AMBER: Journeys Beyond Walkthrough
By J. Phillips
Last Updated 6/3/03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Table of Contents
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Table of Contents
II. Contact Info
III. Version Info and Credits
IV. Introduction
V. Story
VI. General Hints and Tips
VII. Walkthrough
A. The House
B. The First Astral Experience
C. The Second Astral Experience
D. The Third Astral Experience
E. The End
F. Frozen Lake ASCII Map
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
II. Contact Info
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: J. Phillips
E-mail: tinted_future@yahoo.com
Please feel free to e-mail me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
III. Version Info and Credits
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
11/27/01 Version 1.1--Began writing AMBER: Journeys Beyond FAQ
in the form of previous FAQs. Completed Table of Contents, Contact
Info, Introduction, Story, General Hints and Tips, and some of The
House.
11/28/01 Version 1.2--Finished writing The House. Began The
First Astral Experience.
11/29/01 Version 1.3--Finished First and Second Astral
Experiences.
11/30/01 Version 1.4--Finished Third Astral Experience, The End,
and ASCII Map of the frozen lake. The AMBER: Journeys Beyond FAQ is
finished!
Thanks to the Wimmers from Hue Forest Entertainment for making
this game.
Thanks to my friend Josh, who played through with me once so I
could have someone to talk to about it all.
Thanks to my brother Zach, who has yet to play the game. I'll
get him to play it soon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Introduction
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This document is copyrighted (c) by J. Phillips and cannot be
posted on any other site or used in any way other than personal use
without permission from me. If you want this FAQ on your site, you
must ask my permission first. E-mail me (see contact info) and I'll
think about it.
This is my second FAQ. Please don't expect it to be updated
often as I have school and work meddling with my important gaming
affairs. If there is anything at all wrong with this FAQ, I beg you to
e-mail me and tell me. The last thing I want to do is confuse people,
as some FAQs I've read on other sites confused me when I was having a
tough time with a game already. We all know how that feels, right?
Just to keep my accuracy on tab, I am going to play through the game
again. Let's hope it helps, because I haven't played it in a while.
AMBER: Journeys Beyond was my fourth first-person point-and-
click puzzle game (the first three being The Neverhood (check out my
FAQ!), Myst, and Riven). It has a basic point-and-click feature.
Point the arrow (in this case a 3-D arrow) where you want to go, click,
and your character will walk there. When pointing forward, the arrow
will turn to a diamond shape (thus being the back of the arrow). When
pointing back, an X will appear on the diamond (thus being the front or
point of the arrow). Turn left or right and it will turn in the
appropriate direction.
Click on something to grab it. If it can't be grabbed, it won't
be. If it can, it will come up to your face. Click it again to stock
it in your inventory (at the bottom).
That's actually about it. Everything's pretty explanatory in
this game, unlike those ones where you must memorize keyboard
combinations and use them while under pressure.
Also, one more thing. If you are playing this game for the first
time, I suggest you play it at midnight or at least when it gets dark.
Make sure nobody is awake but you and maybe your friend or sibling.
This game can really draw you into it, and some of the events in this
house freaked me out the first time I played through.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
V. Story
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This game doesn't have much of a story, but it suits the purpose.
Like most first-person puzzle games, you must find out the story as you
go along. This one, as you will find out, has a most peculiar
storyline behind it, especially Roxy's house, the setting for the game.
Anyway, enough of that. Here is the story according to the book
(as well as the opening scene of the game):
The dark mountains of North Carolina.
You're home from work. You've had a long day, so you pop
something in the microwave and settle down to check your e-mail before
dinner. You boot up your PC and sign on.
The following message awaits you:
"Hi, it's me again...I'm going to ask a favor of you in a minute,
but I figured I better explain why before I do the actual asking.
"In a nutshell, Roxy's up to her old tricks again. As you know,
we've been developing a technology for tracking paranormal activity.
Although I haven't been able to tell you much about our new product
line, let's just say that the latest stuff goes beyond tracking. Way
beyond. We've go some equipment up and running and I've worked with
Roxy for long enough to know she'd want to do the early tests herself.
