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A strong entry in the Myst series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: May 15, 2001
Author: Amazon User

When I heard Myst III would not be designed by the creators of Myst and Riven, I had my doubts. But it turns out that, puzzle-wise, Myst III holds up pretty well with Myst and Riven. Graphics-wise, Myst III gives you the familiar "Myst-like" landscapes and gadgetry (buttons, levers, valves, oh my!), but in one location, the images are breathtakingly beautiful, and quite unlike anything I've seen in a Myst game, or any game. Although the images are all at 640x480 (the only resolution offered by the game), the 32-bit colors plus Direct3D produce great-looking result. Old video cards that don't support 32-bit color, like Voodoo3, will not be able run the game in Direct3D mode. But there is a "software" mode that works with all video cards, albeit the graphics would be quite pixellated and "jaggy". The game comes in 4 discs. If you don't want to swap CDs while playing, do a "full install"; it will take up 2 to 3 gigabytes hard drive space. I didn't encounter any bug while playing the game.

If you hope for freedom of movement in a 3D environment like in RealMyst, Myst III will disappoint you. You still navigate the same way you did in Myst and Riven -- from one fixed "node" to another. The difference is at each node, you can "mouse-look", i.e. look in all directions by moving the mouse around. This 360-degree panning method is nothing new; I first saw it done in Microsoft Bookshelf 98 (of all places). You basically look at a big 2D image being encircled around you to get the illusion of looking at a 3D space. The illusion is enhanced with occasional animations that quite seamlessly blend in with the background. Even at 2D and 640x480, the images look life-like enough for me to feel immersive.

If you have never played any Myst game before, all Myst games are about solving puzzles that generally (1) require you to understand a complex system, then (2) to figure out its purpose, and (3) to achieve that purpose. The main storyline is usually that all these systems, puzzles, locations, etc. are "manufactured" by one man, who in the beginning sends you to those locations and achieve some goal(s) for him. The first Myst game achieved immense popularity due partly to its simple interface, exotic atmosphere (the lack of violence and sex certainly didn't hurt). It was highly accessible to general gamers. Hard-core gamers have often blamed Myst for diluting the art of game design; but perhaps *simplicity* is sometimes what a game needs for it to be enjoyable.

Lastly, when you play the Myst III, have pencil and paper handy! You will often need to jot notes and sketch drawings to memorize things. This might irk some players, but Myst players should be used to that already! The original Myst even came with a notebook, but such luxury is long gone by (the Myst III box contains only the CDs). Two letter-sized sheets of paper should be enough to play Myst III.

Best of Its Breed!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: May 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Once again Myst reappears on gameplayer's horizons, as the story is extended into more new worlds. The Myst series of puzzle games has a well deserved following. It was with a great deal of anticipation that I booted up the latest Myst adventure.

The basic premise of the game is quite straightforward (if you are familiar with Myst). Atrus has invited you to come over to talk about Releeshahn, the new world he has created. He has gathered together the surviving D'ni so that they might move to this new world to start their civilization over. Just as he's about to show you the book that acts as the transfer station to Releeshahn a strange character with a severe case of bad hair appears out of nowhere, snatches the book and vanishes after setting Atrus' study on fire. All he leaves behind is a transfer book to J'nanin, the training world built for Atrus' two insane sons. Being a natural hero, you grab the book and hare out after the thief.

In short order you discover that Saavedro, the thief, is seeking revenge for the destruction of his world by Sirrus and Achenar, Atrus's sons and the villains of the original "Myst." A tragic figure who has lost his home, his family and a good bit of his sanity, Saavedro is bent on vengeance. Unable to track down the sons, he has focused on the father, and turned J'nanin into a huge trap. Travelling though the worlds of this game, it is up to you to solve the mysteries and find a resolution for this grim tale of horror and revenge.

Typical of all the "Myst" games, the plot is pretty minimal. It serves primary to provide the player with continuity while solving the many ingenious puzzles. As always, the puzzles are of a Rube Goldberg nature, made up of strange contraptions and countless smaller puzzles. "The Exile" exercises some restraint, so most of these challenges can be solved by a great deal of wandering around, careful observation and some good guesses.

To make up for what is essential a very calm, non-violent game, the designers have outdone themselves in creating the five worlds of "Myst 3." The artwork and scale are magnificent. The animation is equally incredible. This is the first time that I felt my 19-inch monitor was just too small. Hopefully they will make some game posters. I was continually being astonished by the imagination used in creating these worlds and their workings. This is the best pure puzzle game I've seen in a long time and is well worth purchasing.

