The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time

The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time is a continuation of the first-person science-fiction adventure, which debuted in 1992 and was developed by Presto Studios. Unlike the original, which first appeared on Mac, and then was ported to PC, the second part of the series was released simultaneously on both platforms. There was also a version for PlayStation in the developers' plans, but it was never released.

Plot

The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time starts in 2318, six months after the events shown in the predecessor. We play as Agent 5, who in this part of the series has already received identity of Gage Blackwood. One day, our protagonist visits his own alter ego from the future, telling the protagonist that he was accused of illegally manipulating time and framed in crimes associated with falsifying legendary artifacts.

A moment later, the character is arrested by two agents from the future, leaving only his suit in place. With his help, Gage Blackwood will visit many historical locations, such as the Mayan temple, the medieval French castle, and even the studio of Leonardo da Vinci himself, looking for evidence of the innocence of his alter ego. During the journey, Gage will join forces with the Artificial Intelligence named Arthur and confront Michelle Visard, the main culprit of the turmoil. It will also turn out that an alien breed of Krnn is involved in the case, which, in the name of its own interests, tries to eliminate one of the best members of the Time Protection Agency.

Mechanics

In terms of mechanics, The Journeyman Project 2 does not introduce any revolutionary solutions, developing and improving only a number of mechanics known from the original. The Journeyman Project 2 is an adventure game with a point-and-click interface, in which we observe the action from a first-person perspective. During the game, we spend most of our time on time traveling, exploring locations, solving puzzles and collecting items - although the number of items has been quite clearly limited. There are also bio-chips known from the original, providing our protagonist with a number of useful skills, but the key to success remains the ability to think logically and analyze the traces found.

One of the biggest changes in the mechanics is the possibility of smooth movement which replaced the jumping method used in the first game. We can choose from two levels of difficulty: adventure and walkthrough. Interestingly, unlike classic adventure games, our protagonist may also die as a result of a player's wrong decisions. Luckily, during almost the whole game, Gage Blackwood can count on the aforementioned artificial intelligence named Arthur which helps him solve the puzzles.

Technical aspects

The Journeyman Project 2 represents an important step forward compared to the first part of the series. The game clearly improved the smoothness of animation and implemented a much larger number of FMV sequences, filmed in better quality and with the participation of brand new actors. As in the original, we observe the action in a relatively small window, while the rest of the screen is occupied by an interface, where important information provided by the suit and the protagonist's viewfinder appears.

Additional information

Like its predecessor, The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time featured various glitches and bugs that made it difficult to play. One of them was a bug at the end of the plot, which made it impossible to complete it with a perfect result. In addition, in one of the later editions, The Journeyman Project Trilogy, due to a factory error, the contents of disk 2 and 3 were replaced, which made it practically impossible to play the game.

Last updated on April 2, 2019