Normally that wouldn't bother me...It's just that the stakes are so
high this time.
"She's up at that old house she bought, which, as you may have
heard, is reputed to be extremely active. She's treating that house
like a lab. She has it totally wired with all of our latest equipment.
And although we'd never tell Roxy this, we're afraid she's getting in a
little over her head. Some of that equipment is still in the form of
early prototypes...fragmentation is a REAL problem area. I made her
promise she wouldn't do anything hasty without one of us around. But
you know Roxy.
"So here's the favor. Would you mind driving up there and
checking up on her? We're asking you because I know that you and Roxy
worked together on that dream research. She respects your work. I
think she'd probably listen to you.
"Thanks in advance. And one final favor, be really cautious
here. It's easy to catch Roxy's enthusiasm. Don't let her talk you
into doing anything stupid.
"Regards, Joe"
It's still daylight, and Roxy is a good friend. The house is
only a few hours away. You should be able to get there before too late
tonight.
That is what is said in the manual. The rest of the game's
introduction goes like this (in my own writing):
It takes all evening to reach the house, and once you're there,
something that resembles a fountain appears in front of you. You
swerve out of the way and your car goes headfirst into the lake you
didn't even notice.
You swim your way to shore.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
VI. General Hints and Tips
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. You MUST pay attention to everything you encounter in this
game. If possible, have pencil and paper nearby so you can jot down
important information. It most likely will be used later in the game.
2. Like all other first-person puzzle games, don't go into a
clicking frenzy if you can't find where to go. This is not the way to
solve problems. This game's puzzles aren't too difficult, and are
actually somewhat realistic. If you can't figure something out, come
to this FAQ. If this FAQ doesn't have what you want, then e-mail me.
3. If it looks like it does something, click on it. It just
might help you in your "quest".
4. If something in your inventory flashes, use it as soon as
possible. There is no doubt that it is something that you MUST see
RIGHT NOW. Do not ignore the flashing. It is not meant to annoy you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
VII. Walkthrough
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, it's about time we got here. I have split this walkthrough
into five major sections: The House, The First Astral Experience, The
Second Astral Experience, The Third Astral Experience, and The End.
Here I go.
A. The House
You will start the game staring up at the night sky, presumably
after you have awakened from the tiring swim. Click forward and your
first transition will happen. You will stand up. Turn left and you
can see the fountain shape appear again. Not much to do here, so just
turn around and walk in the direction of the path.
Once the transition is finished, go up to the porch of the house.
You will notice the front door and the mailbox. Open the mailbox.
There is a box inside. Open it and you can read a letter from Joe
(good thing there aren't any police around, as you just broke the law).
Put the letter back and you will find a small coil-like (the
oscillator, as the letter describes it) object. Add it to your
inventory.
Now back off from the mailbox and enter the house. You don't
need to worry about knocking. You can probably tell that nobody's
home, and besides, the game won't let you. The lights are all out, and
you can do nothing but stumble around or go toward the stairs. I
suggest you go to the stairs and climb up them, as that is the only
light in the house.
How would you normally restore power to a house? Reset the
breaker, of course. You must go into the rooms and find a breaker. It
is in the office room by the revolving stairs. Flip the switch up and
let there be light!
Now that the power has been restored, go check out the house.
I'd suggest exploring the house and learning as much as you can from it
before reading any further.
After some exploration, you will realize that there are four
rooms on the first floor, including: living room, kitchen, the study,
and the dining room. The living room has a book, a phone, and a device
on one of the tables. The study has a large generator and a device on
a table in the middle of the room. The dining room has some shelves, a
table, and a video camera on one of the counters. There isn't much in
the kitchen. Some cupboards, an island, and a refrigerator.
The second floor also has four rooms: the bathroom, the
workroom, a bedroom, and a locked room. The bathroom has some spooky
elements in it, including some shampoo and soap, a flushing toilet, and
a mirror that does... well, spooky stuff. The workroom is pretty much
normal. There is a balcony overlooking the workroom. A computer rests
in there, as well as Roxy's desk. The bedroom has a bed, some desks,
and an entertainment center. As for now, you can't go into the locked
room, so don't worry about it.
