Directed by Simon Wells. With Guy Pearce, Yancey Arias, Mark Addy, Phyllida Law. Hoping to alter the events of the past, a 19th century inventor instead travels 800,000 years into the future, where he finds humankind divided into two warring races. Check out Roleplay -The Time Machine 2™. It’s one of the millions of unique, user-generated 3D experiences created on Roblox. A Classic Game from 2009 - 2010. Please be sure to play Roleplay - The Time Machine 1 as well. Its very Outdated, But is a very well played game thanks to it's fans. Thankyou very much everyone! Join my Wizard Group Two Crescents:). Zombotron 2: Time Machine, a free online Action game brought to you by Armor Games. Don’t let the name fool you, zombies in Zombotron are ruthless and clever as ever, they will keep coming at you until they are completely disabled. Zombotron Time Machine is a new entry in the Zombotron universe and delivers engaging gameplay and story.

• The Time Machine Escape Game
• Time Machine Games Online
• The Time Machine Trapped In Time Game

Mario's Time Machine is an educationalvideo game originally released for MS-DOS and then for the Nintendo Entertainment System and Super NESconsoles. The Software Toolworks both developed and published the MS-DOS and Super NES versions in 1993, while the NES version was developed by Radical Entertainment and published by The Software Toolworks in 1994. The MS-DOS version was re-released as Mario's Time Machine Deluxe in 1996.

Mario's Time Machine is one of several educational Mario video games that were released during the early 1990s; the game focuses on teaching human history. While the gameplay and engine varies between the three different versions, the story is roughly the same: the player assumes the role of Mario, who uses a time machine to return various artifacts, which had been stolen by Bowser, to their correct points in time.

Mario's Time Machine received mixed to negative reviews since its release, holding an aggregate score of 60.25% on GameRankings based on two reviews. Its use as an educational title has been mixed, and the game has been compared to another educational history game, Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?^{[by whom?]}

Gameplay[edit]

Mario's Time Machine is set in the year 1993. Bowser, who has built a time machine called the 'Timulator', travels back in time and steals essential artifacts from various points in human history to place on display in a museum inside his castle. Because these actions will eventually change history permanently, the player characterMario takes control of the Timulator to return the artifacts to their proper areas in time. In the NES version, Bowser also kidnaps Yoshi, who is freed upon completing the game. The gameplay focuses on teaching the player the historical significance of each artifact (and of the associated historical person); to progress through the game, the player must correctly answer questions relating to the learned information.

Mario's Time Machine uses a side-scrolling perspective, with a game engine that varies across all three versions. The player controls Mario using a point-and-click interface in the MS-DOS version, while the console versions use a platforming-based control scheme adapted from Super Mario World, in which Mario can move left or right and jump. Like Mario Is Missing!, the console versions use a password system to order to resume play from a particular game state.

The player begins Mario's Time Machine in Bowser's museum. The museum is the main hub, where the player obtains the artifacts and directly accesses all the game's levels (which consist of locations on Earth in different time periods) using the Timulator. In the Super NES and MS-DOS versions, for each artifact, the player is given the year and place it originated from. For example, the player learns that the 'Apple' artifact originated from 1687 Cambridge. The player can then time travel using this information; time traveling itself is a minigame in which Mario surfs through a wide ocean, collecting mushrooms. Collecting enough mushrooms will transport Mario to the time period and location programmed into the Timulator. The player is given a short document describing the life and notability of the historical person associated (e.g. Isaac Newton), but the document itself has some of its terms missing. The player thus is required to converse with the non-player characters depicting the local denizens of the time period in order to learn various facts and be able to fill in the blanks. The player chooses the words from a list of pre-determined words; if the player incorrectly fills a blank more than twice, he is sent back to 1993 and is required to try again. When the player fills all the blanks correctly, he can then successfully return the artifact to its original owner.^[1] In the game's ending cutscene, Mario manages to confront Bowser, who then steals back the Timulator to make his escape. At this point there are three possible outcomes based on the player's overall performance: in the worst outcome, in which the player fails to return the artifacts quickly enough, Bowser successfully escapes to an area known as Paradise; in the other two outcomes, the Timulator experiences mechanical overload, sending and trapping Bowser in the Jurassic era.

