Reviews / previews
The box for Hype-The Time Quest boasts no fewer than three references to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and if you somehow missed the point, one is repeated on the jewel case within. This is a transparent attempt-a successful one by most measures--to bring to the PC the spirit of role-playing action/adventures from the console world.
A knight in the service of Taskan IV, Hype is turned into a statue and the statue cast into the past by an evil black knight. Back in the day of Taskan I, our hero is restored by an apprentice magician and sets out to return to his own era-by a route that includes the two intervening eras-and seek revenge. Along the way, he'll also perform side quests (bust the beehives), play the odd mini-game (run races and pilot a dragon), chat with the locals and fight with sword and magic spells. (Most of the combat is light-hearted, your opponents appearing stunned rather than dead.)
Playing from third-person 3D perspectives--save for a first-person view typically used when aiming the crossbow--you must initially direct Hype from the magician's manor through a forest to the town of Torras. Those locations are the geographic backbone of the four eras and the basic familiarity with the terrain that results is an essential strength of Hype. Comfort can be taken from working from a known base and not having to rediscover each world in full--an especially nice touch in a game with clear appeal to a younger audience--and it makes the changes over time seem that much more special.
Familiar, too, is Hype's cast of characters. Their round eyes and crescent-moon mouths are drawn from Playmobil's line of toys and, animated and offset by changes in scale, they seem less like dolls and more like characters.
Familiarity isn't Hype's only strong point. The environment is open, with back-and-forth movement between the available levels within each time zone and between the time zones. The backgrounds are colorful, and effects like the torches in the dungeon in the first era and the nighttime hues and the fire-thrown shadows in the second are exceptional. The text is straightforward enough to capture the attention of children and literate and clever enough not to put off adults. The accompanying voice acting carries character and wit. The light classical music sets the mood nicely and never talks down to its audience. When Hype's back is to the wall, the first-person view that's automatically adopted is an improvement over other third-person PC games.
And it is simple, amiable fun. I found satisfaction in even the most ordinary of tasks: playing exterminator, climbing the timbers atop the monastery tower, and sorting out the combination for a locked door. Not to mention more complex challenges like the progressively more difficult bosses. Battles with the sumo wrestler in the monastery and the grand magician in the lab kept me well occupied.
A few sticking points: It took me a while to get used to the Playmobil faces, loading games is a little cumbersome, and inventory item descriptions should include more info.
But they're hardly sticky enough to slow your momentum through this pleasant light adventure for the young and young at heart. This Hype stands up!-- Peter Olafson / GamePro
Got an opinion about Hype: The Time Quest? Or maybe know a good cheat or strategy? Share it with the world!