Okay, admit it! You've always wondering what it would be like to have your very own Mac and pretend you're some really slick graphic designer or sound editor. When no one is looking, you secretly jump on to the Apple homepage and drool over the space age, brightly colored hardware that they sell for outrageous prices. And then when you come into that ludicrous sum of cash, you find the right Mac for you, send off your last paycheck, and voila! You are now one of the Macintosh owning elite!

Ah . . . but do you know how to use it?

So I have this friend; we'll call her Jane. Jane decides that she wants to break from her safe, cozy world of the PC/IBM compatible and venture into the scary realm of the Mac, all so she can play with the cool editing tools and finally get a chance to crack open that copy of Pegasus Prime that she bought on Ebay so many years ago. So Jane finds a gorgeous Graphite iMac (with a DVD!!!) for a reasonable price and takes the plunge - only to get it home and realize all her years of experience with Mac OS 8.6 and up will give her little help with OS X. But Jane perseveres, makes good friends with the Mac Helper tool, and all is right with the world.

JA Readers: You traitor!!!! You convert!!!!

Oh trust me kids, I still love my PC. I hug it almost as much as I hug the new iMac, which is just so damn cute you could squeal your little girly squeal. Although sometimes, it likes to talk back to me and cop an attitude. Then I layeth the smacketh down and things are better.

So yeah, let's talk about Pegasus Prime, legend of song and story.

What is an adventure game anyway?

If you've read my bio, you'll know that The Journeyman Project: Turbo was the first adventure game I ever played. This was your typical story of boy meets time travel machine, boy saves the past so he can save the future, and boy stops evil scientist from killing off the peaceful alien visitors. It was funny, exciting, and challenged my brain like Algebra II never could. But man, did it look dated. So, I was fumbling around with this goofy thing called the Internet, researching all I could about Journeyman's development and its sequels. And low and behold, I discovered they'd made an update to that first game I had adored so much! Jumping, dancing, and singing ensued . . . until I discovered that it had only been produced for that blasted computer called the Macintosh. To me, Macintosh was to PC, like Beta was to VHS. (I knew my SAT analogy skills would come in handy!) I pleaded with Presto's development team via email to port the game into PC . . . but they responded by saying that since there was already a version of this game for the PC, they didn't see the need. So, dammit, they forced me to wait five years and buy a Mac.

I know there's a business developer at Apple smiling right now.

Teaching the old dog some new tricks

Yeah, so have I said how much I dig this new version? Not only have the sound and video been completely redone, but important details in the game play have been completely changed! I thought this was going to be an easy breeze through the game, having played the PC original a gazillion times. Oh, how wrong I have been. It is fair to say that the basics have not changed. You will still have to face three menacing robots sent from the future, traverse the prehistoric terrains to find the Journeyman log, and successfully navigate the vacuum of the Morimoto mining tunnels before your air runs out. However, the areas you will visit have been completely redesigned, making them at least three times bigger than previously seen. This will partially explain why PP comes on four disks unlike the original, which was on one.

The differences are most notable in the Prehistoric Zone, the New Sydney science center, and the deep sea Norad VI military installation. Be prepared to explore many more tunnels and rooms than before to complete your missions.

The biggest challenge of the game is PP's redesigned endgame scenario. Since I know many of the JA readers have not played this game, I won't give anything away. But let me say this: you think the mining tunnels and the globe/missile silo puzzle had your nerves on end? You haven't seen anything yet!

This is better than when Turner decided to colorize all the Shirley Temple films!

As with all games made for the Macintosh, you come to expect a certain level of graphic quality with the games. And PP will not let you down. Taking the original concepts, Presto redid all of Journeyman's 2500+ screenshots, adding detail and color that was not before seen. Be careful of the passed out soldiers lying on the floor of Norad VI or the hidden dinosaur that wants to come out and feast on you for dinner. Small things, like Gage's personal items, are left laying around for your inspection. Dr. Sinclair's lab and office are full of these items, all crafted by the wizards at the Presto for our enjoyment. And the improvement in color . . . absolutely amazing. Gone are the flat, brown walls of the Morimoto mines. Instead, they've been retreated with subtle shades of red and maroon. In addition, they added robotic drones that service the mines, so the tunnels feel alive instead of abandoned like in the first game. But watch out! Some of these guys can kill you. Just a fair warning before my walkthrough comes out.

