Below are user reviews of Myst 3: Exile and on the right are links to professionally written reviews.
The summary of review scores shows the distribution of scores given by the professional reviewers for Myst 3: Exile.
Column height indicates the number of reviews with a score within the range shown at the bottom of the column.
Higher scores (columns further towards the right) are better.
User Reviews (1 - 11 of 271)
Show these reviews first:
Best Yet
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 81 / 108
Date: March 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User
I went to the Macworld expo and was able to play a demo of this game. IT IS AMAZING! This game is so much better than Myst or Riven. The best part though is the fact that you can litteraly look and face any direction, instead of jumping from screen to screen. Buy this game!
Looking forward to Exile!!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 5 / 113
Date: April 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User
I know that this game is not out yet till May 7th. After "READING" about this game makes me anxious to get this game. I also want to see what kind of a challenge this game has to offer and see what the free-look feature holds in store
Excellent Game!!!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User
This is an excellent sequel to Myst and Riven. This game has an optional 3-D support interface which enables the user to play the game the same way the first two were or in the "3-D" mode that enables 360° rotation.
With many new things to explore and do this is sure to be even more sucessful than the original.
Myst fans will have no problems enjoying this.
It's coming!
3
Rating: 3,
Useful: 3 / 54
Date: April 26, 2001
Author: Amazon User
I think that all M/R/E fans are staring at the clock, wondering why it seems to be moving backwards. I've been a fan since the original MYST and I am really excited. This will be TOTALLY AWESOME! In the words of m01ety, "BRING IT ON!"
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 story of MYST grows deeper...
4
Rating: 4,
Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User
- A condensed, but sweet and to-the-point review -
Pros:
A captivating continuation of the Myst story that faces the player with Atrus' past.
Life-like surroundings and ambience immerse the player in large, "breath-taking" Ages.
Amazing and enchanting music set the mood for each scene.
360-degree movement allows for amazing views.
Fun full-screen, action-packed movies leave the player open-mouthed.
Sounds and speach can be captioned for those who are hard of hearing.
A very friendly interface and menu allows the player to explore, examine, handle inventory, save, load, and configure freely.
Cons:
Puzzles and storyline might leave the player confused.
Disc-switching between Ages can grow annoying.
Lastly, its advised that the impatient should... stay clear from this game.
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?
Does not work with Windows2000
1
Rating: 1,
Useful: 9 / 19
Date: May 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User
This site currently tells you that you need a 333mhz machine and that you can use Windows2000. The box says that you need a 233mhz machine and Windows 2000 is not shown as a compatible OS. This is sad for me because I purchased the software and it runs extremly slow on my 400mhz machine Windows 2000 machine with graphics board. Also I was not impressed with the water graphics that were suppose to run well with my graphics card.
Must buy for gamers!
5
Rating: 5,
Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User
I am an avid gamer and have waited for this game ever since I first heard about it. I just got the game today and have been indulging myself into the worlds of Exile. The scenery is breath-taking and the game play is fast. It is so much better than the first two games as far as beauty and game play. It has Riven's graphic, but from a 3D view. The puzzles haven't been too challenging so far, but of course I have no idea how far I am into the game. It's been fun though, no doubt about that. This the the game I have looking for for a long time. It is a must have for gamers of all kinds!
True to its roots, MYST 3 does not disappoint!
4
Rating: 4,
Useful: 22 / 24
Date: May 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User
Being a huge fan of both the original Myst and Riven, I obviously had high hopes and expectations for the latest installment.
I got my Collecters Edition copy of MYST3 yesterday evening, and unlike some of the previous reviewers, had absolutely no problems getting it installed and running on Windows 2000. My guess is that those who couldn't get it to work on Win2K didn't install DirectX 8 and Quicktime 4.1.2... both of which are included as install options.
When you first run the game, it will take from 30 seconds to a full minute before actually launching. Hopefully this can be sped up a bit when they release a patch, but it's not a big deal since that's the only time you'll have to wait for anything once the game starts.
Getting back to the actual game, I have to say that after several hours of play that I am certainly impressed thus far. The new 360-degree graphics are clearly the next step in pre-rendered game worlds. Those that were turned off by the original Myst and Riven "slide-show" graphics will certainly feel more immersed in the worlds of MYST3. One technological breakthrough that MYST3 features is the addition of more characters which actually look like part of the world. The previous games in the series would show flat 2D movies pasted on top of the pre-rendered images. MYST3, however, allows you to look around in full 360-degree freedom while the movies continue playing in the same place. Characters actually look and feel like part of the world instead of looking like cardboard cutouts. Kudos to Presto Studios for pulling this wonderful effect off!
The game itself is true to it's predecessors in that the history, characters, storytelling, worlds, music, and puzzles live up to expectations. Atrus and Catherine return and are in top form and the new characters I've "met" thusfar have been excellent. Presto Studios certainly did their homework when building this game, knowing full well that they were making a game that has a very large and loyal fanbase.
The other big change is that much of the soundtrack is now a real live symphony orchestra. Myst and Riven were composed electronically yet still sounded remarkable. Composer Jack Wall's score take many familiar elements from Robyn Miller's previous work and brings them to the next level with the full orchestra. Several of the musical numbers are very reminiscent of John Williams work in Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. If you liked the music of Myst and Riven, I highly recommend purchasing the Collectors Edition of MYST3 since it includes a full soundtrack CD.
My only complaints with the game are purely technical. I've noticed the game get a little jumpy from time-to-time, which is probably due to the video mixed in to the 360-degree environment. I'm running on a well-equipped 850mhz machine and can't imagine trying to play this on a low-end 300mhz box. There are some graphic options which can be turned down or off and if you are noticing this kind of problem, I suggest adjusting the options to improve performance.
My only other complaints are that the compression used on the 360-degree images often muddies some of the fine-detail that was previously seen in Riven. Luckily there is now a zoom feature that lets you closely inspect objects in the game world. And that the water effect is often too minimal and doesn't look quite right. The water effect in Riven was more effective, even if it wasn't completely realistic.
Overall, I must say that MYST3 has largely lived up to my hopes and expectations. Fans of the original Myst and Riven will not be disappointed... Just make sure you've got fairly up-to-date hardware to run it on. ;)
Actions