. While the sound effects are rather generic, the
dialogue was excellent. Each character has his or her own unique
personality and the accents were right on the money. They even
had French-speaking citizens in Castelgard. The musical score was
also tremendous, helping to create some tense moments during
the game. Graphically, Timeline reminded me a lot of Thief, not
necessarily the most spectacular visuals, but they did a
commendable job bringing the architecture of that era to life.
Horizon shots are often breathtaking and the characters are well
detailed. The lighting effects are particularly well done. Overall,
the presentation of the game is by far it's best feature.
When the time travelling was done and the Professor was secure, I
felt as though I had just finished watching a movie or reading a
book. I helped turn the pages of the novel, that's all. The story
dictated the gameplay throughout the entire adventure and the
action sequences presented no challenge, and while some
sequences were inventive, like the joust, they were often quite
dull. Veteran gamers will be furious when Katherine details each
and every action scene. She does all the thinking for you.
Exploration is absent and encounters are few and far between. I
enjoyed the look and sounds of the game, but that's about it. No
multiplayer, little action, all story. Read the novel, it's more
exciting.