Timelapse (PC)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.4 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Rebecca Anderson
• Reviewed on: 11/15/1996
• Updated on: 05/02/2000
• Released on: 09/30/1996
• Originally published on GameSpot: Timelapse (PC) Review

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Words of wisdom for anyone who sets out on this adventure from GTE Entertainment. Myst-ically influenced, with a first-person perspective and still-framed graphics, Timelapse is one expedition where the ability to assimilate is an important advantage. The adventure begins when you respond to a message from a scholarly comrade, Professor Alexander Nicholas. He believes several ancient civilizations - Egyptian, Mayan and Anasazi - are somehow genetically linked to the mysterious city of Atlantis, and he needs your help to unlock the mystery. Arriving on present-day Easter Island, you embark on an adventure transcending time, space, and occasionally logic. Get ready for one heck of a history lesson.

Timelapse contains a wide variety of puzzles, ranging from simple to mind-bending. While some puzzles - like playing the lizard in a game of Simon (the colored light game) - teeter on being more bothersome than challenging, others - like matching up symbols using the three-dial Mayan calendar - are practically impossible. A few can be solved using luck rather than skill. But the majority of puzzles have been designed with some relevance to each culture, which results in a genuine feeling of immersion. You might actually believe you were looking at Egypt during the height of its empire if it weren't for the absence of intelligent inhabitants.

Fortunately you can use several objects on your expedition - the professor's journal and a camera. The camera, which can take up to 36 pictures, will provide comic relief for most players ("See, this is where I stabbed the crocodile. Cute huh?"), rather than help with the game. The journal, while lengthy and often a real chore to read, provides a fairly detailed account of the professor's discoveries of the civilizations you're exploring. If carefully read, it can offer some useful clues and background information, but you'll still need to apply some good old-fashioned brain power to successfully make it through the game.

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