The New Adventures of the Time Machine
Rating: Everyone

I started this game with some eagerness. I know the story, and have seen at least two different movie versions. The original book has a philosophical premise underlying the action – the questioning of the value of science and a not so veiled critique of the British class structure. The game exploits little of the richness of the original story. This time machine gets stuck in forward drive and so we get none of the quick trips into the past. This future is a desert environment – adobe type houses a temple and magical metal spheres – not unlike a bathyscape diving sphere. The major icon is the hourglass. There are ten different episodes to get through before you can return to your time and place. Each episode has puzzles that are totally illogical – and you must have the Official Strategy and Solutions Guide or you will never solve them. On the other hand – some puzzles seem to solve themselves by just finagling around. Many of the puzzles, like the ones involving sound reminds me of another game, Reah which also had impossible puzzles. Throughout the game there is a certain amount of fighting (deharmonizing) that has to be done but wandering and puzzle solving are the main thrusts. There is one clever concept that they don't exploit enough. I hope that this concept gets into another game - that is, the Time Wave which steals the memories and changes the ages of people – young to old and vice-versa. Think what you could do with that concept alone.

Editor Review 4/02