Mom's Minute

Journey:  A video game experience

Could there be an ultimate video game that appeals to all ages, is exciting to play and has just enough gameplay to satisfy your specific time span for playing a video game?  A game that is targeting to fit all these expectations and more is the video game Journey, developed by Thatgamecompany.

The game has no violence or blood.  Instead there are lots of mesmerizing sand and structures that will lead you on a journey you will not soon forget. Journey has breathtaking graphics, haunting music, and is a wordless story where you decide where you want this game to take you, as well as how you will feel duriing your journey.  

This game is all about the video game player's experience.  Do not be surprised if you find yourself saying "Wow" and "Cool" as you journey through the sand dunes while on your adventure.

Journey:  Fine Art in a video game

You play Journey as a robed character.  There is no dialogue, just haunting music to set the tone of your different adventures.  At the beginning of the game, you face a mountain, split at the top with a bright beam of light spreading its glow upwards.  The mountain at first glance may appear to be close, but is really far away.  As you move toward the mountain, during gameplay you experience changes in the environment as well as obstacles in your way.  You receive rewards when you overcome these challenges.

Surely there is some type of violence, mayhem or otherwise disarray in this approximate three hour game, you may ask.  The counter response is the developers are showing that a game that takes you through a special kind of journey, albeit a short one, can be just as exciting and rewarding as playing the more popular type shoot-em-up, beat-em-up video games.

Want to see for yourself?  Journey is available for play as a PS3 downloadable video game on the PlayStation Network  for $14.99.  Launch date is March 13, 2012.