Just so we're clear (and in case anyone's lame enough to make this joke) I'm reviewing Journey, which is a downloadable game available only on the PSN, not the band.
It was...pretty good, I guess. Journey is a very neat and interesting game, it's just that I feel like I missed something. And I'm afraid to admit that because I honestly had no idea what was going on throughout the entire game.
You play as some sort of cloaked...personage...thing, who's only purpose in life is to reach this giant glowing mountain. The game starts out in a desert where you see the mountain in the distance and you get closer and closer as the game progresses. (Well obviously.)
Other than walking and controlling the camera, there's only two other things you can do. You can press and hold X to fly (you have this long scarf thing that kind of serves as a bar to show you how long you can fly) and you can press O to emit this weird magical burp thing, you use your magical burp to interact with objects that help you progress, so it's like a puzzle type deal.
Every time you finish an area, you get this cutscene where a very tall white version of you towers above you and then shows you some hieroglyphs that are supposed to tell you the story or something. Like I said I had no idea what was going on, sorry if that makes me stupid.
The most interesting thing about Journey is the co-op feature. Randomly after starting the game, another player exactly identical to you will just randomly pop in and unless one or the other leaves, you'll probably end up playing the entire game together. This is a feature I was very grateful for, because unlike me, my partner clearly knew what he or she was doing.
Having a silent partner guide me all the way through the game, showing me secrets that I most likely would have missed, and putting up with my constant fails, is something I've never experienced in a video game before. I think the biggest reason as to why so many people like this game is because how simple yet emotional the interactivity between you and your partner is. (realizes how creepy that sounds but whatever.) One moment that really stands out in my memory was this time that me and my partner got separated. I can remember madly mashing the O button, emitting my magical burp as much and as far as I could. You see this is the only method I could think of for saying "Dude! Where are you?! I'm totally screwed without you!" I then saw other magical burps off in the distance and we were able to find each other. I then ran around him in circles to show how happy I was to find him. Without spoiling anything, there's a lot of tender moments like that that stand out in memory, and I know it probably won't be the same for everyone but there's this part towards the end that I'm sure will be the same for everyone.
Other than that, Journey has the prettiest sand, snow, and overall weather effects I've ever seen. The music is beautiful and the way different notes emit based on how you interact with things is incredible.
The biggest problem and the thing most people are complaining about is how absurdly short it is; it's about 1-2 hours long. I can't tell if this was intentional or not, because I think this game was meant to be played in one sitting, make what you will of that. Plus it's assumed that you'll play this several times too. But still, $15 for 1-2 hours of gameplay is something that is sure to turn many players away.
Conclusion: Sorry if this review is giving off so many mixed signals, but that's because this is honestly the most baffling game I've ever dealt with. Journey is a very emotional game that is sure to give you some fond memories, but other than that it's just a confusing trail of pretty colors and music. Like I said, I feel like I missed something and because of that I feel a little stupid, but I can also see why a lot of people like this game. So if anything I said sounds appealing to you, and you're willing to spend $15, then give it a shot. Because if anything, it is a neat little experience.
EDIT: This is like the 3rd time I've tried to get this up because captcha keeps messing up for me, so sorry if this ends up being a double post.
It was...pretty good, I guess. Journey is a very neat and interesting game, it's just that I feel like I missed something. And I'm afraid to admit that because I honestly had no idea what was going on throughout the entire game.
You play as some sort of cloaked...personage...thing, who's only purpose in life is to reach this giant glowing mountain. The game starts out in a desert where you see the mountain in the distance and you get closer and closer as the game progresses. (Well obviously.)
Other than walking and controlling the camera, there's only two other things you can do. You can press and hold X to fly (you have this long scarf thing that kind of serves as a bar to show you how long you can fly) and you can press O to emit this weird magical burp thing, you use your magical burp to interact with objects that help you progress, so it's like a puzzle type deal.
Every time you finish an area, you get this cutscene where a very tall white version of you towers above you and then shows you some hieroglyphs that are supposed to tell you the story or something. Like I said I had no idea what was going on, sorry if that makes me stupid.
The most interesting thing about Journey is the co-op feature. Randomly after starting the game, another player exactly identical to you will just randomly pop in and unless one or the other leaves, you'll probably end up playing the entire game together. This is a feature I was very grateful for, because unlike me, my partner clearly knew what he or she was doing.
Having a silent partner guide me all the way through the game, showing me secrets that I most likely would have missed, and putting up with my constant fails, is something I've never experienced in a video game before. I think the biggest reason as to why so many people like this game is because how simple yet emotional the interactivity between you and your partner is. (realizes how creepy that sounds but whatever.) One moment that really stands out in my memory was this time that me and my partner got separated. I can remember madly mashing the O button, emitting my magical burp as much and as far as I could. You see this is the only method I could think of for saying "Dude! Where are you?! I'm totally screwed without you!" I then saw other magical burps off in the distance and we were able to find each other. I then ran around him in circles to show how happy I was to find him. Without spoiling anything, there's a lot of tender moments like that that stand out in memory, and I know it probably won't be the same for everyone but there's this part towards the end that I'm sure will be the same for everyone.
Other than that, Journey has the prettiest sand, snow, and overall weather effects I've ever seen. The music is beautiful and the way different notes emit based on how you interact with things is incredible.
The biggest problem and the thing most people are complaining about is how absurdly short it is; it's about 1-2 hours long. I can't tell if this was intentional or not, because I think this game was meant to be played in one sitting, make what you will of that. Plus it's assumed that you'll play this several times too. But still, $15 for 1-2 hours of gameplay is something that is sure to turn many players away.
Conclusion: Sorry if this review is giving off so many mixed signals, but that's because this is honestly the most baffling game I've ever dealt with. Journey is a very emotional game that is sure to give you some fond memories, but other than that it's just a confusing trail of pretty colors and music. Like I said, I feel like I missed something and because of that I feel a little stupid, but I can also see why a lot of people like this game. So if anything I said sounds appealing to you, and you're willing to spend $15, then give it a shot. Because if anything, it is a neat little experience.
EDIT: This is like the 3rd time I've tried to get this up because captcha keeps messing up for me, so sorry if this ends up being a double post.