The NES version of Mario's Time Machine has a heavier emphasis on platforming than the other two versions. Despite the presence of enemies, Mario cannot lose lives or even take damage, so obtaining a game over is impossible. To obtain an artifact in Bowser's museum, the player plays a Mario Bros.-inspired minigame in which he fights Koopa Troopas. The player can then use the Timulator and travel to one of the fourteen selectable time periods. Unlike the other versions, the player is not explicitly told which time period the artifact originated from. The player is instead encouraged to explore the time periods and obtain hints, either from local denizens or from message blocks. Once the player figures out the artifact that belongs in that time period, he can then place the artifact in its original spot. After all the artifacts have been returned, the player is tasked to answer three random multiple choice questions pertaining to the historical periods visited. Answering the questions correctly will lead the player to the final boss fight with Bowser. The player wins the game upon Bowser's defeat.

Development[edit]

The MS-DOS and Super NES versions were developed by The Software Toolworks and published by Mindscape, while the NES version was developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Mindscape. Mario's Time Machine was originally released for computers in 1993, with a deluxe re-release titled Mario's Time Machine Deluxe in 1996. It was later released for the Super NES in December 1993, and for the NES on June 23, 1994.^[2][3][4][5]

Reception[edit]

Since its release, Mario's Time Machine has received mixed reviews. It holds an aggregate score of 60.25% on GameRankings based on two reviews.^[6]GamePro praised the game's dialogues with historical figures, commenting that 'the scenarios make flesh-and-blood human beings out of people who are usually just static pictures in textbooks.' They criticized that the Timulator controls are too confusing, especially for the game's targeted age group, but nonetheless summarized the game as both enjoyable and educational.^[7]Nintendo Power gave it a 2.65 out of five, while Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it a 6.75 out of 10.^[6]

GameSpy's Brian Altano and Brian Miggels named its ending as one of the worst ever, criticizing it for showing Bowser crying.^[8] Fellow GameSpy editor Mike Drucker called it 'half-assed.'^[9]GamesRadar commented that those who like this game may like Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which they gave a negative review to.^[10] They later suggested that it was an unpopular game, commenting that 'five, maybe six people played the NES version of Mario's Time Machine'.^[11]ABC Good Game called it 'awful', and was 'way too complicated for any school-aged youngster to understand.'^[12]Nintendo of Canada included a sealed copy of the NES version as part of a charity auction along with several other sealed NES games.^[13] In the book Video Games: A Guide for Savvy Parents, author David Sheff found the educational elements good, but criticized the gameplay.^[14]

