TIMELAPSE

                   Review by Karen Tyers

Produced by GTE Entertainment - minimum system requirements
Windows 3.1 or later (Win 95 recommended), 486DX2/66 processor or
faster, 8MB RAM, (16 recommended), double speed CD ROM or faster
(quad-speed recommended), Super VGA Video card, colour monitor,
100% SB compatible 16 bit sound card, speakers etc etc....

This is a difficult game to review because if you say too much you
spoil the puzzles, which are many, varied, and difficult.  The
story starts when you receive a message from your old friend
Alexander Nichols, who has been searching for Atlantis for years.
He has always believed that there was a link between the ancient
civilisations of the Egyptians, the Mayans, the Anasazi and
Atlantis, and in this message he tells you that he has found that
link, and what he thinks is a time portal.  He urges you to follow
him as he needs your assistance at once.  Thus it is that you find
yourself on Easter Island near his seemingly abandoned campsite
and you start on the hunt to find him.  Initial exploration will
eventually find you in a cavern, where, if you have solved the
early puzzles correctly, you will find the said time machine, but
have you the nerve to use it?....

You will find that you have a camera with you, which is useful for
taking snapshots of inscriptions, pictures, statues and the like,
but be careful how you use it because you have only a limited
number of shots.  I found it easier in the end to make freehand
copies of those things I thought would be important later, and
believe me there are a lot of things you need to take note of.

Eventually, using the time machine, you can travel to three
different worlds in your quest to follow the professor and in each
of them there are a series of puzzles to solve.  Some of them are
fairly hard, but some of them are absolutely fiendish and I had to
ask for help several times.  However, this was what I enjoyed
about the game, as I love puzzle solving.  After visiting the
first three worlds, you find yourself in Atlantis itself and again
there are many puzzles to solve before you reach the end.  This is
the only point in the game where you are in any kind of danger
from a protector robot gone wrong.  However he can be dealt with.

The graphics in the game are stunning and I thoroughly enjoyed
just wandering around, without solving the puzzles.  The sound and
music are good too.  For instance there is one world where there
are lots of different birds around and you can collect their
feathers.  If you don't know a crow's caw from a pigeon's coo you
may be confused for a while, but the problem is not insoluble -
you don't really have to be an ornithologist (there that's my long
word for the week!)

All in all I found this a terrific game to play, and if you like
solving puzzles then this is definitely one for you.  I believe it
is quite difficult to get hold of now, being a couple of years
old, but if you can find a second hand copy, or beg, borrow or
steal one from someone, you won't be disappointed.


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