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Good, but short

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: November 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I was torn between giving _Beyond Atlantis 2_ four and five stars. I finally settled on five because, though short, it is the best and most cohesive game I've played in a very long time.

(...) I had no problem at all with installation or running the game. In fact, it ran remarkably smoothly, with clicks and pans that actually functioned (...). The interface will be familiar to those who have played _Beyond Atlantis_, with different cursor symbols for dialog, interaction, and acquiring inventory, and easy right-click inventory access. I find this interface so practical that I'm always amazed when developers think up ones that are more complex. Also like _Beyond Atlantis_, all dialog can be replayed.

The animations are abolutely stunning. Character and object movement was immensely detailed and realistic, particularly in some of the third person cut scenes. The vocal acting was also above average. At times the main character's French accent was a bit hard to understand, but I was so tickled that she didn't sound generic that I didn't care.

The plot involves solving puzzles in four main areas. Each area was well-developed and individual as far as design and story. The puzzles, however, were a bit samey -- mostly the apply inventory variety, although there were a few minor logic puzzles and skill puzzles. Math based and sound based puzzles were conspicuously absent. Overall, I felt the puzzles were too few and too easy. With one or two exceptions, you just had to look at them to solve them.

The end game was anticlimactic and getting to it involved a device or two that seemed a bit contrived. But it did give a solid ending to the story and manage to tie in with both the previous Atlantis games.

Overall, I really liked _Beyond Atlantis 2_. I just wish it had been longer. Experienced gamers can probably expect to complete the game in 10 hours or less. Still, as short games go, this one is worth playing.

An Immersive Experience!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: January 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the few adventure games I've liked so far. What I really liked about the game are the puzzles, the graphics and the music.
The game offers a variety of puzzles. Most of the puzzles were interesting. I especially liked the one were you had to rearrange the story of the Pharaoh at the Temple of Isis. I wish they were more puzzles of this kind in the game. Another favorite is the constellation puzzle.
The graphics are simply beautiful. Playing the game is like seeing a dream. At times the game got a bit slow and if it were not for the graphics I would have quit playing.Once in Baghdad the game gets more interesting.
The game lacks a good plot. The events in the game are hardly related to each other. You just keep jumping from one place to another in order to solve puzzles.
Some of the characters were pretty interesting. The protagonist is an archeologist in search of adventure of course. Everything about her was cool except that her face though pretty lacked expression. I found other characters livelier like the psycho pomp and the thief. I really loved playing the thief.
The controls in the game are very easy. Just a matter of clicking the mouse.
Nope. I didn't have any problem installing the game. It ran perfectly well on my computer.
Overall this game has a lot to offer to any adventure fan. Try it!

Beautiful, but not hugely satisfying

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: April 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

While I found Beyond Atlantis II to be very pretty, the plot was somewhat unsatisfying because it didn't seem fully developed.

I really enjoyed several of the worlds presented here, and some of the contraptions are simply stunning; however, some of the puzzles are very frustrating. Many of them initially difficult, but once attacked from the right angle, they become clear. There are others, though, that I just couldn't figure out without the assistance of a walkthrough. Perhaps I'm a complete moron, but they just weren't intuitive to me.

The animation is very pretty, and the cutscenes of good quality. I wouldn't say the graphics approach Myst Exile, but they're close to Riven. This game does suffer from the usual Dreamcatcher navigational shortcomings, though - one is not allowed free movement; rather, there are only certain areas to click on, and then the game "walks" you to them automatically. I prefer being able to freely navigate the environments, but this does result in a lot more overhead on the game. Further, there was one area of the game that was nigh-impossible to navigate at all - it was intentionally disorienting, but I feel they went overboard and made it too frustrating. This is a pity, because this world (an underwater one that largely resembles a giant jellyfish) is very lovely.

As I mentioned previously, the plot had some interesting ideas that just didn't get fleshed out too well; the overall storyline could have been made much more interesting and exciting, and the characters could have been better developed. Still, despite its shortcomings, it's an enjoyable game that really doesn't take too long to play at all; even with the difficulties I had with a few of the puzzles, I'd imagine it took me less than 12 hours to play, start to finish.

Good, fun, great graphics

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: March 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

A beautiful game, with minor drawbacks. I had no problems installing it, it ran very smoothly. The plot is not very cohesive, but I didn't mind at all. Just a load of fun travelling from world to world and solving the puzzles. Wich, I must say, are not so difficult as some people would like you to believe. You definitely don't need a walkthrough for this one. The game is perfectly rendered, the graphics are Myst Exile quality - much better than had expected from a game that is relatively cheap (and much better than, for example Schizm). The main personage is a sort of Lara Croft, including the Tombraiderstyle clips, but the acting is horrible however. The faces of the personages look like they have all been very, very drunk last night. That should have been much, much better. The voice-acting is bad. So a star off for that. Having said that, I would recommend this game. It's fun, it's reasonably immersive and it's worth the money. I applaud the makers for continuing to make adventuregames, some perfect, some just fun. For this kind of money? A good buy.

Beyond Atlantis 2

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: February 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

XP Users beware !

Even though "Beyond Atlantis 2" is XP compatible
according to the product box, it does not seem to work with XP.

The game crashes to the desktop at the first cut scene. The error can be reproduced every time the game is run therefore making it unplayable.
I am very disappointed as the graphics of the introductionary video are truely beautiful and breathtaking.