Authors David Wesley and Gloria Barczak associated Mario's Time Machine with the recent 'flood of ill-conceived Mario spin-offs', arguing that these games nearly destroyed the Mario license.^[15]The Independent's Janet Swift discussed Mario's Time Machine in her article on the latest generation of educational titles in 1994. She compared it to Mario Is Missing! in its execution, which she found 'special', praising it for its educational value for children.^[16]Allgame's Brett Alan Weiss called the action scenes 'dreadfully dull' and the presentation 'merely average'.^[17] He added that while he does not dislike educational games, they must be both 'entertaining and enlightening.'^[18]IGN's Levi Buchanan included it in their assessment of the 'other Mario games,' implying that the premise was boring and criticizing the game for lacking any real platform gameplay. He commented that it had 'honorable intentions', but that it was 'decidedly shallow'. He also criticized the act of putting Mario in realistic time periods, commenting that he 'occupies the imagination, a place with Star Festivals and giant piranha plants.'^[1]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abBuchanan, Levi (2008-08-21). 'The Other Mario Games, Vol. 4 - Super NES Feature at IGN'. IGN. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
2. ^'Mario's Time Machine Deluxe for PC'. GameSpot. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
3. ^Search. 'Mario's Time Machine Release Information for NES'. GameFAQs. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
4. ^Search. 'Mario's Time Machine Release Information for SNES'. GameFAQs. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
5. ^Search. 'Mario's Time Machine Deluxe Release Information for PC'. GameFAQs. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
6. ^ ^ab'Mario's Time Machine for SNES'. GameRankings. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
7. ^'ProReview: Mario's Time Machine'. GamePro (55). IDG. February 1994. p. 116.
8. ^Altano, Brian; Miggels, Brian (August 14, 2009). 'The Worst NES Endings, and Why We Deserved Better - Page 1'. GameSpy. Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
9. ^'GameSpy: Mario is Evil - Page 1'. Wii.gamespy.com. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
10. ^Words: Jem Roberts, Xbox World 360 UK. 'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Review, PC Reviews'. Games Radar.com. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
11. ^'The ever-changing sizes of Mario and Bowser'. GamesRadar. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
12. ^'Good Game Stories - Edutainment'. www.abc.net.au.
13. ^Miller, Ross (2008-05-30). 'Nintendo of Canada offers sealed NES, SNES, Game Boy titles for charity auction'. Joystiq. Archived from the original on January 28, 2015. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
14. ^Sheff, David (1994). Video Games: A Guide for Savvy Parents. ISBN9780679752820. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
15. ^Wesley, David T. A.; Barczak, Gloria (2010). Innovation and Marketing in the ...ISBN9780566091674. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
16. ^Swift, Janet (1994-02-11). 'Computers: Teaching children to teach themselves: The latest generation of 'edutainment' programs can keep children as engrossed as their favourite shoot 'em up. Janet Swift looks at indoor attractions for half-term - Gadgets & Tech, IndyBest'. The Independent. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
17. ^Alan, Brett (2010-10-03). 'Mario's Time Machine - Overview'. allgame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
18. ^Alan, Brett (2010-10-03). 'Mario's Time Machine - Review'. allgame. Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved 2011-01-19.

External links[edit]

• Mario's Time Machine at MobyGames

Time Machine is an Americangame show where contestants compete to answer trivia questions about popular culture and recent history to win prizes. The show aired on NBC from January 7 through April 26, 1985, and was hosted by John Davidson. Charlie Tuna was the announcer, with Rich Jeffries as his substitute. Reg Grundy Productions produced the series, and upon its premiere Time Machine was one of three Grundy series airing on NBC (Sale of the Century, which followed Time Machine on NBC's daytime schedule, and Scrabble were the other two).

Most of the questions used focused on nostalgia, popular culture, and recent history, and more specifically what year a particular event occurred.

Future Card Sharks model Suzanna Williams appeared as one of the prize models in this series.

• 1Format #1
• 2Format #2
  • 2.1Mini Games (Format #2)

Format #1[edit]

Three contestants, one usually a returning champion, competed in mini-games, similar to pricing games from The Price Is Right, to win prizes. The prizes won went into a contestant's 'Prize Bank'. Each contestant played one game, with the champion playing the third game.

Mini Games (Format #1)[edit]

