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The Gathered Will Tell...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: July 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have been an avid fan of the Myst series for years now and have enjoyed every title. When I originally purchased Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, it took some time to get used to the surprising changes which Cyan had incorporated: real time 3d graphics, a custom avatar viewable from a third person perspective, newer more dymamic puzzle solving, and for a brief time, during the prologue of Uru Live, interaction with other players.

It was worth the adjustement though, in every possible way.

The story of Uru is massive and far more expansive than previous installments, and the real time 3d rendering makes the experience seem more alive... one can explore more freely, see and do more..

Complete Chronicles represents the full Uru experience. It includes Ages Beyond Myst, To D'ni, and The Path of the Shell. Ages and Path of the Shell are substantial and challenging adventures, while To D'ni provides more information on the D'ni culture than any other source to date.

As a single purchase, I personally think that Complete Chronicles is almost impossible to beat for the experience and the value.

Some people have criticized Uru for the minimum system requirements. You certainly will have to pay attention to them, as they are literally the very minimum with which you can expect to experience Uru. Others have complained about the third person view, but this is strictly optional and Uru can be played in first person just as the previous Myst titles. The perspectives can be altered with the push of a single key.

If you are looking for a great value and a wonderful adventure, Uru is the game and Complete Chronicles is the way to get it.

Myst Uru: Complete Chronicles

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 21
Date: August 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Since I also have a Mac, I share in the disappointment of Uru not being Mac compatible.

The problem was that Ubisoft had chosen to build Uru around the Havok game engine, and "had been led to believe" there was a Mac version available. However, a quick peek at the Havok.com site shows no such Mac compatibility.

Apparently, Ubisoft has abandoned the Mac version of Uru.

Also, Uru Live - the online community you could supposedly connect through the game - has been shut down since February, 2004. However, there is a similar community called Until Uru available, although it only works with Uru and not the expansion sets. Even though the full Complete Chronicles will work with Intel graphics cards, UU doesn't, and will require getting either a Radeon or NVidia card.
Yes, I went out and bought a PC, so I could play this (and a few other PC-only games). Like all the previous Myst games, the graphics and the music are absolutely gorgeous. Just make sure your computer meets the minimum requirements.
You've been contacted by Atrus' daughter, Yeesha (now an adult) to travel to New Mexico and explore a Cleft in the desert, which will ultimately lead you to an underground civilization that was abandoned something like 250 years ago. From the 1980s to the present, an organization calling itself the DRC had tried to rebuild the ruins, then gave up. Now, it's your turn to explore.
There are three games here: Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, To D'ni, and The Path of the Shell. Apparently, once you've found the Age of Relto, you can play these three games in any order - or all three (more or less) at the same time! The only drawback to this is (unless you're paying close attention to what Yeesha tells you), it's hard to tell when you've finished one.
This is the first time I ever had to use a walkthrough on a Myst title. Some of the clues (especially in Kadish Tolesa, or anything to do with Kadish, for that matter) make no sense whatsoever, at least to me. Since this game is in third person (although you can juggle between third and first) movement is completely different. The only way you can "die" in this game is if you walk (or run or jump) off a cliff, and even then you automatically "panic link" back to Relto.
As with all Myst titles, there are lots and lots and lots (and lots!) of books, journals and whatnot lying about, and you'll find almost all the clues in those books. If you're not a book person, you probably won't get far in this game. READ (DON'T SKIM) EVERYTHING! TAKE NOTES OF EVERYTHING YOU READ! I'M NOT KIDDING!!
The ending is a bit on the anti-climatic side. Let's just say it's pretty much an homage to the original Myst.
If you're a Myst-ophile, you'll defintely want this. If not, it's still worth looking into, although you'll probably tear your hair out trying to solve some of the puzzles.