After contacting techsupport at the Dreamcatcher website and following all their suggestion and troubleshooting, the game is still crashing.

While surfing the Dreamcatcher support forum, I learned that many users with XP have this exact same issue and that Dreamcatcher does not appear concerned enough about it, to write a patch even though it affects so many customers.

My computer is less than two month old, pentium 4, 2.5 Ghz
with all the latest drivers and newest DirectX version.

Myst Exile and all my other games run flawlessy by the way.

Don't Buy if you have XP

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: January 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Okay I bought this game and I have some pros and a really big con. The pros are that the graphics are very good. The 360 degree pan feature is awesome and the puzzles and music are great. Now for the really big con. It will absolutely not work with Windows XP. I cannot get past the sarcophagus scene in the beginning. I have tried everything. Cleaning my registry, reinstalling, uninstalling, not installing direct X, using a saved game, lowering the acceleration rate of my sound and graphics, nothing works. It is a shame too because the graphics are really good.

XP Issues

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: February 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I thought this game very enjoyable with fun puzzles and good graphics. the heroine makes the game much more interesting as well, because of her casual yet cocky attitude. but i must agree with previous reviewers that although it says XP compatible on the box, there were a number of glitches i had to deal with, such as slow scene play, and difficulty with the charators speech. i'm not sure why this happens, but it seems only with XP computers, it is deffinatly something to watch out for, even if your computer is new and up-to-date. other than those problems, this games could be very enjoyable.

Dreamcatcher should have quit while they were ahead.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: March 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Beyond Atlantis (AKA Atlantis II) was a slightly flawed gem. (Pun intended for those who have played it.) Interesting, beautiful, difficult, reasonably well-plotted, internally logical, and fun. The only part THIS installment of the series got right was "beautiful."

I will say that the graphics in this game are wondrous. From the Arabian Nights courtyard to the Pink Floyd-esque "Membrane" (which seemingly represents the heroine's brain...or maybe Jung's collective unconcious...or maybe God as visualized by dolphins) the rendering is absolutely gorgeous.

But graphics alone do not make a good game. There is no logic to BA2...neither externally nor internally. The "plot" has you discovering an artifact that can imbue you with a superhuman wisdom by transporting you to a series of different realms and times and letting you experience those places through the eyes of one of its inhabitants. This scheme fails on a variety of levels. Sometimes, you appear in these realms as yourself, while in others, you are a completely unrecognizable character. There is no logic to WHY these worlds are chosen, nor to what you are supposed to "learn" in each. In fact, given that you are supposedly striving to achieve some sort of enlightenment that you can then pass on to the rest of humanity, it seems odd that the focus of the "Scheherazade" world is to lie, steal and seduce women. Eventually the sequence of realms seems completely arbitrary. It is similar to Ray Bradbury's "The Illustrated Man:" a series of unconnected short stories woven together by a loose and incomprehensible over-story. Except Bradbury wrote GOOD short stories. The chapters of BA2 are weak and silly, each and every one. Even the few good puzzles (and there are a couple) are mired down in a morass of confusion and pretentiousness.

Beyond Atlantis was a quality game...one that made you think, feel, and examine your character's motives. (Plus, the "White Horse" cutscene in BA may be the single best cutscene in any adventure game ever.) It is an injustice to THAT game that this one shares the same title. Avoid this game at all costs unless you are desperate for some eye candy.

Great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: August 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I will write a few lines:
-Dont worry about crashes, because my system is a W2K, medium hardware and it is working OK. Only take care if you have a XP system.
-The story is a mix between adventure and mythologhy.
-The game is excelent if you dont love blood and violence, and prefering to use your brain and resolving puzzles.
-I am a RTS gamer, but this is the best adventure game for me, specially it has beatiful graphics and landscapes.
-The game has secuence if you can see the main line story about reborn and finding ancient power.
-I recommend you search the internet for the key "Atlantis 3" and you will find reviews and walktroughs.
Buy it now is a excellent game (and cheap).

Beautiful & fun, would be a perfect 5 but for "pixel hunts"

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is a beautifully rendered game, with a refreshing variety of different kinds of puzzles that actually relate to the storyline, even a bit of interaction built in to make it a bit more satisfying. Alas it is short - I would have enjoyed more time in each of the various dream environments.

The only problem with the game, in my opinion, is something common to all the Dreamcatcher games - an annoying (to me) habit of hiding small objects (like the little bird needed to get out of a room in an early puzzle) such that you literally have to sweep your mouse across the entire screen before you hit a very small hotspot (what I call a pixel hunt), or having to direct an object to a very specific spot (there is a sequence in trying to distract a tiger that requires throwing a rock to a very, very, VERY specific spot at a particular time). This kind of thing adds nothing to game play - as a matter of fact it detracts mightily, because you think you know what to do or how to solve the puzzle, but if you can't find the object you think you need or when you throw an object and nothing happens, you think you were off track. Since sometimes you die if you don't get it right, this can be a significant time waster to no good purpose.
Because this is true of many Dreamcatcher adventure titles (i.e., Schizm, etc.), if it weren't for the beautiful environments and overall other high quaility and inventive elements of the games, I'd avoid Dreamcatcher titles. My recommendation is to have the UHS (Universal Hint System) handy as opposed to a walkthru - it will validate that you are on the right track with a puzzle without solving it for you (for example - yes, you really do throw the rock to distract the tiger, but you have to do it in the right spot!!).

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