User Reviews (1 - 11 of 183)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Beautiful graphics, frustrating game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 14
Date: March 07, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I totally agree with the person who wrote: "If, like me, you want a game to surround you with an active, vibrant plot revealed by characters of substance, Riven isn't much of an adventure."

I can't find adventure in this game at all, just frustration. There's nothing to do but gather hints and eventually free a missing person. Be prepared to walk around beautifully designed landscapes devoid of life, feeling VERY lonely - a feeling that is strongly supported by sounds and music. You encounter a few creatures on your path, but you can't communicate with them. You are supposed to learn about and to use an "alien technology" all by yourself. So you push buttons and pull levers someplace, and if you're very smart or very lucky, you find out exactly what they do - probably on one of the other islands.

I find this game very frustrating. I wish there was something elso to do but walk around the same places over and over again in search of the tiny hint I MUST have overlooked - because otherwise I wouldn't be stuck, right? Even the most breathtaking sights become boring after two dozen times.

Warning to all: runs only on out-of-date systems.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: June 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I can't comment on Riven itself but I can comment on the misleading marketing. I have a Mac operating Mac OS 10 on a PowerPC chip. The system requirements list only "PowerPC" as required. But in fact Riven only operates under the "Classic" environment which means Mac's running 10.2.6 or LESS. Buyer beware.

Same is true on my Dell running Windows XP --Riven only runs on older systems (e.g.,Windows 95). Again, buyer beware.

WARNING:IF YOU HAVE WINDOWS XP!!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: October 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

WARNING: Holiday season is upon us - The DVD version of this game (RIVEN) as well as its sequals EXILE and MYST do not work with Windows XP especially if you have Quicktime 3.0 or higher. We contacted the company though thier website and they have no intention of upgrading or providing drivers for said games to accomodate users. By their own suggestion at CYAN and RED-ORB and PRESTO is if you have purchased these games and they do not work take them back to the store and see if you can get your money back. Unless the compatibilty with any game produced by this company specifically says it is XP compatible DO NOT PURCHASE IT> Thanks

Very disappointing

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 19, 1997
Author: Amazon User

Riven sets high expectations, and doesn't deliver. The main problem is that the core technology is about 4 years old, and feels like it. In the meantime between Myst and Riven, two major technologies have come out that show the inadequacies of the Myst technology. First is the panoramic view technology that was used in Zork: Nemesis and the recently released Zork: Grand Inquisitor. Being able to look 360 degrees around you was a major improvement over the Myst engine, and Riven's pseudo-panoramic views are not as immersive. Second, the Quake engine by id software proved that you can have a great game with less-than-Myst-quality graphics, and still have an immersive world. What Quake offers is the ability to see a point in your environment, go there, and look around from that point of view. Too many times in Riven I wanted to explore over rocks, or in a crevice, and found myself unable to get there, because like in Myst, the Riven creators selectively rendered individual scenes of the world. So, those are two personal grievances based on the level of sophistication of the Riven engine. How about the gameplay? Here again, Riven fails to deliver. From bugs in the programming (which the patch fixed), to obscure and hard to see hotspots, the game doesn't even live up to Myst's level of enjoyable gameplay. At some points the game devolves to nothing more than "Click every pixel in the image, because something must be clickable". Also, the game's story seems to have less human involvement than the last game. In Myst, even though you didn't see many people the game had an intriguing story line. After quite extensive playing of the Riven game, and solving many puzzles, I was frustrated by the lack of human intrigue. The people that you do see (at least up 'til the point I stopped playing) run away, or just don't talk. The pacing of the game just feels wrong, because it doesn't give you enough intrigue to hold your interest - just a lot of pretty machines and animals and scenery. Add to all this the fact that you have to swap CDs quite often during the game, and the game ends up being more trouble than it's worth. If you haven't tried it, go out and get Zork Nemesis. It's a much more involving story, and the gameplay is much better.

Wish I could review it

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 7
Date: December 06, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Love to be able to review this title, as I loved realMYST so much, but three weeks after purchase game has still not arrived. Extremely disappointed in Amazon and companion retailers.

Pretty to look at, but boring

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: December 18, 1998
Author: Amazon User

Can't imagine what all the hoo-ha was about. The scenery is nice, the graphics are lifelike, but so what? The puzzles are pointless and the story is dumb.

Don't buy it - play Myst again

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: January 25, 1998
Author: Amazon User

I'm waiting for Riven since I finished Myst. Although the graphics are fabulous, the game is awful. The puzzles aren't difficult, but sometimes so tricky that the game becomes stupid. Some things just lack sense. If you really liked Myst, don't buy Riven. The only thing you will find both in Myst and Riven is the kind of graphics and the point and click. Don't expect to find the same kind of intelligent puzzles Myst had. After some play, you really get sick of this game. If you really want to play it, borrow from a friend.

Riven maybe is the worst game sequel I've seen. It's really sad, because Myst is one of the best games ever.

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!

Riven: The Sequel to Myst

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: December 14, 1997
Author: Amazon User

In this, one of the most eagerly awaited computer games of all time, the user is shown a truly diverse and intriguing world. As appealing as this may sound, one would never known it. Dealing with the game's lack of involvement and user participation grows tiresome quickly.The concept of point-and-click gameplay, which was revolutionary in Myst's day, is beginning to show its age. Today's games often immerse the player in another world; Riven succeeds in only providing the individual with a multitude of pretty scenes.There may be a fascinating story behind Riven, but it is lost in its clumsy implementation. This title will only appeal to those who wish to show off their fast and new their computers. I surely won't be waiting around another five years for the next installment.

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.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions