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Should I spell my thoughts as "amazing" or as "mindblowing"?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 45 / 45
Date: November 14, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I just browsed through the games rack when this box caught my eye. The description on the back was promising and so it wasn't long before my bank account was emptier and I was siting before my little silverscreen and enjoying the first scenes of this breath-takingly beautiful and absolutely mesmerizing story.

The begining informs us that we are going to hear a story that ends where it begins, as all good stories do, and so we are introduced (well, not exactly) to the Guardian of Balance and a little bit later to Ms. Ryan and her weird dreamworld. The quality of movies, areas, and overall graphics is very good and that is one of the things that makes you want to follow the story, to see more of the (un)real worlds. But soon you understand that the story that you are playing/watching/living has swallowed you so completely that it is hard to get away from it even for a few minutes. Yes, it is THAT good and it gets better with every step you take (literally) and every word you say.

Two of my friends have played it and they said that it was the best came they had ever played, and I'm afraid that I have to say the same. For first, there has never been a game so emotional: I'm the type of guy who will soon download a walkthrough if he gets stuck but this game was different - I got stuck sometimes for 2-3 hours but I never downloaded the ticket to freedom because it wouldn't have been fair, wouldn't have been real. Secondly comes the environment; the visuals, the audio, the little details... everything is right. And last, but not least, is the story that is one of the best I've ever experienced. In the end, when you almost only watch the screen and listen to the dialogues, you don't mind the fact that you can't be the one who wins the game, because the game shows you what happens in the end, tells you the story's grand finale.

So, there is nothing bad to say about this game (and that deffinitely is a good sign) and very many good things. I'll only tell you this: if you don't play it, you'll loose the longest and the greatest experience of your life.

A Game So Good, You'll Want to Share It

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 44 / 44
Date: November 02, 2000
Author: Amazon User

The Longest Journey is the type of game that isn't supposed to get made anymore: intelligent, affecting, host to dozens of fantastic locations and believable characters, and unforgettable. I'm a big fan of adventure titles like Grim Fandango, Zero Critical, and The Curse of Monkey Island, but comparatively The Longest Journey doesn't seem like a game at all: it's a whole lot better. You could say it's like being in an interactive movie, but most movies aren't even this good.

Unlike Myst-type games, where you pan through still shots to go from scene to scene, in the Longest Journey, you follow the story by directing a single character, April Ryan. The interface is almost identical to The Curse of Monkey Island, except that it's in a more-detailed, more three-dimensional world. With out giving anything away, the plot is somewhat familiar but terrific nevertheless.

Put succinctly-since every review here so far is five-stars-The Longest Journey is must-have stuff. That expression is overused, but it's titles like these that keep it around. There is material that some adults may find distressing, but it's much tamer than a typical day in high school. I'd recommend the game to anyone fourteen or older, especially younger folks who can empathize with April Ryan and her feelings of displacement, confusion, and amazement in settings that can be both magical and ultra-realistic at once.

If The Longest Journey were a young adult novel, it'd be an instant success. Don't let the format keep you away from enjoying the strong story or truly genuine characters of The Longest Journey-stuff this good is just too hard to find.

Time-consuming, but well worth it.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 49 / 52
Date: February 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I'll be brief; The Longest Journey is the best adventure game I've played in a long time, possibly ever. The plot is interesting, the voice acting excellent, the graphics attractive, and the world(s) immersive in the best sense. That said, there are a few issues that have been raised by other reviewers.

DIALOGUE: Oh, yes, there is an awful lot of dialogue in this game, gobs and gobs of it. There are sections in the game where you will spend some minutes just listening to the characters talk. Much of it is critical to the puzzles or the plot, but some is just used to develop the characters. This, to me, is part of the game's charm; the characters in the game really ARE characters, and not just tools used to solve puzzles. My advice is to treat these moments as extended cut-scenes; stand up, stretch your legs, rest your mouse hand and enjoy the show.

PROFANITY: Yes, several characters use copious amounts of profanity. It's not necessary to the game, but it does reveal a lot about the characters in question, and makes them feel more real. One commercial review I read referred to this game as "the HBO of adventure games"; that seems about right to me.

DELAYS: The one issue that did trouble me about this game was the necessity to run across large, empty screens each time you wanted to get to a certain destination. These screens served to set the scene nicely when first encountered, but could be skipped afterwards with no harm done to the plot.

TLJ is slow-paced, large in scope, and (for me at least) engrossing. It's not for everyone, as some of the other reviews on this page will show, but those who are willing to put in the time will be well rewarded. If you're impatient to get to the end of a game, TLJ is probably not for you. However, if you treat the journey itself as the destination, you'll really enjoy the ride.

