Summary
A true science fiction experience, complete with an original story, great sound and imaginative visuals.
The Good
The optimistic future described in the game is very believable, and I found myself hoping it is possible to achieve. This stands in contrast to most other science fiction games, which usually describe the future as a modern, violent Dark Age. In The Journeyman Project humanity prospers, and has long ago put aggression and violence behind them. And in the game, you will generally avoid violence, and in fact, all your actions are directed to prevent violence. This, if nothing else, makes this game very special.
But that is not everything. The graphics of this game, although not always technically spectacular, are one of the most imaginative I have seen. Every time zone looks unique, and although its the right look, it is never exactly what you expect.
The game also features beautiful music from many styles, ranging from rock to new age. Each zone has its own distinctive theme, or style, enhancing the atmosphere of the game.
The game has a strong background in the manual, which allows for a very complex story, with some interesting twists. The game is not entirely linear, allowing you some freedom in your choice of where to go next. Also, sometimes there's more than one way to solve a problem. In at least one place, choosing a more violent approach will result in the loss of helpful information!
The Bad
- The designers of the game wanted to make something fresh. Unfortunately the interface of the game suffered from this. It takes a lot of time getting used to it, and even then - it is simply not intuitive.
- The time limit are a hassle. I simply do not like time limits in adventure games, since it keeps you from exploring around. Luckily, the limit is not very strict and you usually have some time for exploring. Also, in the original game (not the turbo version), the loading of a time zone was so slow that the time limit expired before all the time zone data was loaded!
- The loneliness. In the entire game, the only "people" you meet or see are three robots, and even then you can't talk to them or in any way interact with them. This is excused as one of TSA's rules, which forbids you to interact with people from other times since you might change history. Logical, but I still don't like it.
The Bottom Line
A good time travel adventure, with very good music, original graphics you don't wont to miss and a story so good it should be on a cinema near you.
