RE:View: Journey

"Are video games art?" is a question I frequently see posed all around the web. The debate in which whether making something built for interaction is merely entertainment or an actual crafted product of creativity has raged online for a while now, with neither side quite trumping the other. But if Journey, the latest downloadable PSN title from thatgamecompany of Flower fame, is anything to go by, then the battle is substantially over. Journey is quite simply a marvel.

 You play as an unnamed robed traveller, Journeying across a desert wasteland to reach the distant mountain top and fulfill your mysterious destiny. That's it. No back-story, no cutscenes, no dialogue. You're just plopped into this dazzlingly bright world, and told to move in that direction. But it works, delightfully so. This is the kind of game where the less you know the better, so you can fully experience what happens around you as you play.

Thankfully, the back-drops in which you do this are of a very high-class level. Sun flares magnificently off the camera and illuminates the lush sands and stones for which to explore. And whilst the desert-based adventuring quickly changes to some surprising, even vaster and often unsettling climates, the visuals evolve along with it and help to truly immerse you in this odd, mysterious world.


In terms of controls, Journey is again kept bare-bones simple. Move, Fly and Shout are your three options as you navigate your traveller through the game. As you go along, you'll encounter strange creatures and tapestries in an asian-like language, that when brushed pass give you the limited ability to fly swiftly into the air to reach higher-places and glide over the terrain.

The Shout button gives you a personal insignia to broadcast and
interact with things within the world

But the greatest thing throughout Journey is the subtlety in which it takes players along the, well... Journey. As you progress, a little more is learnt about the world around you, and why the pilgrimage being undertook is being undertaken. You won't even notice it while playing, until you take a step back and realise you've been immersed within this game for the last couple hours and are absolutely with it. Naturally, the touching and ghostly score that accompanies the entire game does a lot to help accomplish this, coming out of nowhere at times with what you'd expect to hear in a big dramatic epic. The way it guides you without ever speaking a word is something to really respect in the way of both storytelling and game-making, that unfortunately is becoming less and less common in the age of the FPS and Action Orientated gaming.

And while roaming, you may notice another traveller join you on the unspoken quest. Not an NPC, but a real person, somewhere in the world playing Journey at the same time and in the same place as you. Seamlessly you are hooked up together, with no names given and no means of communication other than the Shout button, a single communication beacon to tap for a response. For me, this was what made the game truly magical: the ability to connect to another human being, watch and react to their little movements on screen, without having any preconceptions or information on who they are. Wondering around with someone like this increased the experience of Journey furthermore, because then everything just felt so real.

Companions

 We had a connection, a shared motif to play. But that's it. And so we Moved and Flew and Shouted together in a graceful harmony of what Journey really stood for. Hell, when one partner left me at a particularly dark part in the game, I was physically saddened and scared for the prospect of carrying on alone. When playing with another, there was this thrill, a sense of being that I'd never had with a game before. And then I reached the glorious final moments of the game, which were as harrowing as they were tremendous, due to me being alone and burdened with actual emotion within myself. It was madness, yet it was beautiful.

And when thinking about Journey, that seems like what it's all about: The Beauty. To give players a ride of awe and wonder with the game's presentation and experimental flow of story, to immerse them with the toppest of notch scores and brilliant execution, and then force them to feel the experience extend past the controller and screen, with the euphoria of an unseen connection whilst all these mechanics merge together to invade the mind and heart.

So when reaching those final few moments of the game, watching the credits roll and then presented once more with the start menu, I just had to stop. I had to think, to reflect, to be. It was quite a shock to have to do that at the end of a video game - I'd only ever experienced that "stare into space and absorb what just happened" moment when finishing an important book or film, but never a game. So you tell me, "Are video games art?"

If you own a PS3, if you can access the Store, and happen to have £10 free, then I believe you owe it to yourself to get Journey. As memorable as it is enjoyable (which is a seriously large amount), Journey is a modern masterpiece in gaming, and proves that you don't need guns and action to have a good time with your console. More than just a game; it's an experience, one that I doubt you'll find anywhere else for the short time it takes to finish. But of course, it's not about the destination...