Now go into the workroom. Some important things are in here.
You can try using the computer, but it's useless unless you have the
password. Next to the computer, though, is a small videotape. Grab it
and add it to your inventory. This little object will help reinforce
the story behind all this.
Go up the stairs to the overlooking balcony. There is a small
object on a table up there (the PeeK). Add it to your inventory as
well. You can look at this and use one of its programs to listen to
someone screaming to "open the door". From here you can also see a
camera up above you. Now go down and approach Roxy's desk. From here
you can open the drawers or look at the drawings. Open the top drawer.
There is a manual for a certain device that you will need.
Flip through the book. Pay attention to the Level, Gain, and
Freq Mod settings. You will need these later on. Level is 6, Gain is
only described as "not too high, not too low", and Freq Mod is 8.
Remember!
If you go into Roxy's room, make sure to open the entertainment
center and flick on the TV. Interesting things may happen...
Well, maybe "interesting" isn't the correct word. "Painful"
sounds better. Get up and go down to the first floor.
From here, go into the living room. You can try the phone, but
funny things happen when you dial seven digits. Try reading the book,
as that may help you understand the sounds and voices you can hear from
the PeeK unit.
Go to the right and on the small table is the BAR. You can't add
it to your inventory, but you can mess with the settings. Level is 6,
Gain is 5, and Freq Mod is 8. When you set the BAR in this fashion,
the PeeK will activate and notify you that the cameras are online (and
not detecting any activity).
This is where the freaky stuff really comes in. Soon the cameras
will be catching some really weird stuff. Only check the cameras on
the PeeK when it flashes. For now, go into the dining room and take
another look at that video camera. Stick the videotape in and look in
through the viewer.
What you see in the viewer will really help you find Roxy. In
her last video journal entry, she says that she is going to the garage
to check things out and try the AMBER unit. Maybe you should go check
it out...
Before you go, open the cupboard beneath the video camera and
take the weed killer. This will definitely come in handy. Now go to
the garage. You'll need to pull open the big garage door to enter.
Once in there, you'll see two wooden columns. A crowbar is hanging
from the one furthest from you. Add it to your inventory.
Not much else here except for the stairs. Go up them and you'll
find Roxy, wearing the same clothes as she did on her last entry. You
can't do anything to her, nor can you help her. She is dead.
When you stop bawling over Roxy, do some scouting around the
house. If you know the place well, it could help you find where you
need to go next.
Go to the back door. There is a tiny device on the door handle.
It is the SCAN device. Take it as well. This is the device that can
detect the tonal residue of past people, just as the book in the living
room described. You can place this device on every doorknob in the
house, but it will work on only a select few. The sound "they're
coming!" is from the second astral experience. The gunshot from the
locked doorknob is from the first astral experience. I'm not sure what
other doorknobs can be scanned successfully.
You will see screen after screen of activity. Soon the phone may
even ring. Before all this happens, though, you MUST place the
oscillator (object from the mail) into the AMBER device. The AMBER
device compiles fragments of the past of a certain spirit, allowing the
wearer of the headgear to go back to the time of the spirit's death.
Amazing, huh?
As the book said, this device can be used to help a trapped
spirit get enough clues as to who he was and how he died so that he may
go into the "beyond".
Go to the AMBER device and place the oscillator in the small
indentation. Soon after, the phone will ring. Go pick it up and the
voice on the other line is, surprisingly, Roxy. She says she is
"drifting in and out of consciousness". Give it up, Roxy. You're
dead. Anyway, right after that, the PeeK will notify you that the
AMBER device is online. Go to it and mess with it.
Apparently, the AMBER device is a headgear unit. Pick it up, put
it on your head. Now, you should've seen the key being dropped into
the table drawer in Roxy's room a while ago. Go get it and open that
locked door!
Once you do, you will enter the first astral experience.
B. The First Astral Experience
Well, you made it. I don't mean that you've made it this far. I
mean that you kept from puking when you saw the dead, bloody body on
the floor. Do you remember what you heard from the PeeK when the SCAN
device was attached to the locked doorknob? That was a gunshot at the
end. The bullet from that gunshot struck this woman in the head and
killed her. She was the one who pulled the trigger, as you can see.
