The Longest Journey Coming to US

Funcom has announced that its latest adventure game will be released in retail stores across North America in November. The Longest Journey received widespread critical acclaim upon its release in Europe, and has been called "one of the best adventure games in years." It is currently one of GameSpot's top-rated games, and will be a welcome addition to the slow US adventure game market. Funcom is assuming full responsibility for the publishing and marketing of the US release of The Longest Journey, while a third party will distribute the product.

The game contains thirteen chapters in which players assume the role of April Ryan, a young woman with the power to shift between parallel worlds of technology and magic. April finds that she is the only one with the ability to save both worlds from destruction. Her adventures will take her through 160 detailed locations where she will meet over 70 speaking characters. Real-time lighting, detailed shadows, and moving light sources add realism to the environments. In addition, motion-captured animations and lip-synched dialog give life to the characters April meets. The game is estimated to contain more than 50 hours of gameplay and over 30 minutes of pre-rendered video footage.

For an in-depth look at The Longest Journey, read the GameSpot review.