The New Adventures of the Time Machine

The Good
I think it's rather indisputable that the game has some incredibly detailed and beautiful locations. Environment is masterfully crafted and even though the game consists of mostly prerendered graphics, the camera isn't fully fixed, giving the possibility of sightseeing from different angles.

I absolutely adore the soundtrack there although it gets a bit repetitive after a while. Nevertheless it's still very nicely done and doesn't irritate the player.

I also liked the main story and the idea of time storms that randomly change your age. I like how archaic the game's world was even though action takes place in future. Also the idea of time being more than a straight timeline was also pretty good. Generally the storyline and LORE of the world was rather satisfying for me.

Even though I agree that there is not enough of the "time machine" itself in the game, I'm quite glad it's not based on the movie. After playing the game I decided to watch it again and I believe it would have been way harder to come up with an enjoyable gameplay with such setting. I prefer it the way it is now.

The Bad
The biggest problem with this game is gameplay. It's just too focused on random puzzles and pixel-hunting. Also what I absolutely hated is how some decisions would greatly complicate gameplay or even make it unplayable. The worst thing is your decisions can have effect but only later in game, resulting in resetting all your progress because one wrong decision in chapter 2 can make the game nearly unplayable in chapter 6. I had to use walkthrough all the time in order to complete the game.

Controls are a bit wonky but you can get quickly used to them. They are much better than in Odyssey though.

Combat mode is very simple and I found it rather useless. You just stand in one place shooting and hoping the enemy will disintegrate first. Most spells are useless and those that actually have some use are optional.

The Bottom Line
This game is definitely not the best, but it's not the worst either. If you can forgive it the lack of story from the book/movie, you will surely enjoy the story that's given instead. The gameplay is the weakest part of the game, unfortunately. If you can enjoy the visuals, music and story, then it's a pretty good game. If you're interested in hard gameplay, then this game can also be of interest. If you want a more casual experience, this title just isn't for you.

The Good
The initial cutscene, which actually involved the Time Machine and had an actual relationship to the H. G. Wells story.

It makes me feel better about buying Outpost, because at least that game they tried to make live up to its title and packaging copy.

The Bad
The time machine is destroyed during the initial cutscene, and there is no time travel, nor anything resembling Science Fiction, modern or Victorian, after that. The art and sound are poorly realized, the fictional location is poorly described, the gameplay is boring and directionless. NPCs are generally braindead and conversations are one-line wonders. The plot is nearly nonexistent, just a string of arbitrary problems without even clues as to what the problems are.

The Bottom Line
I think I'd rather play Outpost. I think I'd rather get a root canal. I think they should be keelhauled for daring to call a game "The New Adventures of X" when X doesn't even appear in the game.