The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time

The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time
Company type	Video game
Industry	Video games
Founded	1995
Founder	Presto Studios
Products	Adventure game
Owner	Presto Studios

The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time is a 1995 adventure game for computers, developed by Presto Studios as the second entry in the Journeyman Project lineup. Published initially by Sanctuary Woods, this sequel represented a major advancement over its predecessor by introducing Agent 5, Gage Blackwood, as a fully fleshed-out main character, alongside upgraded visuals, animations, and live-action footage. The PC edition was entirely coded in C++ to enhance performance. Although a PlayStation version was prototyped, it never reached the market.

Story

Taking place in the year 2318, half a year after the original title, the narrative centers on Gage Blackwood who is confronted by a future version of himself accused of manipulating historical artifacts. To exonerate his future self and stop the Temporal Security Agency (TSA) from being disbanded by the Symbiotry of Peaceful Beings, Gage journeys through significant historical locations such as Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop, the Siege of Chateau Gaillard, and Chichen Itza. Assisted by the AI companion Arthur, he discovers that TSA agent Michelle Visard and an alien species known as the Krynn engineered the setup to serve their own agendas. After dismantling their scheme, Gage’s memories are erased before he returns to his original timeline.

Publishing

Originally released by Sanctuary Woods, Buried in Time experienced changes in distribution following Sanctuary Woods’ closure. Presto Studios took over self-publishing duties until Red Orb Entertainment acquired the rights in 1998, continuing sales until Red Orb itself shut down in 1999.

Releases and bug fixes

By July 1996, Buried in Time had sold more than 200,000 copies, contributing to an overall series total of approximately 500,000 units sold at that time. According to Michel Kripalani, the game ultimately achieved sales of 225,000 units on a development budget close to $500,000.

The initial 1.0 release contained a bug near the conclusion that prevented players from obtaining a perfect score. This issue, along with compatibility problems on Windows 95 systems, was resolved with a version 1.1 update.

When included in The Journeyman Project Trilogy boxed collection, Buried in Time suffered from a manufacturing defect where disc 2 erroneously contained disc 3’s data, making affected copies unplayable.

The title was reissued on Good Old Games on June 29, 2010.

Reception

Overall critical response to Buried in Time was favorable. Next Generation awarded the Macintosh edition three out of five stars, commending its visually impressive scenes and well-crafted storyline. The Windows release received four out of five stars despite some criticism regarding gameplay slowdowns caused by frequent cutscenes and lengthy load times; however, its narrative and graphical quality were praised. Just Adventure rated it an "A+," describing it as one of the finest games they had experienced. Programmer in Black strongly recommended it despite minor scoring system flaws.

Additional notable ratings include an 80% score from PC Gamer US, four out of five stars from Computer Gaming World, and 4.5 out of 5 from MacUser. PC Games honored it as Game of the Month with an A grade. Entertainment Weekly assigned it a B rating.

In retrospective reviews, Adventure Gamers pointed out drawbacks such as a limited viewscreen size and a complex interface but lauded its immersive environment, detailed artwork, and improved animations—concluding that it expanded appeal beyond strictly science-fiction enthusiasts.

In 2011, Adventure Gamers ranked Buried in Time as the 89th-best adventure game ever made. Furthermore, MacUser recognized it as a finalist for best strategy game of 1995.

Reviews

Pyramid issue 17 (January/February 1996)

External links