Time Hollow

"Time to do something else..."

Time Hollow is basically an interactive novel with a Japanese like setting. It reminds me Japanese anime but the characters are American.

Music: 5

Not very interesting. It's there, is all I can say.

Graphics: 8

Cartoon like quality. Much like watching Japanese anime.

Story: 8

This is the game's only saving grace. It can get confusing if you're not paying attention. As you might've guessed, Time Hollow is about time travel. It involves this 16 year old boy, Ethan. He has a strange dream about his parents in a fire and then finds a mysterious pen in his room. He has these things called flashbacks and he must correct the past according to his memories. The game will explain everything as you go along, but don't expect to actually play too much.

Game play: 5

I'm afraid there's not much to this. There's just a good amount of reading, although not quite as much as Hotel Dusk. Even when you click on items to examine, there's not much you can examine. You can look around the room but you have limited mobility. Use the stylus or arrow pad to move left and right but it'll only move about half an inch, not even that. Basically you're just helping the game move along. It's like watching a movie. You, as the real life, human being, don't play the game all that much. When Ethan has his flashbacks, the bottom of the screen will flash also. These flashbacks can be updated and verified completely. These are what Ethan goes by to correct the past. The pen will start glowing when you can use it. These are called digging sessions. But watch your green time meter at the top. If it gets low, the game will be over. So don't forget to save. But don't worry. You can always quit your digging session and, if your time meter is low, go find some more time. If you see your cat, Sox, you can click on him and he'll let you have these green balls of time. If you get stuck, just go around the map and explore every place and talk to everyone, more than once.

Replay value: 2

After you complete the game the first time, there is a chance for extra stuff. Start from the saved game and you'll get some more story. But it's really short.

Overall: 5

I got this game thinking it'd be something to do and time consuming. It's incredibly short. You could beat it within a couple of hours. Try it out if you like. But you won't be missing much.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/05/09

Game Release: Time Hollow (US, 09/23/08)