A real game changer.

5 Stars

ATR

The Obligatory "What I Got For Christmas" Post

Ah Christmas, that annual time where most people celebrate that snowballing mish-mash of traditions and joy, and get given a bunch of stuff from friends and family, as well as giving back to them in a gracious show of love. Now, of course, the question on everyone's lips is obviously, "What did you get, Arnold?", because that's how god-damn inspirational I am to the world. Well alright, if you insist then... Don't worry though, I'm not going to start talking about all the pairs of socks I was given, no matter how awesome they were. Just significant, perhaps more exciting gifts, the majority with a hint of my absolute nerdiness.

Here are some awesome tile coasters, via my lovely Sister, each with a nice little nod to certain pop-cult entities. Left: Castle reference, Right: Superman/Smallville reference. 

A tidy set of Blu-Rays, featuring the coveted Star Wars set.

Some shiny brown work boots, just 'cause. 

Halo: Anniversary, and Assassins Creed: Revelations: Because no Holiday is complete without a fair share of video games.

A couple books, both with the Comic book industry in mind. On the left we have Grant Morrison's documentation of the world through superheroes and panels (signed, of course), and on the right, a visual commentary on the timeline of Marvel. 

A very pretty letter opener (because I suck at doing it with my hands), with an awesome Limited Edition Supes theme going on. 

Another sweet Superman thing: This huge canvas will look epic on my wall.

Writer/Actor/Comedian Alan Davies' new part auto-biography, part "talk about people he is inspired by" book. 

3 Graphic Novels, 2 of which changed the face of the industry forever (The Dark Knight Returns and The Sandman), while Old Man Logan is just too awesome. The quilt cover they rest on was also a present.

My highly-anticipated Jayne Hat, straight outta Firefly, complete with replica box and letter. "How's it sit?  Pretty cunning, don't you think?"

And the "I wonder what this could be used for" Blue Yeti USB microphone, for all my vocal and musical needs. Seen here accompanied by my new "We're not fancy, but we still rock" JVC headphones. Unlike me, who's always fancy. (Each gifted separately)

'Course, this is just a taster of all the awesome shizzle I got this year, because I don't think it's safe to expose your minds to the actual level of generosity that I was granted by my family. So thanks to all of you who were silly enough to spend unheard of riches on my humbled, yet grateful self. 'Tis a kindness, truly. Most of what you see here is from my Mum, Sister and Dad, so big, big props to them, and I hope you too were gifted such nice products of materialistic properties. "And a Happy New Year".

ATR

Battlefield 3: Beta Impressions

Overhyped, mayhaps?

The public beta for the highly anticipated Battlefield 3 launched earlier last week, and after a good few hours of hands on time with the demo (via the Xbox 360 version), I think I'm ready to share my thoughts and opinions of the so-called "COD Killer".

   The Beta contains one map, with one game type on, and provides players with an uncapped level limit within the four available classes to go nuts on. The map in question, Operation Metro, is based on a French metro line and the outlying areas. The gametype, Rush (which BF veterans will be accustomed to), has the 16 player attacking team destroying each base to move up to the next one, until all bases are destroyed (in this map's case, it's 5). The 16 player defending team meanwhile, must whittle down the attackers' 100 lives and prevent them from destroying the bases. Simple stuff.

     The map however, is somewhat lacking in "Battlefieldy-ness". By which I mean, it doesn't really contain the core things that Battlefield typically represents itself with, and what sets it aside from the likes of Medal of Honour and Call Of Duty. When entering my first match, I was expecting tanks and helicopters, maybe even a jet or two, to tear up the landscape with. Instead we get... nothing. No vehicles what so ever; not even a quad! Seeing as the vehicular aspect is one of Battlefield's biggest selling points, this really is quite the surprise.

Click To Enlarge

  Then there's the sudden disappearance of the great destructible environments that previous installments have prided themselves on. Don't get me wrong, they're still in there, towards the back end of the map, but it's very minimal all things considered. But still, the close combat corridors of a bombed out tube station provide real tense firefights between the dark, flamelit rails, and can usually more than make up for the sloppiness of the open ended park area at the start of the map.

