Posted on: September 5, 2021

msico

Games: 468 Reviews: 9

Fun story marred by terrible UI/controls

Unfortunately for me, the first game in the series that I played was its second remake, so it had a LOT of the wrinkles smoothed out, making this one feel like a MASSIVE step backwards in many areas. The movement in the first game was awkward, in this game it is just abysmally bad. You have a set of arrows which you CLICK ON, NO ARROW KEYS!! and they are used both to look AND to move, BUT you need to look TO move. In one era I got stuck because, while there was clearly a door across a large room, if I faced it out in the open I couldn't walk that way. I had to go to the side of the room next to some obstacles, then turn 90 degrees away from the door, then step forward, then turn back towards the door, THEN walk that way. A MAZE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN EMPTY SPACE. This game also is frustrating in other ways, like, giving you zero indication whether or not there's something interesting you might want to pick up that is of absolutely vital use later. Which means you can't just enjoy wandering around, you're spending a lot of time taking exactly one step forward and then swooping your head around by clicking on the arrows and sweeping the mouse across the screen to see if there's something you might be able to touch, and then taking exactly one more step forward and repeating, over and over. The puzzles are okay, although the game does NOT tell you when you're stuck and need things from other eras. Or well, actually, maybe it does? You're given an AI partner fairly early on and you can ask it for hints, ALTHOUGH the hints are related to what's immediately in front of you so you can't ask generically "what to do next", AND asking for a hint at any time DOCKS YOUR FINAL SCORE. The real shame here is, the story and the trappings are FANTASTIC, and well acted and just tongue in cheek enough to be fun, truly carrying the game. But the design is one of the very worst point and click UIs I have ever played.

Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: November 30, 2011

raymccullie

Verified owner

Games: 176 Reviews: 13

A True Classic

Basically what makes this game great is Arthur. Go rescue him from the space station first. The gameplay was limited by the technology of the times but was still ok. Again at the time it was pretty cool. Might not hold up as well as the third game today but just close the door, turn out the lights and pretend it's 1995 again. It's worth it, you'll have fun.

Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: June 19, 2012

DavidDragoon

Verified owner

Games: 391 Reviews: 3

Forgotten Gem Thats Worth your Time!

While I am not normally one to write review, and my first one here, I feel compelled to talk about this incredible game that never really got a chance to shine in the spotlight, Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time. To people who never heard of Journeyman Project this unique game has: A very funny AI that references Monty Python, time bending and mind testing puzzles, and a misguided villain who has seen the darkside of humanity. While the cut-scenes are a bit cheesy same with the dialog, and the graphics have not aged well, its still worth your time with a mystery that will keep you guessing to the end, so jump through the time portal and find your adventure! Also check out the rest of this series even if it took a bit of a nosedive in the last one.

Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: July 21, 2017

Anohren

Verified owner

Games: Reviews: 21

Good story, bad implementation

I just can't bring myself to award a game more than three stars when it is buggy enough to inevitably force me to go online just to determine whether I'm running into a bug or if the game is behaving as expected. That is a consequence from making terrible design decisions, like preventing the player from moving--for no apparent reason--at the exact same spot where the player had no problem moving before, etc. Yes, it's possible to play a game while constantly second-guessing the core game mechanics, but that's not challenging a player's intellect -- that's challenging our patience and wasting our time. If I disregard all the poorly scripted sequences and random deaths (which in fact discourages exploration) most puzzles are pretty straightforward and easy. Still, there are some "puzzles" that just consist of tilting the camera up or down before you can move forward, but that's just another example of wasting everybodys time--we're not playing the game to experience extreme freedom in navigating the terrain, so stop splitting hairs about whether we're moving horizontally forward or slightly downhill. It's dumb, and it's not something ordinary humans walking around need to "solve". It's also unforgivable to make an adventure game that can end up in a state where you're unable to complete the game WITHOUT INFORMING YOU ABOUT IT. That's actually possible in TJP2. Once again, stop wasting everybody's time. I bought it because I like to explore old games and particularly adventure games. I've only listed the bad parts but I otherwise enjoyed it, and didn't need to resort to a walkthrough nor built in hints.

Is this helpful to you?

Posted on: November 21, 2014

Reflections

Games: Reviews: 17

Nothing like this before or since

For it's time, this game was INCREDIBLE. The very fact that when you moved forward, ALL of the scenery and everything in it moved forward with you, was a far cry from MYST's, and a myriad of other first person point and clickers, static screens. The sheer thought, effort and crafting of this game is what makes it. Of course you can't skip some bits - that's because this game was made in an age where gamers had attention spans. The music, the acting, the puzzles, the graphics, all are just blended so well together. This game left a massive impression on me after the static screens I'd been used to. As in the all the series, don't be put off by screenshots of a letterbox format with a few icons. This is because you're inside a bio suit the whole time. All is made abundantly clear at the start of the game. I could be biased because this game features something that back then, was NEVER featured in games of this genre - a Medieval time zone. Very much as someone said this game IS a work of art. Tell me where else you can find yourself wandering around an Inca pyramid, only to then find yourself rummaging around Da Vinci's gaff? A truly magnificent experience. Of course don't expect it to look like Far Cry 4 - this was made in the mid-90's - where 16MB of RAM was considered sufficient for most games, and a PS Vita would have looked like a Cray Supercomputer. Do not miss out on the sheer atmosphere and deep, involving experience of this title.

Is this helpful to you?

Discover CD PROJEKT RED games

Highlights

Featured

Close, but not an exact hit

The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time

Other ratings

Add a review

Edit a review

Delete this review?

Report this review

Additional Details (required):

Report this review