The Longest Journey (PC, 2000)

The Longest Journey is the prequel to: "Dreamscape: the Longest Journey.":
It is a game created in 2000, when point-clicking games where still quite dominant. The graphics, back then, where pretty good. It's not bad, but you have to keep in mind that this game was created before our major hit's.
I suggest you buy this game if your looking to find more info about April Ryan. If you have Dreamscape, and you want the whole story, definitely buy this. Other wise, unless your into oldies, like me, or there are just some games that you have to have in your stash, also like me, this game will probably not be the best for you.

Over the past few years I have acquired more than 100 fantasy adventure games and was just looking on ebay to see what was "new". I came across "The Longest Journey", read the info and decided to go for it. As it turned out, I won the item at a remarkable price & received it promptly. However, as this was a Christmas gift, my wife wouldn't let me have it right away! Once I started the game, it was like a good book you couldn't put down. There is not much more I could add to the already published reviews. The backgrounds, scenery and architecture were amazing, however the characters were less detailed and a little "stiff". The dialogues between characters were informative (although long)and sometimes hard to absorb it all. Thank goodness the programmers included a printed transcript which could be reviewed!

The puzzles and clues were easier to figure out than some games, with only a few that caused you to have to back-track to retrieve items.

As for the story itself, it was indeed a "long journey" to get to the end of the mission and once you got there, it was a climatic conclusion. The special effects were comparable to a movie, but could have had more cinema graphics depicting the restored balance and harmony of the two worlds, rather than the leading character just "walking off the set".

All things considered, I would say that this game rates near the top of my list for special effects and interaction. However, one word of caution, that I have not seen any other reviewers mention...Adult Language! My version was a DVD with a 16+ rating, and there were two characters that used the "F" word several times. Although I found it "acceptable" for the characters, I feel that it was overdone, and anyone who is offended by this type of dialogue should be forewarned!

On the other side of the coin, there is comedy interjected that will definately bring a smile to your face!

'Nuff said...I am starting the sequel "Dreamfall" (also acquired on ebay) and the graphics are also great. However, the playability is entirely different...and that's another story!

"The Longest Journey" is a very well-executed point-and-click adventure in the same vein as the various LucasArts classics. The world is intricately detailed and each character speaks and acts like a real person with a real history. Most of the puzzles make logical sense, so you will almost never be playing the "combine random items to see if anything works" trick that is so prevalent in many of these types of adventures.

The graphics are dated but have aged very well, with beautifully rendered backgrounds and detailed character models. Voice acting is diverse and believable; it is among the best I have ever heard in any type of computer or video game.

There are very few negative aspects of this game. First, there is a bit too much dialogue, and even though the voice acting is terrific, the conversations tend to drag on. Luckily, you can skip the dialogue one line at a time (if you read the subtitles faster than the character speaks) and the game automatically keeps a diary of any important information that people tell you.

Second, there is a major bug towards the beginning of the game that makes it impossible to solve a particular puzzle and progress onwards. As far as I could tell, it occurs randomly and there is no patch for it; however, it is near the beginning of the game so restarting isn't such a big deal. (There is another very minor glitch later on but there is a patch offered on the game's website.)

In conclusion, "The Longest Journey" is simply a must-have for anyone who enjoys thinking. If you miss the old days of the point-and-click adventure, this game will bring back all the humor and amazement that you miss. If you've never played a point-and-clicker, this game will introduce you to the absolute best of the best of the genre.

It's great to see that adventure games are not dead, but The Longest Journey is a far cry from the adventure games of yesteryear. Funcom got a lot of things right with this game but they also fell into the popular traps of the genre. Puzzles are great when they are challenging and you can figure them out with a little research, but mixing up random inventory items to create crazy devices that MacGyver would never even think of is going a bit too far.

An adventure game needs to keep you involved. I recently returned the Dreamcast game Shenmue because it was 90% movies and 10% gameplay. When you have to sit there and watch/listen to hours and hours of dialog to only be rewarded with insane puzzles or trying to hunt the next location to trigger the next movie, the game ceases to be interactive entertainment and just becomes annoying.

The Longest Journey can be found in most stores for around $30-40 and there are rumors of a DVD special edition possibly coming to the US. I'm probably going to offend a lot of TLJ fans and I am certainly going against the mainstream reviewers, but I don't care. Despite the wonderful graphics, great voice acting and original story, I truly did not enjoy this game. The Longest Journey may be a glimpse of the future of adventure gaming, but hopefully designers that draw on its premise will be able to offer a better mix of interactivity than this game delivers.

If you enjoy a great PC game adventure game with brilliant scenery and good graphics, then by all means get this one and play it. Lots of interesting and colorful characters fill the game with fun and suspense. I recommend taking your time and fully enjoying this one as, while at times it seems it will never end, when it is over you find yourself wishing there was more. It is truly "the longest journey" but one well worth the time of anyone who enjoys many interactive characters with many terrific scene changes. One drawback I found was that the dialogue at times was a bit too long, and there is no way to avoid it as you need the information to progress in the game. But, all in all, a minor distraction in a terrific adventure game. If you liked "Siberia" you will like this one! Highly recommended.