Thankfully the core gameplay has stayed relatively the same from Bad Company 2. You pick from 4 classes; the heavy MG "Support", sniping "Recon", medical capable "Assault" and of course the "fix 'n' blow up" style of "Engineer". Each has a distinct feel to themselves, and gives a nice tactical element to the play, especially when teaming in a 4-player squad with spawning capabilities.

  New additions to the gameplay include the ability to go prone (very handy when going stealth) and lay down 'suppressing fire' to blur opponents screen. Although only minor features, these make for a more immersive and realistic experience, as you make a slow progressive crawl behind enemy lines or fire off suppressing rounds to cover team mates making a run for the base.

'Prone' to a little sniping, are we?

On the graphics side of things, I can't help but feel a little let down, and there's a good reason for it. You see, all the gameplay we've seen thus far through trailers and such have been taken from the PC version; a system harbouring graphical capabilities well beyond that of regular current gen consoles. And so, as the lack of detail and pop-in texture filters the screen, the sting of deception is naturally felt.


 Connectivity problems are to be expected and getting into a game with the squad you actually joined with is near enough impossible. More than a few times I've had the "loading screen of death", where by quitting and restarting is the only way out. Bugs are unfortunately commonplace throughout matches, with all manner of 'Under The Maps' and a rather hilarious Inception-esque glitch where all dead bodies slide slowly across the floor in a strange, unannounced gravity vortex.

The new Giraffe gametype was a blast

Of course, this is all in the Beta stage, and so most of these problems should be ironed out by the release of the full game at the end of the month (that is one of the main aims of a beta, after all). It just frazzles me why they'd pick such an uncharacteristically Battlefield map to basically sell their game upon. The logical answer is that they're trying to appeal to the Call Of Duty crowd, who just want to shoot at each other with no added gimmicks - but it's those very gimmicks that makes BF the preferred choice in many a gamers' collection.

Although it will undoubtedly sell  millions of copies, this beta has got me a little worried; has Battlefield 3 been overhyped? Can it really overcome the shortcomings of the beta to become the game it's been anticipated to be? Only time will tell; not much mind, as you can expect it to hit shelves (and swiftly leave them to become sold out) October 28th (UK).

ATR


More Games!

RE:Commend: Jetpack Joyride

I'll be kicking off the new RE:Commend (or just "Recommend", for you non-gimmicky types out there) feature with a sweet new iOS (meaning iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) game that rockets itself ahead of the rest. Jetpack Joyride is the latest iTitle from Halfbrick, the team behind previous Appstore hits such as "Monster Dash" and "Fruit Ninja". In this 69p gem, you'll be steering the good ol' Halfbrick Mascot, Barry Steakfries, through a precarious laboratory full of coins, lazers and awesome power-ups.

   Taking a new spin on the classic "Helicopter Game", this Joyride has you cruising around in crazy jetpacks (machine gun, bubbles, rainbows) to level up through a series of challenges and collect coins to purchase new jetpacks, clothing and power-ups, and ultimately reach the furthest distance. I've wasted a good couple hours (or so the game log says) to this since it was released a couple weeks ago, thanks to its awesomely addictive nature and "just one more" style setup. So if you happen to own a certain iDevice then get downloading, and be prepared for this to become your new go-to game!

DOWNLOAD NOW
ATR

The Sunday Supdate: 04/09/11

Because I'm a true believer in structure, I've decided to break Supdates up into relevant sections. Nothing major, just helps with the flow of transitioning into new topics and what not. So dive in!

Worst Summer Ever?
As school begins to leer its head once more, further devouring the fading light that was the Summer break, you can't help but reflect on what you've done these past 6 weeks. Maybe you went on holiday, somewhere grand and beautiful and relaxing, maybe you did an amazing thing or met amazing people, doing things you wanted and needed to do, or maybe you just spent 3 fortnights sitting on your arse doing naff all.

