Journey

Thatgamecompany has made its mark on the indie genre yet again with Journey, a beautiful downloadable game on the PS3.

You begin as a small, almost fragile, being cloaked in red, sitting as if in meditation in a desert. The sand sparkles in the sun and resembles water, flowing and rippling in the wind. You stand, and decide to make your way to the nearest dune with two flags upon it. Once you make it there, the title flashes and shines above a mountain peak that you immediatly understand is your destination.

You keep moving forward, gliding along the sand swiftly, letting the wind take you to a ruined structure. You climb the wrecked steps, and now on the top, you marvel at the floating white hieroglyph. As you stand in front of it, you absorb it, growing a scarf with its energy.

Prompted to press a button on your controller, the scarf is revealed that it gives you the ability to fly for as long as your scarf glows.

If I give away much more, then you won't be able to appreciate what "Journey" is all about. It gives new meaning to gaming that only thatgamecompany can provide. The simple story as well as its art style is absolutely stunning, and I'm not ashamed to say that I got emotional at the end of the short game.

The controls are excellent; almost anyone can pick it up and easily play. The satisfaction of gliding along the wind and sliding down sand dunes is infinite.

One of my favorite parts is the unusual multiplayer. At some point during your game, you will inevitably come across another annonymous cloaked being like yourself. You have no way of communicating with them, except for symboling them with your personal glyph.

Despite the silence that you and your partner share on your journey, the connection is palpable. Yes, there is such thing as online multiplayer that doesn't involve cussing or offensive remarks. If you're lucky, you'll meet a being that is a higher level than you (the images/color of your cloak represents your rank), and they might show you secret areas.

My, I'm getting ahead of myself. Just look past Skyrim and Gears of War (which are great games, I know) and take a look at "Journey".