Journey Into An Unknown Land!
A Review of Welcome To The Future
by Craig Majaski
Don't you hate it when you walk into a store and spend your hard-earned cash on a game that looks good only to find out later that the game is nothing like what you expected. You've read the box, looked at the art and pictures and the game sounded like fun. However, when you get home and play it you're disappointed...big time. I'm sure everyone's been through that scenario at least once in their gaming lives. Welcome To The Future, by Blue Sky Entertainment, is one of those games. Before I got sent a copy of it to review, I looked at the box and the advertisements and actually considered buying it. Luckily for me, I decided against it and a week later I got it in the mail to review. I am shocked that a game that looked so good could be the complete opposite. Goes to show you that if a game is hyped good enough, some people will buy into it. Hopefully this review will save some gamers from wasting fifty bucks. 
Welcome To The Future (WTTF) tries hard to be like Myst. The graphics are similar, though not as clear or vibrant. Moving around is accomplished by a point and click interface. The screen simply redraws the new location. Later, when you get to the underground passageways, you'll be treated to animated screens. As I mentioned, the graphics seem to have a washed out look to them and it's very hard to distinguish what it is you're supposed to be looking at. Many screens look like pixelized Full Motion Video. Not as impressive as I'd hoped. In keeping with the Myst ambiance, WTTF also has a mysterious storyline. You don't know where you are so all you can do is explore and search for artifacts that are hidden along the many paths. When you find an artifact it is put into your inventory. You never get to use objects as in some adventure games. The artifacts serve as keys and they are used automatically when you come across a locked passage.
The world of WTTF is pretty vast. It's very easy to get lost, especially in the underground passageways. Many of the tunnels have to be explored and you'll find that you will end up doing a lot of backtracking, which means you see the same graphics over and over. There really isn't much of a plot or an incentive to play this game. You just collect the keys to move on to a new area. There aren't any creatures to talk to and not much of anything to interact with until near the end of the game. At least in Myst, there were objects to look at, and puzzles to solve. WTTF doesn't have any substance to hold your attention for any length of time.
If there's one good thing about WTTF, it has to be the music. It was recorded in Surround Sound and really helps set the mood. Most of the songs have a soft beat and a relaxing atmosphere. A few of the tracks are actual songs with vocals and they don't sound too bad either. With the advent of CD-ROM technology, it's great to see more and more games have good soundtracks for a change. The game's producers must think the music is pretty good too...they're releasing the soundtrack into stores.
I tried hard to like this game. It had the potential to be more than it was. As it stands, it has mediocre graphics, simple gameplay, and a boring quest. The music is the only thing good about the game and you can probably pick that up in a music store. Don't be fooled by the hype. Pass over this game and if you haven't played Myst yet, do yourself a favor and try that one instead. It does everything better and you have a lot of fun in the process, something a lot of games these days seem to be forgetting!
Gamer's Zone Scorecard
| Product: |
Welcome To The Future |
| Company: |
Blue Sky Entertainment
|
| Cost: |
$49.99 |
System Requirements:
A 486 with 33 MHZ or faster processor, Double Speed
CD-ROM, 256-color VGA with 640x480 video, Windows 3.1 or later, Windows 95
compatible, 8 MB RAM, 40 MB of free HD space, Mouse compatible.
Macintosh: System 7.1 or higher, 256 color with 640x480 video, 8 MB RAM, 40
MB of free HD space, Double Speed CD-ROM, .040 or PowerPC CPU.
This reviewer used: 90 MHZ Pentium, 8 MB RAM, and Win 95.
Breakdown:
Fun Factor 1
Graphics 2
Sound 4
Interface 2
Replayability 1
Overall Score:
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