The Time Machine Escape Game

• 'Tube Game' – The contestant was given the names of two shows, and had to pick which one was airing in a given year. A correct answer gave the player control of the network the show was airing on. This process was done three times–the first with ABC shows, the second with NBC shows, and the third with CBS shows. After all three networks had been played the location of a hidden prize package was revealed, and if the contestant controlled that network the package was added to their prize bank. If the contestant got all 3 correct, he/she won the prize automatically.
• '3 In A Row' – In each square of a tic-tac-toe board is a different year, all from the same decade. 3 In A Row had two different formats. The first format had a player start by picking three cards dubbed 'Poison Cards'. After the Poison Cards were chosen the player was shown nine events and chose them one at a time. After a player chose an event the year it occurred lit up on the board, and the game continued until the player made any line. If a player made a line horizontally or vertically, a prize was added to their prize bank. A diagonal line won a larger prize, but if a player made a line with all three Poison Cards the game was lost. The second format gave the player a choice between two events; each time an event was chosen the year it happened was lit up on the board and a new event replaced it. Since the Poison Cards were no longer in play, a player could only lose by making a diagonal line.
• 'As Time Goes By' – To begin, the contestant was given one free spin. Three photos of a celebrity were shown to the contestant one at a time and they had to guess in what year the photo was taken. Each time the player came within five years of the correct year they earned a spin. They then took their spins to the Money Clock, a spinner made to look like a clock. The area around 12 o'clock was painted red. The pointer moved automatically, and the contestant watched it for a few seconds. They then turned away and hit a plunger, stopping the pointer. If they landed at the red area, a prize was added to their prize bank. The game continued until a player stopped the pointer in the red area to win the prize or until they ran out of spins and lost.
• 'Before Or After' – The contestant was given $200 and a base year, and the contestant had to guess whether an event happened before or after the base year. A correct guess doubled the money, and the year of that event became the new base year. The contestant had three opportunities to double their money, for a maximum of $1,600 for three correct answers. After the third question, the contestant was given an opportunity to bank the money and stop or risk it on a double-or-nothing final question. Answering correctly doubled the money and added it to the prize bank, but answering incorrectly lost it all.
• 'Sweet Sixteen' – Similar to the 'Lucky Seven' pricing game on The Price Is Right. The contestant was given sixteen $100 bills to start the game. They were then shown a series of four products and had to guess what year they were introduced. For the first three products, the contestant was given a range to guess in (sometime in the 1950s, within the last 10 years, etc.). If any $100 bills were left after the fourth product, the leftover money and an additional prize package was put in their Prize Bank.
• 'Main Event' – A base year was given along with five categories. The contestant was given a free category of their choice to start and then picked from the remaining categories one at a time. Each category had one question with two possible answers, with a right answer winning the category and a clue for the 'Main Event', which was something that occurred in the base year. After all the categories were played a clue was revealed and the contestant got an opportunity to guess. Guessing the Main Event on the first clue put $5,000 in the Prize Bank; each subsequent clue cut the value by $1,000.

Time Capsule[edit]

After the mini-games were played the three contestants faced off in the final round, the Time Capsule. Davidson gave the players a list of four events that all happened in the same year, and then a clip from a popular song from that year was played. The contestants then attempted to guess the year, and the contestant with the closest guess became the champion, won all of their banked prizes, and advanced to the bonus round. The other two players left with parting gifts. If two or more contestants were equally close, John would read a question related to the Time Capsule year to the tied players; the first one to buzz in with the right answer won.

Format #2[edit]

On February 11 (just over a month after the series began), the format was completely overhauled with many mini-games undergoing rule changes to fit the new format and others retired. The champion no longer played the mini games, with the two challengers playing for the right to meet him/her in the final round. They played three mini-games, each one worth a prize; the Prize Bank was scrapped, with contestants now keeping their prizes regardless of how well they did.

Time Machine Games Online

The first two mini-games were worth one point, the last one was worth two. The one with the most points after three games won the game and advanced to the Challenge Round. If there was a tie after three games, a tiebreaker question was read; the first one to buzz in with the right answer won the game.

Mini Games (Format #2)[edit]

Six mini-games were used in this new format. Unlike the old format, the same two lineups were used for every episode, alternating each day.

