  Between science and magic, between order and chaos... there is an ancient balance. And now that balance is unraveling. You play young April Ryan, frustrated art student by day, reluctant savior of the worlds by night. Follow April on her "longest journey" to discover the shocking secret of her parentage, the shocking secret of the homeless man who camps out on the bench outside her bohemian slums, the shocking secret of her wardrobe, her agoraphobic landlady, the mechanical contraption next to her apartment, the radioactive looking sewer water, that insistent sparking on the rails... Whew.
Now that the expositional book jacket cliches are out of the way, I can move on the game itself. The strongest thing that The Longest Journey (TLJ) really has going for it is its morbid sense of humor. Sometimes I think you'd have to share that twisted humor in order to solve some of the puzzles. Constable Guybrush anyone? April's verbally abusive, drumming toy monkey: Hey! Hey you! YEAH you!! Put your hands in the air! Spread your legs! ...and do the MON-KAY!!! Another commendable aspect of TLJ is the fact that the puzzles don't detract from the narrative flow. It makes the action go so much faster. Then again, the fact that sometimes you have to make some choices in order to further the storyline and not because you want to bites. You just accept it and "fulfill your destiny" so to speak. I keep waiting for the chance to purposely commit a gargantuan error of monumental proportions and die a horrible, tragic (but morbidly funny) death BUT I CANT!
You can't mess up in this game! That bugs me. Having said that, I've really enjoyed the game so far. I feel like I'm actually been absorbed into the narrative. The supporting character roles are vivid personalities. April's friends, especially, quite likeable and sympathetic. Sadly, the epilogue of TLJ doesn't resolve much. I smell a sequel... urlLink www.longestjourney.com 
