Journey - An Experience Worth The Hype

Photo taken from www.thatgamecompany.com

Today I will be posting my first PS3 related post. What better way than to talk about the PS3 exclusive title "Journey."

I heard about Journey through Twitter. PlayStation's twitter page retweeted someone's comments about how the game related to their wanting to reach their lost loved one. I was instantly curious. I then saw that Journey was the number one downloaded game over a span of time. That only sparked my curiosity more.

Well two days ago I decided now was the time to snag Journey and see for myself what all the hype was about. The first thing I noticed about the game was there was no dialogue. I also enjoyed the fact that the cutscenes were to a minimum. In this current culture of video games, it is definitely welcome.

In short, the game is about a red hooded figure with no visible arms that can fly on short spurts whenever its scarf is "powered up." The whole game is centered around a mountain and your goal is to reach the peak. I won't really get much more into the premise. You'll find out for yourself.

The game is quite fun. After clumsily getting used to the simple and fluid controls you'll find yourself fully immersed into this desert world. The landscape is huge - real huge. It is more centered around figuring out how to get past the levels and not on antagonists. Well except for the Legend of Zelda like one eyed flying monster thing that locks in on you and once you're hit your scarf takes damage. The main antagonist, I would wager, is the mountain itself or shall we say nature.

Which leads me to my next point in this little blog. The mountain seems to be something that each and every person can choose to interpret in their own way. Some can see it as their journey to Heaven or to someone who has passed away. Others might see it as their life goals or professional goals and the obstacles that so annoyingly get in the way. Some might just see it as a mountain and nothing more. That's the best part of this game. You can interpret this game as personally or impersonally as you want. There are no right or wrong answers!

I'll suggest this game to anyone. I completed the journey in 2 and a half hours but I can see it stretching into the 3 or 4 hour mark for a more thorough gamer. It makes for a great gaming experience with a desire to replay it. It kind of reminds me of a Wizards and Warriors type replayability. Sometimes a person wants to just play a game and not watch cutscenes for 4 hours before any significant gaming goes down. While short, Journey is a must get and I recommend it to anyone with 14.99 in their pocket.

For a file size of under 600mb I was surprised how great the graphics are