User Reviews (1 - 11 of 183)

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Disappointment !!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: November 06, 1997
Author: Amazon User

Unfortunately Riven is available only to those privilidged few who have the newest and the fastest hardware on the market. Maybe a future release will be more sensitive to the less wealthy and privilidged. I'm disappointed!

Engulfed in Wonder

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 06, 1997
Author: Amazon User

If you are brave enough to buy the game, do the following: buy an answering machine, cancel your appointments, call in sick, lock the door, warm up some tea of coffee, install the game and hang on. Riven's wonder surrounds you in a matter of seconds. The detail, the music and the story keeps you breathless. But have no doubt that puzzles are challenging. If it becomes frustrating, just do this: relax, point and click at everything and look around. There is always another puzzle to solve besides the one you are on. No, don't screen your calls, and don't answer the door. Just get up to freshen your coffee and grab a quick snack. Enjoy this game, don't ask people for hints, because this game is too precious to solve quickly; you wouldn't run through a museum would you?

MYST-ified by Riven

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 07, 1997
Author: Amazon User

Riven is probably the best game that will grace computer screens for a long time. Cyan, Inc. has done a superb job on Riven and the four year wait for us fans was worth it. A lot of time and effort has been put into Riven and it shows:
The amazing graphics and realistic textures along with superb ambient sounds and haunting music all add to its overall excellence. Riven is a continuation of the Myst storyline, but can be played without having played Myst though the experience for Myst fans might have more meaning as they will understand what is going on a bit better.

The graphics in Riven are the result of a lot of hard work, including trips to New Mexicoto photograph, among others, adobe buildings for textures in the game, some of which ranged in size from 60 to 100 Megs. Also, new graphic technology called Shaders, created by Lume, Inc. were used to create the fabulous shadows and water movements in Riven. The video in Riven is seamlesly integrated into the still images in the game, and they are not grainy at all. The full screen animation in some parts of Riven is astounding, making the player feel like they really were riding the MagLev or the Mine Cart. Many players might get frustrated with the puzzles on Riven but it has to be realized that, unlike the puzzles in Myst, those in Riven are not contained, you will have to visit more than one of the 5 islands in Riven to solve a puzzle in most cases. The puzzles are not as hard as some claim, if you pay attention to all that is around you and think of things as being interrelated you will have an easier time with them.

The one thing that I really like about Riven is its realism in terms of the graphics, they really add to the immersive environment that Riven is. Also the fact that codes change for each new game you play..so the one from your old game to open this or that will not work in your new one. I have to admit however that swapping CD's was a bit annoying as it breaks the spell that Riven weaves on the player each time the CD must be changed. Some might ask why so many CD's and why aren't they used in order..This is because there is a common thread that links all in Riven and it is the number 5 (It is Gehn's 5th Age), hence 5 Islands, 5 CD's etc.

Riven is certainy worth your money as it is something that, like a book, can be opened again and again...there will always be something new to discover in Riven.
As the D'ni would say: Kehnehm'neah lohnehm Riven. That's: You are empty, discover Riven.

"Riven" generally lives up to its billing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 09, 1997
Author: Amazon User

I don't think it is necessary for me to wax poetic about the beautifully rendered graphics that appears in "Riven". Those who have seen Myst will expect them, and "Riven" doesn't disappoint. The live action sequences, especially the haunting scenes of natives relatively early in the game, are well done, and serve to draw you into Riven even more than Myst. (It is interesting to see the remarkable progression of the quality of the graphics from "Spelunx" to "Myst" to "Riven") The puzzles in "Riven" are more difficult than in "Myst" largely because they require you to move between the islands (and are reminiscent of those in a similar game, "The Dig"). However, since the puzzles are built along the same principles as in "Myst", those who solved "Myst" should be able to solve these, too.

Riven - or Driven by Microsoft?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: November 09, 1997
Author: Amazon User

Fewer than 1 in 3 modern Windows computers are running Windows 95. How about the rest of us who aren't inclined to be pushed into another operating system? It's too bad. But I won't be buying a copy of this one, even though I thoroughly enjoyed Myst.

An Immersive Experience - A Work of Art

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 10, 1997
Author: Amazon User

If I could rate higher than a ten I would. This is truly what I believe computer gaming should be like, the integration of beautiful (hand drawn) artwork that immerses you completely into a self-paced surreal world, the world of Riven

These graphics! The good people at Cyan are not just game designers, they are accomplished artists. The box says that 100mhz with 4x cd-rom is required, but the artwork involved in every scene is very intricate (read: realistic) so have patience at those speeds. I played this at work (instead of lunch) on a 100mhz/8x cd, and I was waiting for some time for each scene to appear. Certainly not to say that it isn't still worth it (it is), but at home on my 200 machine the flow was instantaneous.

Lots of games for computers involve killing. I don't like them for personal reasons. Other games involve thinking, and these are the ones that I play. This is the best game I have ever interacted with, a true masterpiece.

Great Sequel

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 13, 1997
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game. A true test of the new hardware out there. For those without the newest and greatest, UPGRADE. This will be the defacto standard much like Myst before it!!

Don't get hung up on the "minimum" configs...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 15, 1997
Author: Amazon User

I'm not more than ten or so hours into it, but I have no problem running this on my clunky, old, slow (once top-of-the-heap) 6100/60 PowerMac. Sure, I wait a few seconds for transitions, but this isn't a game you're rushing through anyway! You're supposed to take your time, and spend it thinking and observing...

Riven - Addiction may be a factor

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 18, 1997
Author: Amazon User

I have on occassions dabbled with friends copies of various shoot-em-up style games but always left the keyboard unsatisfied. I took the plunge with Riven and purchased my first 'game' for home use, I have owned it for a total of 48 Hours and my wife is already threatening to lock me out of my own study. THIS is the benchmark for all games in the future, kudos is due to the development team for the excellent graphics and more importantly the playability factor which is so often absent from graphically intense games. This is not for the blow em away crowd, it takes careful observation and concise logic to make your way through this world.

Myst was terrific, to be sure. But this is even better.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: November 25, 1997
Author: Amazon User

1. Much less frustrating. Myst required the player to solve a series of very complex puzzles, one after the other, in order to proceed. Riven's universe is at your mouse-tip, for the most part, from the very beginning. And, some of the puzzles in Riven are easier to understand and solve.

2. More amazing. The overlay of photographic images over the art work gives a very realistic look to the completely fantastic. The seamless integration of full-screen video with the still images help you immerse yourself in this weird, wonderful world.

3. More beautiful. Myst had some truly beautiful images, yes. But Riven expands on the base created for Myst -- and animates many of the images, as well.

I'll be enjoying Riven again and again, for a long time to come.

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