Welcome back to Myst, and be prepared to be Exiled...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 40 / 69
Date: May 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

As a longtime and lifelong fan of the "Myst" games, I was thrilled and a bit worried about the thrid installment in this line. Cyan, previous creators of Myst and Riven, weren't ultimately responsible for the third, and I wondered if some quality would be sacrificed by UBI Soft.

Fear not. Myst 3: Exile not only lives up to the high standard set by Myst and Riven, it even supersedes these games, mainly due to technoligical development that allows a better gaming experience.

As it turns out, Cyan had a hand in helping to develop the next game, so all the special things I loved about the first two were preserved: the timelessness, challenging puzzles, not truly knowing what you are doing until you start to mentally putting things together. It's all there, and more.

The graphics in Myst 3 are stunning, and the 360 degree viewing options really add to the realism. The soundtrack is absolutely incredible and add tension or peacefulness to the tasks on hand. I appreciate how the story progresses along as you solve each puzzle, with great video clips and graphics to boot. While I'm not done with the game yet, I have finished solving the puzzles on one island, and the final solution led to such an incredible suprising event I screamed with joy at what was occuring, at 11 PM at night, mind you!

I've had a few technological gliches with this game, but nothing major. I've been running it on my iBook with few problems. I'd had a couple of stalled scenes, but never a freeze or loss of information.

Overall, this game earns its five stars, and I welcome back Atrus and Catherine into our lives. I'm eagerly anticipating UBI Soft to start producing Myst 4.

Install problems (READ BEFORE PURCHASING)

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: May 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

A truly great game, very well made with a great story. The problem is though it seems people are having problems on PC installations. The largest problems seem to occur on computers which have multiple drives, particularly ones with a DVD-ROM drive and a burner of anysort. Also it has been seen to have some major problems with the popular graphics card, Voodoo 3000. The tech support doesn't have much advice on the subject. They just say, "upgrade your video card drivers." Realmyst had some drive problems too, so watch out.

The best game I have ever played!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: July 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The best graphics EVER! And I have played a LOT of games, believe me (just finished the Longest Journey). Myst3 Exile is the equivalent the movie Matrix is for DVD's. Everyone that buys a new DVD plays Matrix first to test the performance of the player since Matrix is one of the most demanding movies. The same goes for Myst3 Exile. If you really want to know what your system is worth just play this game.

Now some hardware issues for the frustrated reviewers and for potential buyers:

1) I have tested the game with both Nvidia TNT2 and Nvidia Geforce256 and I had no problems whatsoever. I didnt even had to download the new drivers from Nvidia. If you have problems go to ... ... and download the Detonator drivers.

2)I installed DirectX 8.0 and had no problems with the game.

3)My motherboard is the ASUS p3V133 and had no problems at all.

4)My soundcard is Creative SoundBlaster PCI 128. I downloaded the drivers ... ...No problems.

5)128Mbytes of RAM is just fine. I have smooth animation and perfect videos. Pentium III at 600MHz is more than enough.

So, If you have similar hardware, chances are that you will have no hard time installing and playing the game.And as always, try to minimize the amount of programs that run in the background. I hope that I was helpfull. Best of luck.

Transdimentional travel from inner space

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: May 13, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I just finished MystIII:Exile and was not disappointed (while I was, a little bit, by Riven).

First of all, I ran it on a G3 iMac at 400 MHz, and did not encounter any trouble, except for the fact that my finder could not support pop-up windows after launching it (because of the change of screen resolution). I did a full install, and it seemed that I did not even need the disc 1 to start the program. The game, by itself, was familiar (I have played the two others) and it was even more familiar since it used "The Journeyman project 3" 360 degres panning ability (from the same company, I think). Still, progression through the worlds is still slide-like (while in "The journeyman", you got movies to keep the impression of moving through places [well, yeah, I am a big fan of "The JourneyMan project 2 and 3"]).

Exile is a hybrid between the two previous games: you get Riven's awsome graphics, but you have the exploration of different worlds from Myst that was missing in Riven (although, in Riven, you had several worlds in one place, it's not the same feel as jumping from one universe to the other [when you got to link to another world, you can't explore it...]).

Puzzles are not too hard, though I'm sure non-nerdy game players (which I'd like to be [a nerdy game player;)], even though they seem so "blase";) with new releases) will find them quite difficult, and they are logical, given you follow the peculiar logic of these worlds.

