Hype: The Time Quest

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Would it impress you if I said this game was developed by 21 programmers? What about having 32 voice actors? This title, released by UbiSoft in 1999, is, simply put, perfect. Everything in the game is custom designed. Every last detail is tailor made for the story designed by Alain Tascan who is also the game producer. The music composition, by Robbi Finkel, is stellar. The multi-faceted storyline will make anyone feel a host of emotions including joy, extreme sorrow and everything in between. Ladies and gentlemen, Hype: The Time Quest is a work of art. This one is not to be missed if possible

The game takes place over 4 generations of Taskan rule (note the similarity with the producer's name). Hype, our hero, is from the era of King Taskan IV. One day, a black knight (Barnak) flys in on his dragon (Voydh). Barnak, a bannished god, has come to Hype's era to start his own kingdom and take what everyone has by force. Hype, a knight of King Taskan IV, attempts to protect the king and queen from the evil invader. Seemingly all powerful, Barnak turns Hype into stone then sends him 200 years into the past. Ultimately, Hype gets sent to the era of King Taskan I. Here, Hype meets Gogoud an apprentice magician who becomes the Guardian of Time and an important fixture in Hype's quest as well as his life. The game is about time travel throughout 4 generations of Taskan rule. Coincidentally, time travel is possible by the combination of two elements, Hype's sword (the Sword of Peace) and the Royal Jewel.

As you play through the game, you will meet many people; many of which you will count on time and time again. As Hype hops from era to era, many of these individuals will die (due to natural age, etc). This game is an emotional roller coaster. You will lose many, dear friends you have made in the game. Hype, inevitably, becomes a legend for many people (from all generations of Taskan rule). You will meet new people, initially, then hop to other eras. The children of the individuals you met will learn of your quest and hold you in high regards (almost god-like). Some admire your greatness while others will fall in love with you just by knowing your story. Knowing that you have to pursue your quest, you will leave and see these individuals again in a later era. You will learn that some individuals never recover from their love (infatuation) and lead solitary lives in their old age. Meeting up with them is heart-wrenching. Also, It is very hard to play through a new era knowing your friend is no longer there, or that they have aged greatly. This element is saddening, but also is what makes this game's storyline second to none.

This game will take a long time to play through. There are many tasks to accomplish, and many races to run to stock up your inventory on (which you will do numerous times throughout the game). Ultimately, you will play through all four eras (era 1 = day; era 2 = night; era 3 = fall day; era 4 = hazy day). When you have completed all of your tasks, you will finally go to the black tower to fight three, final foes (Enost, the traitor magician; Voydh; then, finally, Barnak himself). With the use of the electrical dragon ring, Barnak proves to be no challenge. Without the use of the ring, he is a worthy opponent. Without the use of the electrical dragon ring, Voydh, Barnak's dragon, is more difficult to beat. Once Barnak is defeated, you are treated with a cutscene of Hype's life getting back to normal. I would have liked it if you could play past defeating Barnak and make the discoveries for your own. Nevertheless, the game works as it stands.

Closing Thoughts: Everyone will find something they like about this beautiful game. For children, there is absolutly no profanity at any point, and the characters and towns look like they are interactive Lego sets. This game, however, has nothing to do with the Lego company. I would be amazed if Lego didn't contact UbiSoft after the release of this game. For adventure gamers, there are puzzles galore; puzzles that range from difficulty of easy to extremely challenging. For young children, some puzzles may be too challenging (the steam-pipe puzzle I found to be particularly hard - including defeating the guards). This game is an action-adventure and will appeal to many different age brackets of players (child to adult). The storyline is the absolute best I have ever seen in a game, or in many movies that I have seen.


Game Tip:

When working through the steam-pipe puzzles, there will be guards to defeat between puzzles. The walkthrough I listed below tells one way to defeat the guard on the uppermost grate in the courtyard. I found an alternate means if that does not suit you. Walk to the opposing wall of the courtyard (on the ground) with your back to the wall. Take out your crossbow then use your look key to pivot your view up to the guard. Align the crosshair with his head then shoot him (fire when the pipes are not obstructing your view). After the guard has been hit (his energy bar will lessen), he will move back a bit, so you cannot shoot from the same vantage point. Go back to normal view then walk forward until you are almost fully on the circle of stones surrounding the machine in the courtyard. Go back into look view, pivot up then see if you can get a clear shot at the guard's head. If the crosshair isn't almost completely on the guard's head, you will end up wasting an arrow. So, re-adjust your stance then proceed. He will move again, so you too will have to adjust your positioning to continue taking his energy. From this vantage point, he cannot fire his arrows at you, and you do not have to use specialty keys to fire through the grate. Remember, you can always go back to the blacksmith in Era II and buy more arrows and run Wellet's race for 150 Plastyks (currency) per successful try for free.


Recommendation & Game Info:

This is one of very few games worth the trouble of loading Windows 98 to play. My primary operating system is Windows XP, and this game does not work in XP even with compatibility mode configured. In all, if you have never played through this game before, I recommed finding a copy and doing so. This is a masterpiece, and it should be in everyone's collection.


Overall Marks:

Difficulty: 5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 4 out of 5 stars
Entertainment Value: Highly entertaining!


Minimum System Requirements:

WinXP Friendly: No (Windows 95/98/NT)
CPU: Pentium 200 MMX
RAM: 32mb
Video: 3D video card (Voodoo 1 or better)
CD Rom: 12x read speed or faster


Here is a wonderful walkthrough for this game. We at A.M. Reviews edited an obviously unedited walkthrough that is a nightmare to read through. We hope that you enjoy the revision - it should be far easier to read through with some corrections not given by the author.