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With relatively little on show of thatgamecompany’s (developers of Flow and Flower) latest PSN title my excitement for Journey may be misplaced. But with an idea that appeals to me so much, coupled with the stunning aesthetic and thatgamecompanys pedigree, I can’t help but feel it’s a safe bet.

Set within a desolate desert world, Journey casts the player in as a lonely protagonist trying to find their way to a distant mountain. It looks stunning, with beautiful empty vistas spreading for miles, perfectly in keeping with thatgamecompany’s previous artistically aware titles.

Empty but beautiful.

What does separate Journey from thatgamecompany’s previous work is that it looks like a game. While the goal of Journey still seems firmly routed in the experience and exploration, the player character is… well a character, as opposed to an evolving amoeba or a petal. This more grounded protagonist brings with it more relatable abilities and ways to interact with the word, such as jumping and singing.

To reach the distant mountain it seems the player will have to make use of all the skills available to them as well as the fabric found in the world. Fabric in fact forms an essential part of the games mechanics, granting powers by collecting it, as well as taking on various qualities (such as acting as a platform) when ‘harmonised’ using song.

Most intriguing of Journey’s features lie in its multiplayer. Comparable to Demon’s Souls in its implementation, the multiplayer is an almost passive experience. With no direct communication between characters it is left to the players actions to display intent.

What is even more interesting about Journey’s multiplayer is that it will only be with one other, randomly selected, person at a time. Once a partner is seen in the world, a player can choose to approach them and interact or walk on, whereby eventually another new partner will eventually be drawn in to the world to replace the old spurned one. It is an interesting dynamic that appeals to my antisocial online gaming style.

Due sometime (hopefully) in 2011, I am going to remain excited about Journey until thatgamecompany does something to prove me wrong.

Whenever I have been asked about my most anticipated game of 2010 is I have answered Dead Space 2. It is an instinctive response; the original was far and away my favourite game of 2008. While I feel the game didn’t need a sequel science-fiction survival horror titles prove a rare breed, so I take them where I can get them.

I felt a pang of disappointment and annoyance as I started watching E3 footage Dead Space 2. Isaac Clarke, the games protagonist, has changed. Gone is the clunky practical engineer suit, replaced instead by a more ‘edgy’ outfit. I was sad at the loss of the old distinctive look, worried the game was to be bleached it of personality to attract a wider audience.

New meaner looking suit just feels more generic.

Happily I was wrong.

Whatever the reason for Isaac’s new suit its existence soon faded as I watched the footage. New environments from the games terrestrial setting were on show, most interest of which was a church. A blend of gothic architecture and the games own derelict industrial style were obvious in the building, making it feel familiar but hinting at a diversity that was absent in the original.

New enemies (Necromorphs) of varying sizes were also on show. Attacking Isaac, some of these other otherworldly forms were reminiscent of spiders while others looked like small children with gaping tooth filled mouths. Foes approached in larger numbers than the original game, making pace appear more frantic, another shift in direction for the game I will reserve judgement on for now.

I am eager to jump back into Dead Space’s fiction to find out more about its mysterious parasitic Necromorphs and the delusional Church of Unitology. My only major disappointment from the news out of the show was that the release date has slipped to 2011, but at least it January.

I know it is late, with all of the Tokyo Game Show write-ups, reviews and articles that I had to get posted things have been hectic. But it is here now and stuffed to bursting point with previews, discussion and interviews from the show!

To give you that nice cozy and familiar feeling we kick off with just me and Darren for our usual banter but then Darren is out and we switch over to Daniel Feit, another writer and resident of Japan who also attended TGS. Dan and I get down in to it for almost two hours talking about the games of on show and our experiences there. Just be happy we at least break it up for with an interview with The Behemoth (kicking off around the 1h 49m mark), creators of Alien Hominid, Castle Crashers and the upcoming Game 3.

Have a listen and please leave feedback in the comments or on iTunes. Also remember to keep an eye on DoFuss over the next three weeks for some extra audio/visual stuff in the next few weeks as Darren hits Japan.

For my TGS coverage check…
here for Playdevil.
here for Go Gaming Giant!
and be sure to visit DoFuss for my final show wrap-up post later this week.

For Dan’s coverage and all his other articles look here…
to see Game Life.
to see Feitclub, Dan’s home page.

The DoFuss Show – TGS Special. [ 2:16:38 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download