Journey to the Center of the Earth

Ariane is a relatively unknown, yet up-and-coming photographer and journalist. While on assignment in Iceland, a series of accidents and strange mishaps cast Ariane into an unknown world below ours. Contact with the outside world has vanished, but with a little ingenuity, some luck and a whole lot of perseverance, Ariane could break the biggest news story of the century. Or is there more to this underground world than meets the eye? Viva Adventure's Journey to the Center of the Earth is a flawed, yet well-conceived adventure title. With generous nods to Jules Verne, Journey takes a 'modern-day'? angle on the classic fantasy novel.

One of the most enjoyable features of this game was the artwork: The post-Victorian culture, gigantic prehistoric mushroom forests, and other scenery were well-drawn and realized. In addition, the audio was done well, and while some character voices were painted in the broadest strokes, most voices including our heroine Ariane, were well voiced. However, some of the scripting and phrasing could have been realized a bit better' Controls were a bit kludgy, but easy to master, as the mouse controlled all movement, inventory selection, and puzzle solving in one simple interface. Even adventure novices will pick up gameplay quickly.

Of special note were the variety and complexity of the in-game puzzles. Ranging from extremely easy to somewhat difficult, none were true 'stumpers'? and most made sense using inventory items. Using your clues also generally lead you to a logical solution to most problems, a well-used touch.

Alas, Journey suffers from the one thing adventure games should avoid: The dreaded 'hunt the pixel'?. Some items blended so well into the scenery they became almost undiscoverable (and I had the walk-through!), while other items could be gathered almost anywhere in the scenery. The AI was also buggy with characters that would move into the scenery from time to time which was very distracting.

Ultimately, Journey to the Center of the Earth is a fairly decent adventure title with good puzzles and a somewhat gripping storyline, but mired down with a few flaws in execution. While the adventure aficionados will surely get some enjoyment from the title, they'd be about the only ones. Journey to the Center of the Earth perfectly fits as an example of a Fans Only title.