Lots of Game for the buck! Fantastic Exploration!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: August 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Uru changed all my perceptions of what a PC game can be. HUGE in scope. Challenging beyond the norm. If exploration is your thing (as it is mine) then this is the game for you. This game is made up of the original Uru: Ages Beyond Myst and its subsequent expansion packs for less than the cost of the original game. There are many Ages to explore as well as the underground city of Ae'gura which will simply take your breath away. The detail is astounding and the music is simply beautiful. Many of the puzzles are brain-busters but ultimately rewarding when solved. Learn who you are at the same time as solving the riddle of the D'ni and their time under the Earth. I cannot recommend this game strongly enough. You will not be disappointed.

-Professor Askew (in the Cavern)-

Alot of gameplay here!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 98 / 100
Date: September 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Being a MYST fan, I almost didn't get this because of it going on-line as a type of MMORPG originally and I don't like those games.

But when I saw the this with both expansion packs, I couldn't resist (also had heard by then that the on-line was canceled because of little support). And what a value. There are many hours of gameplay here. It is also pretty hard, so have some patience because some of this hard to figure out.

The graphics are as always fantastic (especially the water. It looks awesome and I think they know it because there is water everywhere in this game). The scenery is more interactive than ever and there are alot of things moving here.

The sounds of the game are very good to, especially with some good headphones. I spent some time looking around checking everything out and I wasn't dissapointed.

You can also change your Avatar (this is a 1st or 3rd person game and you will need to use both) from clothes, to face, to sunglasses. And you will collect more items along the way which you can change in to.

Some of the puzzles were wierd, and they reminded alot of playing Riven which is one of the things I didn't really like as you had to go back and forth alot between ages. But there are many puzzles to solve and this is seamless, so you never know when you are playing Ages Beyond MYST or one of the expansion packs. There are also alot of books to read here (and you have to read them all or you will miss vital clues and answers for some of the puzzles), more than any of the other MYST games (maybe even more than the other 3 put together).

I had alot of fun, and if you are a MYST fan, this is an unbeatable deal.

Glitches galore!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 9 / 18
Date: September 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If you want to buy Uru, do not buy this version. I have a brand new Dell computer with loads of memory but this game has problems everywhere. The worst part is that some of the problems could be fixed with the patch from Ubisoft for Ages of Myst but it won't download for Chronicles. There is nothing else on the website to help. They don't even seem to have any email tech help-only a 900 number. Don't buy this game unless you want a $40 headache!

Excellent game.... and you'll need a jacket

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: September 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Stunning! I very much enjoyed Myst but was not as wild about Riven. Uru, sigh, wonderful. When I walked into the neon mushroom cavern where it was snowing I wanted to put a jacket on my personal avatar, and I did! It really takes YOU into the game. I am female and over 21 so I may be in the minority in my deep appreciation for Uru and Cyan games but they are the best.
Make your avatar personal (my blond one with violet eyes looks like me and makes me feel really in the game) step in and adventure around. Some risk taking in the puzzles almost stopped me but "fear not the starry abyss", you will know what I mean when you get there. And by all means, get there!

Don't meet the system requirements? Don't write a review

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 36 / 40
Date: October 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'm shocked and amazed at the number of people who are willing to write bad reviews about a game after admitting they don't meet the system requirements, and/or didn't pay attention to them when buying the game. This is akin to writing a review about a car, saying it was the worst model ever made and is a road hazard, even though you never actually took it for a test drive, because you didn't have the right key. In my mind this is completely unfair, and is a disservice to the people reading the reviews. It is also a disservice to the developer of the game, who in good faith put forth their best efforts to create a great game and be clear about what was needed to run it.

A word on system requirements:

1) They're listed on the game box. If you're not sure what they are prior to buying the game, ask the vendor. If your computer doesn't meet them, there's no reason to believe the game will install or run on your system. Also, if your computer barely meets the minimum requirements, there's no reason to believe the game will run smoothly, or have the highest quality graphics and sound. If you thought your system met the requirements and it turned out it didn't, you should upgrade your system or take the game back for a refund.

