Beyond Time

by Dreamcatcher

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002SFM9
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,009 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Step through the gateway into a 3-D world of puzzles and adventure-- beyond the Mayan city, the Temple of Osiris, the Tibetan Palace, the ruins of Atlantis. Explore every world and unlock the secrets to this epic mystery- adventure. Through over 2,000 3-D screens, 50 different puzzles, and six unique civilizations you learn the secrets to this challenge-filled strategy game.

Product Description

This game will take you on a quest that's truly an exhilarating adventure where clues and puzzles become your world. Solve the enigma that lies beyond. Challenge your mind and your powers of observation!

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Time, June 11, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (SoCal, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Time (CD-ROM)

A cheap Myst/Riven knock-off. A sketchy plot line, with puzzles that become VERY hard with the minimal clues provided (even the "solution manual" isn't all that helpful. The first scenes (Egypt) were great... The subsequent scenes lacked depth and imagination. And worst of all, the ending was inconsistant with the storyline and left me feeling unfulfilled. The grahpics in the "Earth" environments and objects were richly detailed, but the "alien" forms were almost cartoonish, again emphasizing the lack of imagination. Also player interface wasn't as well thought out as it could have been, or has been in other similar games. For example, trying to navagate a labyrinth is difficult, but trying to do so without any in-game mapping, or any discernable "landmarks" to use as points of refrence make for a lot of wasted time. Overall, I would say that if you are desperate for a new game, that you can get cheap, then go ahead and get this one. Search the web for the .PDF file that contains the solution manual. But if you're expecting this to be something that you can, and will, play repeatedly, you'll be disappointed. Probably not even really good for little kids as there is a small amount of potentially unsuitable material, (stated and implied violence, deranged madman on the loose, bombs capable of destroying the planet, etc.) as well as the villian's manical laugh that follows you through the end-game sequence and into the credits.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the money, July 11, 2000

By 

HH (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Time (CD-ROM)

The game starts out with you being whisked back in time to Ancient Egypt where you start to piece together a story about other travellers who have been there before, taking Egyptian artifcats. Something had gone wrong with their expedition and now everybody has disappeared. You see a few Egyptian ghosts and watch video journals of some of the other travellers, but other than that, you're completely alone in this game. The plot wasn't bad, but it didn't help to drive the game. It was too hard for me to figure out what tasks I was supposed to accomplish to move on to the next part of the game.

The graphics were excellent. If I were going to buy a game based strictly on the graphics, this would be it. But when I'm playing a game I hardly ever pay attention to the graphics unless they're particularly bad, so this didn't make too much of a difference for me.

The puzzles were disappointing. Most of them were easy enough to solve in less than five minutes, which I didn't like because I prefer challenging puzzles. The one puzzle that was the exception had over 100 different acceptable solutions but the game would only accept one of those solutions. I had to go to an online walkthrough for the solution at that point; I got tired of solving the same puzzle again and again.

The length of the game was also disappointing to me. This game only took me about 15 hours to finish, and I'm by no means an experienced gamer. For the price I was paying, I had hoped to be playing the game for longer than that.

This game will probably only be fun to brand new gamers who don't know what to expect or to people who really get excited about graphics. I wouldn't pay [much] for it, though. I didn't see anything in the game that would be inappropriate for kids.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It started out great, but..., November 12, 2001

By 

char (The boonies of Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beyond Time (CD-ROM)

I absolutely love the bloodless adventure games of this genre, having been lured in by the Myst series. Unfortunately, all games are not of that calibre.

I did, however, LOVE Beyond Atlantis, and hoped for more of the same. During the sojourn in the Egyptian realm, I was not disappointed. The story line revealed itself, the puzzles were not ridiculously difficult, and I was really set to enter the next worlds. Boy, was I disappointed.

After the multiple puzzles and settings of Egypt, I was very disappointed at the shallow, one-puzzle realms that followed. (I DID find the sunken "spinning dome" in Atlantis a humorous touch! And trying to find my way around in the little underwater pod was about as disorienting as the one in Riven, too.)

A couple of the puzzles did not execute on the first approach either, the pyramid on the space station being one of them.

The graphics were gorgeous, especially Egypt, the acting was excellent, but the soundtrack was a little boring. Also, the slide show type of graphics are hard to take after 360 degree 3-D so prevalent now. (Nothing will ever be able to duplicate the breathtaking wonder of the first glimpse of RealMyst, though I'm sure a more ambitious game done in this fashion would be a nightmare to produce.)

I did enjoy most of this game, though the mandala puzzle was ridiculous. No way would I have trial and errored my way through 100+ possible solutions. (For those of us not too keen on math anyway, it was dreadful! The snake puzzle was okay, but the other one way too much!)

A pleasant way to spend some time, and not too expensive. I got my money's worth, though probably not more.