Lineup #1[edit]

• 'Game 1: As Time Goes By' – A photo of a celebrity was shown. Similar in format to Card Sharks, one player guessed when the photo was taken, and the other one guessed whether the right answer is higher or lower. Whoever was right won a spin. This was repeated with two more photos of the same celebrity. Each player then took their spins to the Money Clock, which now had four spaces. The four spaces read zero, $100, $300, and $1,000, with the $1,000 space much smaller than the rest. As before, the contestant watched the pointer for a few seconds, then turned away to stop it by hitting a plunger. The space they landed on was the amount of dollars they won. The player with the highest score won the game, but both players kept whatever they earned on the Money Clock.
• 'Game 2: Tube Game' – Davidson described an ABC show that was on in a given year. Players buzz in to guess what show he's describing, and a right answer wins a point. Davidson then describes an NBC show from the same year, then a CBS show. After that, Davidson asked questions pertaining to the three shows. First to five points won the game and a prize.
• 'Game 3: Jukebox Game' – Four jukeboxes were shown, each emblazoned with a different year from a certain decade. A song is played, and two possible artists are given. Buzzing in with the right artist won the right to match the song with the year it was released. If they got a match, they got a point. If they missed, their opponent got one chance to pick the right one and steal the point. The jukebox with the right answer was eliminated from play regardless. If all the jukeboxes were eliminated, then the contestants just had to identify the song's artist to get the point, without having to match the song to a year. First to three points won the game and a prize.

Lineup #2[edit]

• 'Game 1: On The Button' – An event was given, and one player guessed what year the event happened in. Getting it exactly right won a point for that player. If they guessed wrong, Davidson would say whether the event happened before or after that year, and the other contestant had a chance to guess. This continued until one player got three points, winning the game and a prize. This game used the same set as 'Sweet Sixteen'.
• 'Game 2: 3 In A Row' – Just like before, each square of a tic-tac-toe board had a different year from the same decade. Three spaces in a row were marked with stars; these made up the 'Magic 3 In A Row'. One player was given two events. The contestant picked an event from the two choices, and the year it happened in lit up. A new event takes the selected one's place, and the other contestant picked one. Picking a space in the Magic 3 In A Row won $100, which the contestant kept win or lose. The contestant who lit up the third space in the Magic 3 In A Row won the game and a prize.
• 'Game 3: Main Event' – As before, a base year was given along with five categories. The game begins with a pot of $200. The contestants alternate picking categories, each one having one question with two possible answers. Each correct answer adds $200 to the pot. After all the categories were played, clues to a “Main Event” were revealed one at a time. The first person to buzz in and correctly guess the Main Event won the game and the pot.

The Time Machine Trapped In Time Game

Challenge Round[edit]

The Time Capsule round from the previous format was reworked into a two-player game and renamed the 'Challenge Round' following the format change. The winner from the mini-games portion of the show faced off against the returning champion. The format for the Challenge Round remained the same, with the closest player winning and playing the bonus round. If the winning mini-games player was unable to unseat the champion, they kept whatever prizes were in their prize bank.

Bonus Round[edit]

Three different bonus games were used during the show's run.

• Bonus Round #1 – Four events were given, only one of which happened in a given year. If the contestant picked the right event, he or she won a growing Jackpot of prizes. The champion only played for the prizes if he or she guessed the exact year in the Time Capsule round.
• Bonus Round #2 – A target year was given, and up to four questions were asked. The contestant's job was to guess whether the event occurred before or after the given year. Four correct answers won the bonus round, a prize package that included a new car, and a cash jackpot that began at $1,000 and increased $1,000 every day until hit. The game ended if the player missed a question, but each time he/she made it back to the bonus round one less correct answer was required to win.
• Bonus Round #3 – This bonus round was used when the second format began and was played exactly the same way as the second bonus, but instead of playing for the prize package and cash the champion played for the car. The champion had to provide four answers to win the car on the first try, with one less required for each return trip, and the car was automatically won if the player made it to a fifth day. Under this format, a champion retired when they won the car; the contestant they defeated in that day's Challenge Round then became the new champion.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Time Machine on IMDb