Developer: Malibu Interactive Publisher: Malibu Release: 04/94 Genre: Action
Licensed games never cease to amaze. I mean that in a good and bad way. I can see the allure; taking a hit movie or TV show and creating a game around it should equal easy money. But then there are the ones that I shake my head and wonder what were they thinking? Time Trax is based around the short lived TV series of the same name. Even at the time it was a little bit obscure. Someone was banking on the show being a bigger hit (if you can even call it that) than it actually was. Surprisingly the game is not half bad; a bit flawed but fun in its own way.
Time Trax stars Darien Lambert, a police detective sent back in time two hundred years to apprehend criminals who plan to use their future knowledge to change history. Assisting him is his computer assistant S.E.L.M.A. It is a cool premise and one of the best aspects of the game. It almost makes me wish I watched the show back in the day.
Lambert is equipped with a PPT, Pellet Projection Tube. This gun shoots bullets that either stun or send enemies back to the future whence they came. When in close or hanging from objects Lambert can use melee attacks such as kicks, sweeps, and pistol whips. His most critical ability is the Time Stall, which slows time as long as the meter lasts. It quickly regenerates over time allowing you to use it frequently if need be. While it is optional at first soon enough it becomes mandatory as you need it to pass through gates or even deal with certain boss abilities better.
I have mixed feelings about the level design. The first few levels are generally pretty good. They offer a good mix of straight action along with deft platforming using your skills. There are plenty of secrets in the environment to encourage exploration and the boss fights are simple but fun. After the halfway point I noticed a dip in quality. The distinction between the background and platforms you can grab or walk on becomes blurred and the game suffers for it. The levels also become longer, enemy placement is bad and the back half is flat out annoying more than fun. For a game that had such a solid start it has a weak finish, almost as if they were rushed.
The difficulty is very high for such an understated game. The PPT only stuns enemies with the first hit; you must either shoot them multiple times or use melee to kill them permanently. This means risking a hit when life restoring food is not common. Due to the confusing level design you will suffer many cheap hits you cannot afford. It goes in to overdrive in the final levels where traps come out of left field and the game starts to rely on cheap gotcha moments too much for my liking. You will have to search every corner of the levels including dead ends to find extra lives because you need them. There are no continues which is absurd. Considering the level of trial and error you will experience working through this game I imagine most will not want to keep trying after the first game over.
I did not expect much from Time Trax presentation wise but it surprised me. The game makes gratuitous use of foreground objects and it adds to the atmosphere. These range from transparent spider webs to lab equipment and trees in a forest. There are a few subtle special effects such as the spotlight effect as you descend in to the lower levels of the derelict building in stage 1 to the line scrolling in the vehicle stages. The distortion when you activate time stall is also extremely cool and rarely seen during that era. I guess these stands out so much since the art is otherwise average. The music is similarly pretty good although I have been spoiled by the leaked soundtrack by Tim Folin for the cancelled Genesis version. That would have been incredible.
In Closing
Time Trax is hard to score. I like it well enough but it has flaws that are big enough to deter many. Would I recommend it? Honestly no. With so many better options available in the action category like Super Turrican or Mega Man X Time Trax ranks pretty low on the priority list even if it has a few redeeming qualities.