At first, this place is very strange, but you might recognize it
as the locked room you were just in. Only now it is in a different
time.
Please, do some exploring. I hate to tell you everything without
letting you get the whole experience. If you can, figure this part out
on your own. Mess with everything before you come here. But if you
can't figure it out, here goes.
You will notice that there is a dead woman on the floor. Her
name is Maggie. Right now, you are not you, you have suddenly been
thrown into Maggie's world. It's called astral travel, and now you
must help Maggie figure out who she is, why she's dead, and what's been
going on. Obviously, she shot herself in the head, but she doesn't
know that right now.
First thing you should do is go to the dresser and mess with the
little boxes. If you open them in the right order, you will hear a
voice say, "I miss you Maggie." Maggie will recognize the voice.
There is a very strange radio in the room. Tinker with it a bit
and you'll find that you can turn one of the dials. The background
gets all fuzzy and you can go into another room. If you attempt to go
into the fuzzy room, Maggie will say, "Funny. I can't get that
station." Don't worry about it for now. Go into the kitchen.
In the kitchen, there is only one thing you need to do for now.
Push the up button on the elevator next to the radio. The elevator
will go up. Now go back to the radio and take yourself into the
original room. There is a needle on the table beside the radio. Touch
it and it will float up to the elevator. Go back to the kitchen and
push the down button. Grab the needle and it will attach itself to the
radio, giving it a better reception. Now you are able to reach the
fuzzy room.
Go there. Explore a bit. Maggie will say some things about
different objects. The only real important things she says are when
you open the door and when you hear about the broadcast. When you open
the door, static will fill the room. She will say, "That was a waste
of time." Hint, hint. If you go to the clock on the table, take a
look at what time it is. Then open the door and let the static fill
for a bit. Then go look at the clock. Get the picture?
You're probably like, "What does that have to do with anything?"
Well, wait a bit and the broadcaster will mention something about his
sister station being aired at 7:00 PM. Maggie then says, "I want to
hear that broadcast."
Do you get it yet?
If you don't, let me explain. You, as Maggie, a ghost, can now
control time. You want to hear the broadcast, which is airing at 7:00
PM. How do you suppose that can be done? Constantly open the door
until the hour hand is at 7 (or maybe it's 6) and the minute hand is
almost on 12.
Then you can go to the radio and check out another room.
This is the final room. The only thing really important here is
that you must tip over the trash can and rearrange the pieces you find
in there. It will most likely take a while, but once you get it, your
first astral experience will be complete.
Maggie will realize that her husband was killed in the war, and
she'll wail (just like from the tonal residue). Then she goes through
a hall and into the "beyond".
Well, you've helped your first ghost. Maggie is no longer inside
the house, and you find yourself on the floor of the bedroom. The PeeK
will flash. When you view it, a face will appear with a twinkle on her
forehead. I'm guessing that's Maggie, thanking you. Doesn't this all
look familiar now? The lights are all off, except the emergency light.
Go flip that breaker and you'll be ready to find the second astral
experience.
Go to the back of the house. If you step behind the garage, you
can go into the woods behind the house. There are some steps, but you
need to use the weed killer to get through. Follow the trail to the
gazebo. There, you will find your second astral experience after some
cool music plays (and after you are whisked high into the air).
C. The Second Astral Experience
He's dead, of course. Anybody who is hanging by a rope is
definitely dead.
The only way you can this man, Brice, is by sending him into the
beyond. You'll start in a small greenhouse, and you'll notice that
your peripheral vision is all blurry. How annoying.
You can look through the keyhole to see inside the kitchen.
Something very bad happened in there. You can see a knife and a lot of
blood.
Exit the greenhouse and follow the path. Brice will say
something about the bees. You can go near the bees if you want, but
it's really hard to make sense out of what they say. Follow the path
and walk through the huge weeds. Keep going and eventually you will
find a small shed. Go inside and you can look down through the
peephole, but the mirrors are screwed up. To fix them, go back outside
(take care with that strange door) and turn them in the proper
direction. The mirrors are attached to the potted plants.