   Unfortunately, I fall into this latter category. Yep, almost 42 days and nothing to show for it. In fact, I could probably teach a crash course in procrastinating and laziness after this. I wanted to blog a lot this Summer, but instead only pushed a mere 3 pieces in August, a laughable amount considered to the previous month. Distractions take over and before you know, I'm here. Oh and a tip: don't make big "To-Do" lists, it just makes you more depressed when you look back and see NOTHING crossed off. But I digress. Besides that wasn't the only reason that this has been a somewhat lacklustre Summer, because as usual the Great British weather decided to be a douche and treat us like a soggy slice of towel roll... It's not a perfect simile...

Writer's Block and A Little Inspiration

Thanks Felicia!

Like I've said, articles (and my writing in general) have become... constipated, to put it into context. They just don't want to shift out of my head and onto the page/screen. So after 5-ish weeks of that I read this: http://feliciaday.com/blog/how-i-started-writing - a great piece from The Guild (an awesome webshow) creator, Felicia Day. Turns out, she too used to just sit on her bum and think about writing things, rather than getting up and doing them. She even used to be a World Of Warcraft addict, spending hours of her time a day on the game (which actually gave her inspiration for The Guild). Anyway, the short article gives her tips on how she embraced her creativity and took hold of her writing prospects, through various books, websites and exercises. Definitely check it out if your having trouble with any creative projects, because it really inspired me and gave a lot of hope to a shrivelled dream. Also try ZenHabits.net, another great blog full of helpful hints on how to prioritize, organize and get through life that little bit better. It really is shame I didn't discover all this cool stuff at the start of the holidays.

The Awesomeness of The Guild
So while we're still on the topic of Felicia here, I'd like to talk to y'all about her aforementioned web series, The Guild: focusing around a group of MMO players as they try to juggle their totally unimportant real lives around their much loved (and addictive) RPG. Funny as hell, and littered with awesome references to video game culture, The Guild's an incredibly satisfying series, chock-full of laugh out loud moments and a rich, varied cast of hilarious characters.


   You can catch up with it from the very beginning now, for free, over at watchtheguild.com, or on their YouTube channel! Also, if you happen to have Xbox Live you can find seasons 3-5 all in great quality on the Zune marketplace for free too, and episodes appear there first exclusively, every Tuesday (the latest was insane, due a very awesome special guest cameo). So long live The Guild: The show about gamers, for gamers, by gamers! Here's the crazy-hilarious Bollywood style music video from the "Guildies" themselves:

Enjoy! And I'll catch you all on the flipside.


The flipside being sometime this week.

Hopefully.

Arnie is Out.
ATR
Follow Me: @DMeisterTweets

Trailer Tuesday: Games Special 2

As if I haven't said it enough already, the San Diego Comic-Con was on last weekend, and that means new game trailers to go along with it. So, like I did with the E3 ones, I've compiled a lot of them for your viewing pleasure.

First up, Battlefield 3:

Showcasing a new map based in and around the Paris Metro system, as well as tooting their own horn about awards, this trailer has me pumped for the explosive, vast and awesome multiplayer the game has to offer when it releases October 28th.

Zelda returns to Wii! Could this game make me pick up a Wiimote again after all this time?

After over 3 years in development, Star Wars: The Old Republic is finally nearing, and here's a trailer showing off the different classes the new MMO has to offer. I call Smuggler/Jedi! Hey, there should be Jedi Smugglers! *Jots down idea for future writing*

Trailer Tuesday: Games Special

Okay, so I know E3 (annual gaming conference) was last week, but as I was without computer, the slew of new trailers for some awesome new games had to be postponed until this week. No breakdowns, because there simply is not enough time, but maybe a few comments on a select few. Here we go:

Oh Agent 47, how I've missed you. Can't wait to see Hitman hit the current gen after a few years of inactivity, and shall definitely be reminiscing the good times with my Dad (He played, I watched/gave strategic commands).   

The Uncharted series seriously makes me wish with I had a PS3...

And there's more!