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Journey to the Center of the Earth

EMAIL PRINT pc

6.5 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 18 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 4 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Viva Media

Developer: Frogwares

Genre(s): Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Release Date: November 3, 2003

Summary

Join Ariane, a determined, young journalist, who falls into the scoop of a lifetime when she discovers an unknown world far below the Earth's surface. Explore primitive landscapes brimming with strange beasts, and encounter the fascinating civilizations that inhabit this foreign land. The choices Ariane makes will determine the future of this forgotten and primitive world. Will she help save these strange beings and their home - already in peril - or launch her career by exposing their story and threatening their very existence? Cross the threshold into the unknown for an unparalleled adventure, and come face to face with the land at the center of the Earth. [Viva Media]

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Four Fat Chicks

With very, very few adventure titles can I say: "If this was a book, I'd like to read it." Journey falls into that category.

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netjak

It offers over forty hours of a great story, very engrossing world, tough puzzles and believable characters. Veteran adventure gamers will find this game to match Syberia, not only in graphics, but also in sound and the script.

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Adventure Gamers

This game has a suprising charm and beauty, with enough depth to keep you playing until the end. A solid pick that will surely satisfy.

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Loaded Inc

A breath of fresh air in the adventure genre. Considering the level of detail that has gone into its design, the exceptional musical score, an overall enjoyable pace, a good story, over 40 hours of gameplay and 2 possible endings, this a title worth owning.

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Gamezilla!

A fairly decent adventure title with good puzzles and a somewhat gripping storyline, but mired down with a few flaws in execution.

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GameSpy

The interface problems are enough to keep Journey To The Center Of The Earth from being a four-star game, but fans of point-and-click adventures will find plenty of puzzles and story to make it a game still worth buying.

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Just Adventure

I found Ariane to be a tad fidgety when standing in one place and while other characters are speaking to her. Her abundance of mannerisms proved rather distracting to me, particularly at first. Fewer would have been better.

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Quandary

Because of its idiosyncrasies I wouldn't recommend Journey to the Center of the Earth for novices. Experienced players, however, should have look if you want to take a fantastic journey and test your mental and moral fibre.

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GameZone

Frogwares has put together an adventure that offers a fun story plot, engaging puzzles and interesting dialogue. The execution is a little rough in parts, with the awkward movement cursor, the sudden appearance of actions that couldn't be accomplished before, and the whole glove thing, but these don't take away much from the overall game experience.

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Game Chronicles

It’s story skillfully blends some of the most famous fictional elements of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne alongside more recent faraway works like DinoTopia and Jurassic Park, with the added pleasure of cinematically orchestrated music and beautiful graphics to engage players and immerse them in a magical world.

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Armchair Empire

Frequent adventure gamers who've acquired the sixth sense needed to navigate quickly through item hunts may enjoy Journey to the Center of the Earth for its engaging story and often-beautiful environments.

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IGN

A decent title that keeps you gaming for cheap. It's only 20 bucks and should take the average gamer somewhere between 30 to 40 hours to finish. Just know that a third of that time may be spent in utter frustration.

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GameSpot

Marred by bugs, design problems, low production values, and general sloppiness that usually overshadow its genuine charms.

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Adrenaline Vault

The visuals are pretty, the puzzles are engaging and the plot is engrossing, but this release isn’t all that it could be. The interface glitches, puny hotspots, gameplay linearity and absence of deep character development all limit its value.

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PC Gamer

Even with its attractive $20 price, Journey offers more aggravation than enjoyment. [Holiday 2003, p.97b]

Frictionless Insight

Ultimately, the game suffers from a simple lack of polish, but in areas that severely detract from the gameplay experience.

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Cheat Code Central

Unfortunately there is nothing memorable about this game. The characters are one-dimensional and the story runs its course in about five hours - but the game just keeps going and going and going. The title of the game should be changed to Escape From the Center of this Game.

eToychest

An average adventure game, plagued with some awful bugs.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Aidan D. gave it a0:
Do Not Buy This Game! none of the professional reviewers mentioned that there are several game-ending bugs that prevent you from solving key puzzle such as the Valley of the Spirits. It actually CANNOT be completed without a walk-through, not because it is hard but because there is a fatal error that prevents the puzzle from resetting. In addition, the game crashed twice in just an hour of game-play and the protagonist became "stuck" on the landscape several times, forcing a reload. The graphics are buggy as hell, pixel-hunting abounds, and several hotspots are missing. Don't take my word for it, read a report of the critical bugs at: www.geocities.com/ataniel/center2.htm Even if this game were complete and bug-free, it would still be mediocre; with all the bugs and glitches it is absolutely abominable. This is the worst puzzle game I have played in my life, you have been warned.

Lisa B. gave it a 9:
I can't believe this was only $20! I just happened upon it while shopping at Best Buy. I picked up the box and knew this was the next adventure game that I had to play. I figured this would be a quick change of pace after playing Uru for so long - but 'Journey' was soooo much better than Uru! This game scores right up there with 'Longest Journey' and 'Syberia'. I definitely got my money's worth. Hope there's a sequel.

Nacah gave it a 7:
Do not expect a smooth journey with Ariane, sometimes you will find difficulty in moving her to the spot you want, and you can get 'stucked' in a certain spot with no other way out but to load your previous saved game to save the day. Some of the puzzles are original, and thus challenging, this game is not suitable for the amatuer adventure gamer. Voice acting is not bad and story plot is insteresting, a fair game overall.

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Journey to the Center of the Earth

Game Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

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