Time Trax

"Does the Name Dale Midkiff Mean Anything to You?"

''It began in the future, a scientist turning to evil, a time machine called TRAX, criminals who vanish, and a lawman with a mission. He has one weapon, and a computer named SELMA. With him, he will travel to a time more innocent than his own.

Now he is among us, a special breed of man, a hunter, traveling through our world, searching for fugitives from his own, knowing he can not go home until he has found them all. His name is Darien Lambert, and this is his story.''

The Australian syndicated TV show ''Time Trax'' ran for two seasons, from 1993 to 1994. Starring as Captain Darien Lambert was dashing, square-jawed ''That Guy From that Show'' Dale Midkiff. This show was so good that they made a video game about it! Can you believe it? I know I can!

Just in case the punchy monologue from the opening credits didn't do the job for you, here's the deal. You're a 16 bit, mildly pixilated sprite wearing a leather jacket. You run and jump around elaborate underground and indoor scenarios, shooting pellets at your enemies out of your key chain. There are lots of ''platforms'' for you to ''jump'' on, ''railings'' you can ''hang'' from, and even ''bosses'' at the ends of the levels. It's unbelievable!

Okay, I'll be straight with you. Although ''Time Trax'' the television show was a real pioneer of the ''action-hour'' genre, the video game is profoundly unoriginal. It's a standard platform game with the necessary nuances. You jump. You climb. You hang. Though I made it sound all exciting before, unfortunately, it's nothing particularly special.

However, it is a pretty well-executed platformer. It looks slick, the animation is smooth, the action is fast, your character is quick, and the game is a good solid difficulty level.

On the downside, the levels don't tend to vary too much, and they don't really look all that plausible. They're more vertically oriented than is generally comfortable for your guy to run around in. There's something that doesn't quite fit there.

Finally, of course, be sure to remember that, despite Dale Midkiff's rugged good looks, the franchise is now completely worthless.

On to the ratings. 5 is average.

Graphics - 4 - This has pretty decent graphics for a Super Nintendo platformer, but it isn't anything special. The sprites look pretty good (think Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi for SNES, only with the characters a tad smaller), but there isn't too much variety therein. And the levels practically smell of worn cliche.

Sound/Music - 3 - ''Time Trax'' the TV Show had a really cool theme song, and I would have liked to have heard it more in this game. Instead, I get mostly bouncy platformer music with a bit of a sci-fi edge.

Play Control - 5 - The play control is competent, but not outstanding. Think Ninja Gaiden 2, but with a character that is a better runner and jumper, but a poorer hanger and climber. One thing I like about this game is that the little Darien Lambert sprite runs very fast. Darien Lambert's futuristic weapon, which looks just like a key chain car remote in the show, but doesn't look like much in the game, takes a little getting used to, but you eventually get used to it.

Design - 2 - They really didn't put too much work into this one on the design end. It's all pretty standard and cliche.

Challenge - 3 - You run. You jump. You shoot. You do the math.

Replay - 3 - You can beat this game during a standard rental period, or, rather, you could have beaten it in a few days back when you could rent it somewhere. No real need to replay it.

Theme - 2 - I loved ''Time Trax.'' I really did. But this is clearly a standard platform game with the ''Time Trax'' image slapped on it like so much bumper sticker. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it hasn't exactly stood the test of time, if you get my meaning.

Fun - 4 - Platformers are generally a lot of fun. It's a great genre; that's why there are so many of them. They didn't screw this one up, so it's fun, like most of them.

Overall - 3 - Isn't it really cool that they made a video game out of a popular television show?! I think it's great! I wish they made a few more of these! Really! No, really! Where are you going? Come back . . . .

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 11/07/02, Updated 11/07/02