Very Good Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 35 / 35
Date: March 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is a wonderful game. The story is well written and the puzzles the right degree of difficulty that challenges without putting you off the game. The graphics are quite good and so are the sounds. However, I didn't like the ending, it was a little disappointing and that's the main reason I did not give 5 stars. It's not the ending is unexpected, it just seems that the story built up to something different and when you get to the end, you feel that the writers needed something fast, so they came up with this.

All in all, it's definitely worth playing.

A good game, but a note of caution...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 30 / 30
Date: December 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

First of all, let me say that this is a fantastic game. The sound is great, the settings and characters are (mostly) appealing to the eye, exciting and fresh, the puzzles are challenging without being frustrating (a fine line, as any seasoned adventure gamer will know)...simply put, it is one of the best adventure games to come out in a long time, my favorite since Grim Fandango, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good time. It is certainly a breath of fresh air for the weakening adventure genre. However, anyone buying this game should be forewarned of a couple things... -The gamer with a short attention span should steer well clear of this one. The game is steeped in numerous LONG conversations, which are not so much conversations as just sitting unmoving, unblinking at your computer for up to 20 or 30 minutes (no joke, I have timed several). While these monologues progress, you must stay at your screen to prod your character to respond to some question the other person has asked you, just to keep their monologue moving, and you really have to pay attention to what they are saying to grasp the game. During these lectures (and I found that they made up roughly half the game), there is hardly ever anything entertaining to look at on the screen and, well...it can get pretty dull. Fortunately, if you fall asleep or if your mind just wanders off in the middle of a deep conversation, you do have access to a conversation log, which keeps a record of all your conversations and can be accessed at any times, as well as a diary mode which gives a summary of the most important conversations. While these two features are most welcome to those of us who do not do very well in lectures, it is too bad that you cannot skip these conversations if you like and skim them over later (while you can skip the conversation, if you choose to do so it will not be added to your log). -The other warning I would give is mostly to parents. Keep in mind that this game is rated mature...and should be treated as such. It is not appropriate for children. Although the game is relatively free of violence (a breath of fresh air), it contains a great deal of adult subject matter. While I was not offended, if you do not want your kid subjected to sexual subject matter or profanity, you should not get this game. All in all, this is a fantastic game. The puzzles are great, the story is rich, deep and involving, and you get quite an adventure bang for your buck.

Great story with a great sense of humor!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 27 / 28
Date: January 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I purchased The Longest Journey after having read review after review saying it was one of the best Adventure games ever. But the reviews of the game could not truly capture what it was about the game that makes it such an excellent work of art.

1) The characters come to life. You will find yourself getting involved with all of the characters. You will get to know them very well.. probably too well. The voice acting of the characters is fantastic, and you really feel like these computer generated characters are real people.

2) A great sense of humor. You are pretty much guaranteed a good laugh or two every few minutes of gameplay. The first night of playing this game, I found myself laughing almost constantly. There are a couple of parts in the story where the humor builds up so much that you will laugh non-stop for the entire conversation! I am a big fan of comedy, but never has a game made me laugh so hard.

3) The graphics are amazing. The characters could use a bit of work, but the backgrounds are all fantastic, as well as the movies.

If you are buying this for your children, beware, as the content is very mature. But if you're buying it for yourself, and you like adventure games, you will surely enjoy this one.

The combination of wonderful voice acting, great comedy, and beautiful videos depict one of the greatest stories of any computer game to date.

The best adventure game I have ever played. Period.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 30 / 33
Date: October 23, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is totally amazing. No question, it's the best adventure game I have ever seen.

The story. You play an 18 year old art student called April Ryan who lives in a 23rd century city called Newport, in a little neighbourhood called Venice. Life is pretty much the same as today apart from holosculptures, cops with exoskeletons and DNA scanners on subways. But weird things are happening in Venice. April's dreams are becoming more and more vivid, strange creatures appear in the local cafe and the only person who seems to know what to do is the mysterious old man, Cortez.

Through him April learns there are two Earths, one - her own - called Stark, the other Arcadia. One is science and logic, the other chaos and magic, and both have been held in Balance for eons. But now the Balance is crumbling. The Guardian has left his Tower, the malignant Vanguard are advancing and the only person who can save the worlds from being torn apart is April, who learns a strange gift called Shifting - passing from Stark to Arcadia and back again.

She embarks on a journey from the depths of an Arcadian ocean to the space station in Stark in her quest to not only heal the Balance but to find out who she really is, and why.

