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Great Book, Great Game?!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 34
Date: November 13, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I've read the book Timeline, and it was great. From what I've seen and read I'm sure that Timeline the game will be excellent. One thing I hope Eidos has included is the option to have a third person view rather than just strictly a first person view. I think that this would let a person see the surroundings better. Anyway, I hope the game lives up to the books expectations!!

NOTHING like the book...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 42 / 51
Date: November 14, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I bought Timeline The Game about 2 hours ago... I breezed through it in about 1 hour. I thought I would share some of my thoughts with you...

I was halfway through reading Timeline when I first heard news that Michael Crichton himself was overseeing the development of a game.. I heard that it was 'story driven', and he was the director and founder of the company that made the game.. I was VERY excited, though a bit apprehensive because I was aware of the readership and potential target buyers of the game...

I thought it would be VERY simple, but it would be overall worth it to experience the world of Timeline on my PC...

Well simple was a bit of an understatement.

Unfortunately, it was ANYTHING but accurate to the book. Sure, the 'tour mode' is interesting and informative, but I felt like I was in school taking lessons (albeit who gets the chance from taking lessons directly from MC himself?).

My favourite aspect of MC's books is the lay term science. I found I was very interested in the history of the 14th century and the explanation of quantum mechanics when reading Timeline (likewise, I enjoyed reading about Chaos Theory in Jurassic Park) - I had hoped to see that in the game as well, but WOAH, not even close...

I want to let others out there who may be regular game players looking for a great first person adventure which follows the plot of their favourite book: do NOT look here, guys, you will just be disappointed and felt let down.

If the game had followed the story better, I might even find myself suggesting it for casual gamers (or even non-gamers), but it didn't, and they will just see it as another video game.

I was going to start a topic on the politically correctness of Timeline, but I won't even bother. One of my major concerns when I first heard of the game was whether it would be heavily censored, since a lot of the plot consisted of utter violence. I saw the "E" rating on the box... "Oh well," I thought, "it is obviously a mainstream game, and they want it to sell as well as possible - I can live with that as long as I can experience the book on my PC!" Unfortunately, the game did not deliver any plot, besides using the same names for the characters.

Better than the book!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 55 / 61
Date: November 15, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The book was indeed a good read and a non-stop adventure. When I heard it was being made into a computer game, I just knew I had to have it.

The game's story line is different in many ways from the book but for me it's an all new adventure. It is refreshing to see a new game on the market that is not violent and full of foul language. As an avid gamer, I am happy to see a fun, clean game come out of a increasingly dull market. It's about time something original came along.

The graphics are beautiful and even work on my two-year old PC. The music is orchestrated so well that I feel as if I am playing in a movie.

This is a game that I can let my children can play and I will continue to play over and over! I highly recommend it any day. I cannot wait to see more computer game titles from Mr. Crichton and company! Thank you.

I can't wait!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 28
Date: November 15, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I loved the book, and I am sure I will feel the same way about the game. If you haven't already read the book, you should. I am really looking forward to playing this game.

The shortest game I ever played

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 21 / 31
Date: November 20, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I bought and installed this game on Saturday. I started playing on Sunday and finished it after playing for about 1 1/2 hour!! (this is no joke). I want to point out that I'm only a casual PC gamer and that I am not very talented. This is no real game, it's nothing more than an interactive screensaver (with very nice graphics). I don't know the book yet. Perhaps it's the only thing in this box with lasting value. Everyone who likes good adventure games should buy "The longest journey" (which keeps what the title promises).

FINALLY- A GAME FOR THE REST OF US!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 33 / 37
Date: November 22, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I bought Timeline last week, and I have to say that my family LOVES this game. The graphics are incredible, and its easy enough for both old Dad (me) as well as my son and daughter to play. Even my wife has gotten into it, especially The Tour part of the game which provides fascinating detail about this era (medieval France).

I've tried other games, but it seems there are many out there with content I find objectionable (too much gun violence). Timeline struck a great balance between action, exploration, and puzzle solving. Plus, my son was able to finish the game-- something he said he rarely does because other games get too hard or are extremely long. We thoroughly enjoyed Timeline, and would certainly recommend it to people who probably don't play many games. Five Stars!

Amazing Fun, Amazing Graphics

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 21
Date: November 26, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This is a great overall game! I have NO idea what "A gamer from Bavaria Germany" is talking about. I am an avid gamer, and often play in tournaments. STATEWIDE TOURNAMENTS. I often score in the top 6. This game took me four or five days to beat!

Maybe - "A gamer" just wants to give a good game, a bad name.

Could have been MUCH better.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 29 / 32
Date: December 03, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I purchased 'Timeline' last night, and just finished playing it this morning. I am STUNNED by the lack of difficulty, and the incredibly short story that this entailed. I did enjoy playing it, primarily because I loved the book so much, and it was enjoyable to interact with the world that I had read about. BUT, I have to say that from a game-playing stand point I am incredibly disappointed. But, I was happy to see a game with little violence, and no vulgarity at all. Too bad it didn't have the substance, the game-play, or the story line to make it a quality game. A "normal" gamer would expect to play a game for at least a month... NOT a hour and a half.

If you are looking for a supplement to the 'Timeline' book, then by all means buy this CD-Rom. It's a good chance to see the world visually. If you are looking for a good game to play, look elsewhere! Considering how excited I was when I purchased the game, trust me, I'm very disappointed that I had to write a review like this.

A Major Disappointment

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: December 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I'm sorry to say that this game, based on one of the best books that I've ever read, is a terrible disappointment. There is only one good thing about this game, and that is the graphics. They were very impressive and crisp. However, the rest of the game is a mess. First and foremost, I beat this game in under two hours. I wasn't even trying hard. As I played the game, I noticed I was getting pretty far into the story (which will translate into a great movie but ended up a very weak one in the game) and I had been playing for only about an hour. Next, the gameplay is awful. Fighting another person with a sword is awful, as is the jousting. There are other sequences riding through the castle grounds on a horse and a trip through an underground river that are sloppy, sluggish, and boring. Every puzzle featured in the game is very simple, and yet the answer is annoyingly revealed to you by your partner, Kate. All I can say is that you should only buy this game for any type of entertainment if you want to pay for the paperback that comes with it; otherwise, you're just buying a disaster of a game.

Wonderful!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 27, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Timeline is a masterpiece. The controls take some getting used to, but after you get comfortable with them you have much more control than in other games. Unlike most games in the adventure genre, you don't need lightning fast reflexes, or Einstein-quality critical thinking skills. The puzzles aren't easy enough to beat in an hour, and they're not hard enough so you'll get bored trying to beat the first puzzle. It shows that Crichton had really helped with this one-my heart was pounding as I played it.

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