When those mirrors are set right, you can see through the
peephole a window. On the window, it says "Leave me alone FREAK!"
Remember the pattern the words have taken on the window.
Leave the shed. This part gets confusing, and I can't really
help you here. You need to find your way through the paths and weeds
to a small opening that has a bench with a heart on it (it's easier to
find this place than I make it sound). When you find the heart, Brice
will talk about it a bit. Look at it closely. Now mess with the pins
until all three come off.
When they come off, you will get the "Key to the Stars". The
code is 321. Now go through the weeds that you did not enter from.
This part will get very familiar. You will find yourself at the
gazebo.
Before you go inside, walk around to the back and push the button
that is on the trunk of the tree beneath the gazebo. I'm not too sure
what it does, but I do know that it needs to be pressed. Now you can
enter the gazebo.
You can try the grate, but it's no use until you enter the
combination. Enter the combination into the numbers on the grate.
Remember, the code is 321.
Once you open the grate, go down the ladder. You will find a
letter from Mandy saying that she doesn't love Brice, and that if he
continues going after her, her father will fire him. He doesn't care.
He's too concerned about her handwriting.
Continue going down the ladder. Not much to do here, in Brice's
sanctuary, except for the door. There's a flag nearby (to signal the
aliens). Touch the white flag and it will appear on the opposite rope.
Now click on the rope. The white flag will rise. Click on it again
and it will lower with a red flag. Click on the opposite side to raise
the red flag. Brice says that will get their attention.
Now to get through that door. Simple really. Simply open the
wooden panel to reveal six blocks. Brice has seen it before, and so
have you. Remember the window?
If you don't remember, let me refresh your memory. The window
had six panels in two rows, three columns. There are six blocks in two
rows, three columns. The window had words in certain places.
Still don't get it? Then press the top left, top middle, bottom
middle, and bottom right blocks in and you'll unlock the door. Go
inside and you'll find Mandy, dead. Brice reveals what happened.
If you're confused as to the entire events, let me explain to the
best of my knowledge. Brice was a gardener for the owner of the house
(this is why you hear him say he hates the weeds). He loved alien
spaceships, and he loved Mandy, the owner's daughter, even more. He
could see into Mandy's window through the peephole, and was always
stalking her. But Mandy didn't like him, or his spaceship fantasies.
One day, he KNEW he heard the aliens coming to take him. He was
so excited, and he wanted Mandy to go with him. He ran to the back
door, the kitchen, shook it, and screamed, "Open the door! They're
coming, they're coming! OPEN THE DOOR!" You can hear this if you
place the SCAN device on the back door.
Mandy opened the door, probably thinking that he was in trouble.
He tried to force her to the gazebo before the aliens left. A struggle
ensued and he ended up killing her with a kitchen knife.
He dragged the body to the gazebo, not knowing what else to do.
He stored the body in the cupboard, then went and hung himself.
What a sad story... if Brice wasn't so paranoid, everything would
have been fine.
As soon as ghost Brice realizes what happened, the great forces
below take him to the beyond. I don't think that where he's going is a
very good place.
You wake up in the gazebo, and the PeeK is again flashing. Look
into it, and you'll see the same face there. Maybe it wasn't Maggie
after all...
Now, it's time to go to the third and final astral experience.
In my opinion, this is the silliest part of the game. Talking
puppets and teddy bears, magical weathercocks, and underwater car
tracks makes it all perfectly ridiculous. This upcoming experience
makes almost no sense at all.
One last place to go, and that's the shack by the lake.
D. The Third Astral Experience
You will find yourself at the lake in the past during the winter.
You will see a small boy has been frozen alive beneath the icy water.
This place is very confusing. Not only is the whole place
plastered with a constant white background, there is also a new pointer
function as well. You can now move at an angle, but it's hard to use
and I really don't like it.
Once again, the first thing to do is explore and figure most of
it out by yourself.
First thing to do is go find Chippy, the annoying little puppet
stuck in the ice. He wants you to help him, but you can't really pull
him out. If you really want to help him, which I suppose you should,
you need to go to the shack by the lake. It's not too hard to find.
