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| The Longest Journey | // review |
| In the Beginning It seems that point and click adventures are few and far between these days, although with the recent announcement of Monkey Island 4 we may see a resurgence. Until then, and hopefully long after, we have The Longest Journey. In it's simplest form, The Longest Journey is simply a linear set of puzzles, each section leading to the next. However, it is more than this. There is a story being told, and this game is much more like an interactive movie than an adventure game or RPG. It is possible to complete the game without taking any notice of this, but why would you? Aren't all good adventure games as much about the story as the game itself? You play April Ryan, an 18 year old art student newly moved to the big city. You are introduced to April and her friends and contemporaries by actually playing the part of April - going to her local cafe and meeting her peer group, talking to her landlady, even (briefly) doing her job and attending her art college. Using the time-tested method of talking to everyone you can soon reveals more information about April, and about her surroundings. This adventure game is intended for an adult audience. Whilst the puzzles early on are fairly easy, the difficulty level does increase the further into the game you get. Sometimes the solution to a puzzle can seem obscure, but with a little bit of thought, the answer becomes clear. I will give you one hint, something that had me stuck for a very long time - Seagulls like breadcrumbs, but not if you feed them directly. The dialogue is also appropriate for the characters. Yes, there is swearing, but there is much less swearing in the course of this game than there is in every day life. I have seen other people be shocked by this aspect of the game, as well the acceptance that yes, perhaps April Ryan is a normal, functioning human being. Mind you, when compared to the asexuality evident in the vast majority of adventure games then I can understand being initially put out by the occasional swear word, or the intimation of sexuality evident in a couple of places. Graphics and Sound The graphics in this game are very impressive. There are two complete worlds, each with their own unique character and atmosphere. Stark, the world of technology and April's home is very reminiscent of that found in Bladerunner - a dark vision of the future where technology rules, where people mistrust each other and suspicion reigns. Arcadia, the world of light and magic is, by contrast, light and airy and the people are friendly and helpful. Each location within the game has been beautifully rendered, with additional characters and background elements added using 3D models. When you compare it with titles like Myst and Riven, then perhaps each scene is not as precise as it could be. Honestly though, this can only be a good thing. There is life in each scene - and it's not there by accident, or added for effect. You really do get a sense of a real world behind the scenes. Each time you visit a location during an episode the additional characters may be the same, but if you return at a later time, then some will have moved on, others will have arrived. Or perhaps they will just have moved from one location to another. On top of this each location is filled with appropriate ambient sound, and each of the characters has been individually cast and recorded, with their speech appropriate to not only their location, but their appearance and their apparent age. The music is just right, and never becomes annoying. In the cafe, it is even possible to use the jukebox to change the music that's playing, which is a nice touch. The control system is fairly intuitive, and makes it easy to manipulate objects. Any hotspot within the game has a possible three actions that can be performed on it, although they are not necessarily the same three actions. The most used though are Look, Talk and Get, variously used to get a description or a close up look at an object, to speak to someone or to eat something, and the collect or use option. Utilising objects within the game is also just as easy - select the object from your inventory, 'Get' it, then place it over the item in the world you want to interact with. Here is where the programmers have included a little bit of guidance. A lot of point and click adventure games consist of no more than trying every item in your inventory with every hotspot on the screen. In The Longest Journey if the item you have can be used with the hotspot, then it will glow slightly. This doesn't detract from the game, and doesn't mean that you can just grab an item at random and try it everywhere - sometimes you may have to perform other actions before an item can be used with a hot spot. And sometimes you have to combine items in your inventory, or perhaps one item you grabbed actually has more going for it than you originally thought. It pays to check. Character Interaction Each character you interact with is modelled individually, and each character has their own definite personality. When speaking with another character, you become involved in what they are saying, and in how it relates to April's life or her quest. You also gain some insight into each of the characters own backgrounds, and how they feel about certain events. Oh, and don't think you'll just be speaking to humans - oh, no. Arcadia is a world of magic, and you will have to journey far from home to finish the story. On top of that, expect to meet camp policemen, arrogant policemen and a whole host of other characters, including one who lives backwards through time. As you continue along your journey, you will work your way through various vignettes of story, and you can normally tell when you're going around in circles as you will repeat short conversations with various characters. At other times, longer conversations will elicite new information, and sometimes just listening is the right course of action. Or you may have to leave one location and return to complete an action - and don't assume that something that looks like it should be part of the game but can't be interacted with isn't part of the game - you may be able to do something with it later. Problems If there is one criticism that will be levelled at this game it is that at times the dialogue seems overly long. This is true in many respects - you could shorten the dialogue without affecting the game. However, dialogue is an essential part of the game. Unlike most games of this ilk that rely on action, or puzzle solving, it feels like those parts of the game are secondary to the narrative. That's not to say they don't have value, as often solving a puzzle is integral to the storyline, or to the advancement of the game. There is the odd graphical glitch as you play, with characters appearing to walk in front of or behind objects they perhaps shouldn;'t be able to, and some of the interaction animation could do with some work, however these are only niggling things - they don't detract from the game, they don't cause insurmountable problems, and they won't affect how the game plays. I had difficulty originally playing the beta as certain actions could be repeated even though the second time around you would get stuck. This time around, I tried - and the problem had been fixed, meaning I didn't get stuck. In fact, there was no time during the entire game that I got stuck, even though at times I had performed tasks in a different order to that suggested in the walkthrough. Plot Development & Storyline Any good adventure game will have a strong plot line, and an involving story. The developers of The Longest Journey have provided both. It's taken three years to create, and has been released in many languages other than English - in fact, it was named Game of the Year in Norway even before it was released in the UK - and as you read this, it's highly unlikely that it has been released in the US at all. Such is the fickle nature of game publishing. The story is developed throughout the game, with additinal parts of the plot being given to you as you complete various parts of the game. The vast majority of this is done through dialogue, although there is an abundance of suitable cutscenes, drawing you further into the game, and giving you a better understanding of what you must do. It is through this medium that you are first introduced to the world of Arcadia. There is the odd action scene within the game, but since this is an adventure game rather than an action game, you will never be in a position where you have to react quickly to solve a particular puzzle, and you cannot die. In these situations, you need not panic that you won't be able to escape, or that you will have to load a saved game - there will always be an option to solve the dilemma you are facing without resorting to these methods. Summary If you're a fan of point and click adventure games, buy this. It will keep you going for a long time. Perhaps not as long as Riven, since the puzzles aren't as hard, but by the end you will feel like you know April - and you'll feel sad when the game ends. There is a real sense of achievement and excitement when you know you're near then finish, coupled with a sense of sadness that the experience is about to end. This game is certainly not to everyone's taste though. In researching this review I read most of the recent published reveiws, both on the Internet and in magazines. The conclusions varied wildly, some reviewers disliking the game, some absolutely loving it. I find myself firmly in the latter camp, and happy to recommend this game to anyone. | |
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