In addition, we are treated to amazing FMV sequences of flying over the Mars terrain, speeding underneath the Pacific in a claustrophobic sub, and zooming along the moving walkways of the New Sydney science complex. Since the game was created in 640x480, these sequences will look "pixely" but they don't detract too much from the excitement.

What? No Arthur?!

Unfortunately, we are not treated to a repeat performance from everyone's favorite (or at least my favorite) AI, Arthur. Instead, we are made to deal with a personality-devoid talking head that politely asks us not to be late for work. Okay, she's much more pleasant than the cheesy pony tailed brunette from Presto's original work, but I really missed the humor of Arthur in this one. (Not that they could have put in Arthur because that would mess with the storyline of the games.)

Humor, however, is not lacking from this game. Take the mirror in Gage's bathroom for example. Try out a few hairdos while you have a chance. Also, take your morning constitutional and watch as a holographic newspaper comes flying from the wall for you to read while passing the time. Oh, and make sure to have breakfast so the machine can yell you for eating take-out again. Doh!

Overall, the acting is very well done, with new appearances from familiar Journeyman characters such as the original, Hispanic-looking Gage Blackwood, Michelle Visard (Agent 3), TSA Commissioner Baldwin, and Dr. Eliot Sinclair. Some of Sinclair's sequences were completely reshot for the new endgame scenario and blend in perfectly with the game's original footage.

Still, I miss Arthur.

Do I hear footsteps?

Yes, kids, there are footsteps! Such a small thing, I know, but the other two Journeyman games have the echoing sounds of Gage's footfalls. The addition of these to PP add such wonderful, realistic detail to the game. Sound effects, such as the working of the mining drones and the crowd noise of the New Sydney convention, have been upgraded and enhanced, again, adding to the overall boost in quality of this game over its predecessor. In some places, the voices were kept the same, such as the deep voice of the Global Transport machine. This had me all teary-eyed thinking about my first experience with the original Journeyman. (Sniff sniff, grabs tissue.)

Musical sequences, which are few and far between, have been kept the same. You'll remember the haunting ambiance of the mine tunnels and the "groovy" tunes available on Gage's home entertainment system. Still there, and still square . . . er, I mean, um yeah, they're still the same.

But why after all that improvement . . .

. . . did they not do something about the game interface itself? My biggest complaint of the original Journeyman and Buried in Time was that it relied too much on the keyboard. The same goes for Pegasus Prime. While the navigation can be dealt with with little trouble, the inventory screens are atrocious! There are two, one for your actual inventory, and one for your biochips. (These are little computer chips that can provide you with special abilities when needed.) You must access these screens using the keyboard and scroll them using your arrow keys. Your mouse will function solely as Gage's hand, good for pressing buttons and dragging inventory items around. You can't even open a door with your hand! Use the keyboard instead! Because of this less than intuitive system, I found myself in multiple situations where precious seconds would tick away while I was scrolling my blessedly limited inventory screen for the proper item. In another twist of confusion (like BIT) when you return to a time zone after a previous visit, you must always start that zone at the beginning. I found myself having to go through the tunnel maze more than once to properly complete the Morimoto time zone. Talk about frustration!

Applause

Even with the interface gripes, my top hat goes off to the people at Presto. Pegasus Prime is just a damn cool game, whether you're a fan of the Mac or not. It's slick, it's appealing to the ear and eye, and it evens the playing field for the following two Journeyman games. Unfortunately, I wouldn't hold my breath to see if this game gets ported to the PC. Presto seems to think it's comfortable being at home on the Mac, so who am I to argue? Oh right, I'm the reviewer; I'm allowed to!

(Jen steps up to the podium at E3 and clears her throat.)

I just wanted to say something really quick to Presto Studios:

EITHER PORT THIS GAME TO THE PC FOR ALL THE OTHER GAMERS OUT THERE OR GIVE US ANOTHER JOURNEYMAN GAME!

Thanks.

(Steps down to go find herself a glass of lemonade and a copy of Mac for Dummies.)

Final Grade: A

If you enjoyed Pegasus Prime, then check out my recommendations on the following:

Read: Timeline by Michael Crichton
Watch: The Fifth Element
Play: The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time and The Journeyman Project 3: Legacy of Time

System Requirements:

Power Mac
System 7.5 or higher
16 MB RAM, 8 MB free
5 MB free hard drive space
4X ROM drive or faster
Thousands of colors