So why is this game so great?

First, it has deep, believeable characters with nary a stereotype or cutout in sight. Every person in TLJ has their own personality and enjoys it to the fore. April herself grows as a person during the game, which is unusual for a female heroine, and her history and character become more and more important as the game progresses. And somehow she never loses her sense of humour, whatever happens.

The story is engrossing and amazing with plenty of great twists. I got on a roll playing this and found myself desperate to carry on at midnight just to find out what happened next.

The graphics and cutscenes are just incredible. The whole game is beautifully rendered. Although the 3D characters don't always mesh too well with the 2D background, they look stunning. Arcadia is very beautiful but Stark has its moments as well, especially where the cutscenes are concerned.

The music is hauntingly lovely, and suits the game perfectly. Most of the emotion in the game is portrayed through the sound and music.

Two useful little extras if you're stuck are the Conversation Log and April's diary. You can read both to help you sift for clues as to what to do next, but in actual fact the game is pretty linear so you rarely get stuck for long.

The only things I would caution about this game are the language and the dialogue. A couple of the Stark characters turn the air blue which may be realistic but not suitable for younger children. There is also plenty of social awareness in the game, which is great but also may not be suitable. PG 13 would be a good rating for TLJ. The dialogue does also tend to go on a bit at times, and though it might contain important clues your eyes do tend to glaze sometimes.

All that aside, you won't regret buying this game. It's funny, touching, inspiring and beautiful.

The Adventures Of A Lifetime !

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 24 / 25
Date: October 23, 2000
Author: Amazon User

There must be a good reason why the original game, which was extremely popular in Norway, was made into serveral languages. the obvious reason that is is the GREATEST !

Unlike most adventure games, this isn't a " Myst Clone" type. Instead it is the traditional " point and click " adventure game.

You play April Ryan, an 18 year-old smart mouth art student. She discovers that she is a shifter, able to "shift" between two graphically beautifully designed world of Stark ( a world of technology and logic ) and Arcadia ( a world of fantasy and magic ). Along the way you will meet an array of interesting characters and solve many clever puzzles.

This is a game with a fantastic storyline that is well integrated into the game not like most games that are made today.

The original music score, the funny conversations and the excellent voice acting makes this one game worth playing and waiting for.

One major set back is the long and sometimes boring conversations you will have with the characters. But each conversation that you make will be recorded, which is quite useful. Overall this game is not suitable for anyone who few offended by foul language but it is definately and should be, the best game of the year. Why not try the demo?

Charming Story

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 20 / 20
Date: January 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

As a long time adventure addict it was a real pleasure to find a new adventure story. The tale tells of April Ryan, an 18 year old woman, who runs away from home to become an art student. The Longest Journey is both a lovingly depicted tale told with a great deal of verve and imagination and the symbolic telling of a young woman's coming of age.

I found much to love about the game. Not only April, but many of the lesser characters are well developed, showing a depth far beyond the typical computer adventure game. Characters like Crow and Cortez have a real sparkle. The two worlds are extremely detailed in a style reminiscent of Jack Vance or Roger Zelazny.

The puzzles are almost all solvable by reasonable experimentation. It's a relief to find a game where you do not also have to by the 'guide.' On the whole, this is a very fine effort.

Several things keep me from giving it five stars though. The action is a little to slow for modern tastes. There is a great deal of dialogue and it is a bit too didactic for me. Finally, several of the characters use very strong language - hence the game's rating for mature (17+) players. Had the language been softened a bit The Longest Journey would have been a superb experience for any child or adult.

On the whole though this is a complete winner. Very rarely does a game come to market this well crafted.

Simply Amazing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 22
Date: November 26, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I don't write reviews very often. This game had me enthralled in a way not many adventure games do (my favorite genra). From start to finish I couldn't put the mouse down.

If you liked games like Grim Fandango or Black Dahlia, Curse of Monkey Island, you simply have no choice but to buy this game. It's been a very long time since a game of this caliber came out. In fact, I think I'd have to go back to Grim Fandango to think of a game that was this good. But I think this was better.

Maybe it's because this game had a year to stew before the US got its hands on it, but I had absolutely no problems with bugs. I didn't need a patch. The voices can be choppy at times, but not horribly so...and the game more than makes up for this problem.

The voice acting was incredible. The graphics were extremely well done. And the story...oh the story. There is a lot of dialogue, which I normally don't care for. But the lines are interesting, well acted, and made you care for all the characters, April especially. There is a humanness to all the characters, even non human.

If you are an adventure fan and can only buy one game in the next two months, let it be The Longest Journey.

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