Powerpoint sucks because no one uses it to its advantage. If you managed links and animations properly you still make an amazing presentation and no one will image you used ppt.
http://lifehacker.com/5697481/five-ways-to-not-suck-at-powerpoint
^^Is a good start. If you've ever seen the AMC show "The Pitch" they have a lot of awesome ideas too, albeit they have media teams that get paid to spend days on these type of projects.
I'm about to date myself, but I remember using hyperstudio way back in the day.