A game's environment is what creates much of the emotions felt by the player and it is a crucial element of a non-action based adventure game, such as The Longest Journey. Probably the greatest success of The Longest Journey is the engrossing game environment, which is both stylish and imaginative. What impressed me the most, however, was the artists' ability to render the two opposite worlds of Arcadia and Stark so vividly distinct. Stark is populated with environments that accentuate the familiar world of technology and logic that we all live in. The world is bleak in the 23rd century, with corporations, massive metropolitan cities (more akin to small countries), and extremely advanced technology all being everyday realities. The artists reflect these words with dark alleys, massive thoroughfares, small city boroughs and behemoth buildings that are akin to the imagery seen in Blade Runner and yet carry a familiar feel to them. Arcadia on the other hand is a world of magic and magical races that is populated with lush greenery, clean air and water and a fantastical-medieval feel. You'll find yourself wandering around in the local taverns, marketplace, temples and many a strange location all depicted with a vivid palette, in an extreme contrast to Stark's imagery. The knowledge that these two worlds are related only accentuates the awe that the artists manage to create. It is rare for near static backgrounds to invoke such emotion in me, but the artists of The Longest Journey have created something memorable.

To mirror the quality produced by the artists of The Longest Journey would have been a daunting task for any musician and sound effects team (well unless they did their work first), however when a stellar product like The Longest Journey comes along there is no room to skimp, and as such the aural environment is fantastic. Both the music and sound effects further the illusion of the two worlds of Stark and Arcadia to the kind of place you would imagine in your own mind. Ambient sound is omnipresent, as it is in our own world, and it reflects the environment you are in perfectly. In the busy metropolis of New Port you will be treated to the sounds of muffled conversations, zooming traffic, rustling paper, distant horns, footsteps of other individuals, wind and anything else you could possibly imagine. If an object in the background is an object that would be making noise then you are guaranteed to hear it. It is not only the attention to detail that worked so well, but it is also the sense of duality that the ambient noise, and essentially everything else in the game, helps to reflect; Arcadia is filled with pastoral sounds while Stark is populated with the harsh and busy sounds of a future city.

Professional voice actors are the only way to go when you want to deliver solid vocals in a game and The Longest Journey, of course, uses such individuals. I did find some of the characters at the beginning of the game to sound slightly unrealistic and have their timing off by a bit, but as I continued further into the game, I found that these problems seemed to disappear. It's also very cool to note that the characters actually develop during the game and don't remain static individuals. This occurs primarily in the main character, April, who undergoes such massively strange occurrences that you would be shocked if she remained the same character. It is nice to have a main character that you actually like and whose voice isn't the worst in the game, and April Ryan fits the profile superbly.

The musical score is an orchestrated marvel, for the most part, that really affected my suspension of disbelief. While we don't go around hearing music while we walk down the street, the addition of it in a game or movie is essential for suspending our disbelief. Perhaps it is due to music's ability to draw our mind out of our current reality and into another. In essence, this is what The Longest Journey is about and thus it is only fitting for its music to be performing this task all on its own. There were a couple occasions, although very rare, where I found the music slightly overbearing and overpowering the vocals. This small quip aside, both Stark and Arcadia's music weaves a tale of its own, and it is one that only furthers your voyage into the story and philosophies of The Longest Journey.

A powerful environment is useless unless there is a powerful story and engaging gameplay to back it up. It is difficult to flaunt what I feel is the greatness of the story of Longest Journey without referring much to the story itself. However, I do not want to spoil the enjoyment of uncovering the intricacies for yourself, so I'll stick to generalities. The Longest Journey weaves a story that keeps growing at every turn, revealing more and more elements as you progress through the 13 chapters that make up the game. While the actual progression from beginning to end is fixed, as in there are not multiple paths, the story consists of multiple layers that create depth. You are not merely going through an interesting plot, nor are you just going through a quest with one ultimate task. Rather, you will find yourself in an environment with complex and constantly developing characters, a devilishly intriguing plot and a host of philosophical and practical questions that are left up to you to interpret but never feel as though they are a dangling thread from the story. I also believe that the story is so well crafted that each individual who plays the game will take something different from it, and while I don't profess The Longest Journey as being some sort of ultimate guide to existence, it is most definitely something with a lot more substance than your normal game.

All of the aforementioned elements of The Longest Journey do nothing to actually explain how the gameplay takes place. Longest Journey was developed, quite effectively, as an adventure game and it follows the age old path of classic adventure titles, learning its lessons from games such as King's Quest 6, Monkey Island, Loom and many other great oldies. While the gameplay is not some newfangled genre, it is an extremely solid and very long adventure game with a large host of wide ranging puzzles. The difficulty ranges from bloody simple to damn near impossible, as any good adventure game should. There were a couple puzzles that I found a little out of character for the game, but for the most part the puzzles were logical and well developed. You will also find that it is impossible to die and that there are no action sequences, and while this may not appeal to FPS-heads, this game is not about destruction but rather is a cerebral experience that I think even action fans would enjoy. There are plenty of places to obtain hints within the game as well, such as April's Diary, which often suggests things, and the saved trees of dialogue with whomever you have talked. It is also important to note that looking at things will often lead to many clues being revealed. One small note for those intending to play without reading their manual, hit the ESC key or double click to make April run. This will save an immense amount of time as some of the screens are rather large. The Longest Journey's adventure model may not be extremely original but it is very polished and, unfortunately, it is very rare in today's market.

For a game to truly involve me and addict me with its story and ingenuity it must exhibit the rare quality of incredible story telling. The Longest Journey begins as a small, little-known game and develops into a full-fledged epic with truly realistic characters to whom you will find yourself relating. There are minor flaws, and they can sometimes be a hindrance, but not enough to stop The Longest Journey from being one of the best games I've ever played, and definitely my choice so far for game of the year. Some may disagree and some may agree, but that is the nature of the world and, as The Longest Journey professes, ultimately, this duality is one and the same, so get off your ass and get this game!