2) These requirements are usually very precise, and mean what they say. Windows 2000 does NOT mean Windows 2000 Server.

3) 'PC' requirements means desktop PC, not laptop. Unless the requirements specifically state that the game will run over the laptop equivalent of the desktop requirements, there is no reason to believe that it will. Developers generally don't test their products over laptops.

4) To Mac users that have flamed this game without playing it: The developer and publisher for this game have both publicly stated that they had every intention of porting this game to the Mac. The reason they couldn't is because one of the engine features had to be done by a 3rd party who assured them said feature would be Mac compatible. Turned out not to be true, when it was too late to do anything about it. Don't you think the developer feels at least as bad as you do about it? Do you think that showing a complete lack of understanding for a developer that has always tried to release games over your platform endears them to your cause?

Creating games nowadays is a costly venture. It would be nice if all PC games ran over all PC systems. But the truth is, the more components you support, the more it costs to make the game. So developers have to support the hardware that they think the most people will have, without compromising the quality of their game by doing so.

I am a fan of the Myst series games (including this one), and the company that created or inspired them. I know MANY people who have played this game (who met the system requirements), and about 99% of them were able to get this game to install and run with no real difficulty. The most technical thing any of them had to do was update their video drivers, which is really pretty easy. And if it's intimidating for you, you can contact the publisher for tech support and they'll help you with that.

As for the game itself, which I have actually installed and played all the way through. It is a break from previous Myst games in the sense that it is 3-D realtime, rather than pre-rendered 'still' shots. This can make the experience a lot more immersive, as it feels like you're 'in' the game. The movement is a lot different though, as it is no longer 'point and click', and takes some getting used to. The graphics are beautiful, the sound is incredible (I own the soundtrack, it's that good). The story falls in line with the rest of the series, and the puzzles can be figured out logically, with a lot of patience. The only thing in this game that really disappointed me was the interface, as it's this company's first real foray into the 3-D environment. It could have been smoother. So normally I would have given this game 4 stars out of 5, but feel I need to compensate with the exra star due to the amount of people that have completely flamed it and given it 1 star, without ever having played it. Not very sporting in my opinion.

Great Game with awesome visuals

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: October 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've followed the Myst series from the begining. Although my system barely made the System Reqs, I had a great time with this game! The customizable character, keyboard controlled character, 1st & 3rd Point Of Views made this game one the best in ones in the set yet! Stunning visual and audio effects made this game realistic I can't wait to get Myst IV in so I can try that out as well!

Absolutely Incredible

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is an action/adventure gamers dream come true. You have the beauty, depth, engrossing story, challenging puzzles and overall top quality of a Myst series adventure game combined with an action style interface. Adventure gamers have been waiting a long time for something like Uru. I highly reccomend this game to any adventure/action game fan. The only tiny gripe I have is the lack of a sufficient save feature though the linking books do a good job none the less. But I still give this game all 5 stars and I have only just begun to play it and I am truly amazed at the quality and effort put into this excellent chapter of the Myst series.

no Loss

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: December 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

to MAC users everywhere - don't fret.
This game was total pants!!
(pants being a Scots term meaning it sucks!!!)
Nothing at all like the previous Myst games.

The graphics were mediocre at best -
nothing to compare with Myst 3:Exile.
the game play was a pedestrian search for pieces of cloth with symbols - none of the ingenious clue searching and then puzzle solving like the previous games.
There is no sign of Artrus and Catherine.
only their daughter - Yeesha - who sounds a bit like a tree-hugging hippy to me.

I played it - in a matter of hours rather than the months the previous games took me.
I didn't bother going online - and by the time I was curious enough to look at the online community - it had closed.
The whole concept of an online Myst was doomed to failure anyway.
Nonetheless - the game makers didn't have the online part right before they started - and it never worked successfully.

~You chaps didn't miss a thing.

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