Concerning the people saying they got through too fast, I would like to add that, yes, it seems easier now that we have played the first two games (and that clones of Myst have appeared), but I wouldn't bet on you going so fast if this had been released at the time instead of the original Myst (without considering the obvious impossibility [eg, that it could not have been released at the time. Not under this form, anyway]).

So, at it stands, it is a nice equilibrium between beautiful graphics, medium complexity of puzzles and good story telling (other aspects have been mentionned in previous reviews).

The ending was, to me, a little bit disappointing. Maybe because it goes too fast, compared to the time you spend (even if not that great) solving some of the puzzles. On the other hand, the sequences following the final solvings for each world visited before was worth it.

Great addition to the Myst Series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: May 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Myst III is the next installment in one of the greatest series of games ever produced. The graphics are stunning, and the game play is amazing. This Four CD set will not disappoint fans of the series. As another reviewer said, the 3D motion can get you dizzy, but you can thankfully turn it off with the caps lock key, or the right mouse button on a PC. This option will return you to the "old" method of clicking used in the Myst and Riven games. Also, Amazon's system requirements say: 95/98/2000/ME. This game DOES NOT support Windows 2000. The game will run, but it is not recommended according to the Ubisoft (the publisher). On my Windows 2000 system, the game is crash and freeze happy. Ubisoft also will not provide tech support if you are running Windows 2000. Just to let everyone know.

Forget This Game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 17 / 24
Date: May 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

It is 5/8/0l & I have had my Collector's Edition for 6 hours, since 2:30 pm PST. Have I been able to play it yet? No. All I have been able to do is listen to Atrus's intro (remember Riven?) & have Catherine tell me he isn't here & wait in the study. Why? Because this game is full of bugs. I tried installing the "typical install" & the "full install" - nothing but problems. I start the game, using Disc 1, it ejects the disc, & then it says "insert disc 1" - so I insert it again & it hangs - it goes off into neverneverland. Finally I found a comment on Ubi Soft's website that said oh yeah, that's a problem, you need to reassign your cd drive to a letter H or lower & we're working on fixing it. Great. The site also lists other problems that are on their fix-it list. But they don't say when. The game also locks up my kernel, forcing me to power-off my PC. And then there are the DLL files and the JPEG files it can't find, which when it can't find them it simple closes the game. Poof. Oh yeah, I've tried using it on my dvd-rom, cd-rom, & cdrw-rom - same problems with all 3 drives.

Does anyone know how to return the Collector's Edition & get their money back?

Though shorter, Exile lives up to its' predecessors

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: June 05, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The original Myst was the computer adventure that took the gaming world by storm-- spawning numerous immitations, as well as drawing more people into the world of gaming. I myself was one of those people; after playing Myst I became hooked on adventure and puzzle-solving games. Myst 3: Exile is, in my opinion, a successful and breathtaking continuation of the adventures put forth in Myst and Riven. No prior experience with the series is necessary-- if you have played Myst and Riven you will recognize background music, references to various people and places, etc, but if you haven't, you can safely get through the game and enjoy it, without being lost. As with everything else, the technology of computer graphics continues to improve, and Exile displays the latest of these with stunning scenery and impressive navigation. Everything in Exile seems shockingly real, as if should you touch a finger to your computer screen, your hand would pass right through. The story is well written and interesting,keeping your attention throughout the games. The puzzles, as always are challenging, some more difficult than others-- but all require some mental effort. My only complaint about this game is that I found it to be very short, comparatively speaking. While Myst and Riven provided around 30 hours of game play, I'd estimate that Exile took me half of that. For this reason, I was expecting a drawn out mental battle that would take me weeks to work through, and instead solved it in a week or so. Length aside, however, Myst 3: Exile is an excellent game, well worth the wait!

Awsome game but does not work on XP

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: November 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is worth getting just for the music. I had searched aroud a bit before buying, got all hyped up to buy it only to find that it does not work on Windows XP. The support website certifies this and also says they have no plans to fix this. IF YOu HAVE XP DO NOT BUY THIS! or else it will sit somewhere collecting dust. Stinks doesn't it
Lucky for me I have a Windows 98 that I can play this on. If you are aquainted with Riven or Myst this game is very different. by moving the mouse you can rotate the view as you play. Look left, right, spin in circles...whatever. As far as the game itself. It's not as hard as Riven. But nothing in this world is as hard as Riven. If anything it is more similar to Myst. There is a main island and smaller islands accesed through linking books but we're not looking for pages now.
I completly reccomend this game unless you have XP, or you computer happens to be slow. I personally like that it is a bit easier. It makes the game more manegable. I know you want it even the box is georgous.

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