When you're there, go inside and on the far wall is a handle attached
to a rope. Pull the handle toward you twice, then turn to the table.
There is a bag of salt there and a pulley. Hit the pulley and it will
knock the bag out and onto the ice.
Go outside and around. On the other side of the shack is a bunch
of vines (apparently ones that can live through winter). You can climb
up these. On top is a weathercock. Touch it until it faces West.
Now go down and on the ice you must find a small windmill. Pull
the pin out of the windmill and the wind will start up.
Also on the ice is a ship. Go to the ship and pull the rope to
raise the sails. The ship should be pulled to the hole, thus lowering
the rope further into the freezing, watery depths of the lake.
Go back to the weathercock and make it face to the East. Go back
and raise the ship sails. If you want, you can look down into the hole
and see a teddy bear (he comes in later--I've just helped you move
along faster in this absurd astral plane).
Go to the hole where Chippy was. You can go underwater (hey,
you're dead already, so how's a little freezing water in your lungs
going to hurt?). Click on the duck and a car will be summoned. There
are three choices here, and three choices from each choice. A lot of
places will take you to a spiky area and eventually back up to the
surface in a bubble. Wow.
Instead of frustrating yourself, I will tell you exactly what to
do here. Go forward on the track twice. You should find yourself at a
castle. Chippy will get out and tell you to go get the bear. What
bear, you ask? The bear that you raised up to the upper track by
sliding the boat on the surface back and forth.
When you are sent back to the beginning, go left then forward.
You should be able to make the jump and get the bear. You'll then
continue back to the castle.
That should be it. The bear will go out, you'll follow him, and
with a last goodbye, you'll leave Chippy and Teddy behind as Edwin the
ghost goes into the beyond.
Let me try to make sense of all this. There was a boy named
Edwin who lived at the house. He dropped his teddy bear into the
freezing water, and took Chippy down there to try and retrieve the
bear. Now that he's dead, he makes one last effort to gather his toys
and say one final goodbye. Personally, I'd rather gather my family to
say goodbye, but I guess his toys were pretty important to him.
You'll wake up in the shack, and that mysterious face will appear
in the PeeK again.
E. The End
Go do what you usually do... reset the power to the house as well
as the AMBER device! If you haven't noticed, every time you come out
of an astral plane, the PeeK will say that not enough fragmentation has
been gathered to make the thing work. Well, after the third one, it
will be ready. But you can't use it right now, nor do you know what
it's for.
Now go hit the breaker.
What a shock! That had to have hurt! Well, at least you didn't
need help from anyone to go to the beyond.
You'll meet what appears to be an angel, and he (she?) tells you
that only you can help your friend and that it's not your time to pass
through. He says that only one obstacle blocks your path. "All you
need is wisdom."
Well, what are you waiting for? When you get back, use your
"wisdom"!
Do you get it yet? Think about it... there's only one thing you
haven't unveiled in the game.
If you don't understand, think about Roxy's workroom.
Yes, the computer! You still need the password, right? You
should be able to figure it out. "All you need is wisdom." Wisdom.
Wisdom is the password to let you enter the AMBER device's
Paratechnology Suite. This baby will allow you to perform various
functions, like stabilizing psionic (spiritual) fragments and preparing
host bodies for re-entry algorithms.
I'm not going to help you with this part because it's so easy.
Figure it out on your own!
When you figure that out, you should be able to figure the rest
out! Just place the headgear on Roxy's head, and the ending comes
along.
"So where'd you park your car?"
F. Frozen Lake ASCII Map
Here is a map of the underwater roadway found in the Third Astral
Experience.
S = Back to the surface
C = King Castle
U = Upper Track (from the jump)
D = Lower Track (from the jump)
C S
| |
U D
|_|
|
S | S S C S S S S
|___|___| |___|___| |___|___|
| | |
|_________|_________|
|
|
|
|
Car
This document Copyright (c) 2001 J. Phillips and can be in no way
reprinted, posted on any other web site, or used for anything else
other than personal use whatsoever. Please check out my other FAQs!
