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a 1-star revie is unfair if you haven't even played the game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: December 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

OK, This item is getting spammed with one-star reviews from people who couldn't get their graphics card working. The box clearly states "Video card: 32 MB NVIDIA GeForce 1,2,3,4 or FX; ATI Radeon 7000-9800 or better." It also states in the instructions to get the latests drivers for your card. I can't stress how important it is to follow these recommendations to the T. If you don't, and the game doesn't work for you, then it's your own fault.

Some have complained about only two brands of cards working. Well, these people are not very well versed in the world of high-performance gaming graphics. There really are only two brands of video cards that do anywhere near a decent job at modern 3d graphics, and these are ATI and Nvidia. This has been well known to PC game enthusaists for a while. Just because you get a "brand new" PC doesn't mean its video card is worth anything -- companies usually cut corners heavily in the gaming department to bring the prices down. High performance graphics cards used to be a thing that only hard-core FPS gamers cared about.

Until now.

Cyan games have always been about amazing, beautiful, realistic environments. And Uru is no exception. Except now, they want you to move around the worlds with complete freedom. This requires some serious 3d performance. And this is coming to a huge shock to many people who expected uru to be another slideshow-style myst game, leading to all these undeserved one-star ratings.

Here's a hint: if you haven't played the *game*, YOU CANNOT GIVE THE *GAME* A FAIR RATING.

I've played the game, and let me tell you: its environments are just as awe-inspiring, the plot just as intriguing, the puzzles just as mind-bending and the whole experience just as immersive as all the other myst games so far. The 3rd person view is awkward at times, but playing in 1st person brings back that Myst feeling that we all know and love. There are a couple puzzles that require some jumping dexterity, but only a couple, and in my opinion they serve to increase the feel of immersion in the ages (in Myst, Riven and Exile there never was any danger until the endgame -- how realistic is that?). You still can't die though... you carry a linking book which automatically "panic links" out at any sign of danger. The online world (currently in a "prologue" and letting participants in slowly as a beta test) seems to be shaping up a very intriguing plot that is both being pushed forward by the DRC (Cyan Worlds staff acting "in character"), and players themselves. The offline version of uru (about 15-30 hours of myst gameplay bliss) is just the beginning to a vast and continuous story that looks to be very exciting and involving.

However, if you don't like the hardware requirements, detest the make-your-own character and 3rd person view, and don't care too much about continuing the story online, then wait around for Myst 4. That should be more like what you're used to. Uru is a different beast altogether.

One final piece of advice: there's a demo that you can download from uru.ubi.com. Download it and try it out to see if your system will work with uru and save yourself a lot aggravation.

A Myst game for gamers

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 16
Date: January 17, 2004
Author: Amazon User

There are a lot of complaints people have with this game that I didn't. Let's deal with them.

First of all, let me say this - the part of the box that says "minimum system requirements" is actually (gasp) the *MINIMUM* system *REQUIREMENTS*. If you DON'T HAVE THEM, then DON'T COMPLAIN when the game doesn't run. If you have a cheaper version of a graphics card, and Uru doesn't like it, oh well - it tells you quite specifically what you need. Being true 3D, it's a lot more than the previous bunch. My system is by no means incredible or new, and it looked profoundly gorgeous and ran with nary a hitch.

Second, a lot of people seem to be having trouble with the fact that there are running and jumping puzzles. Well, with Exile, when they added the ability to free look, there were quite a few puzzles based around pointing something somewhere. Now, they add the ability to move freely, so of course there are going to be some puzzles involving that. There aren't many, and to anyone who's ever played a third person adventure game, they're basically trivial.

Third, there seems to be this general backlash towards the game design in general. Less emphasis on story (which I simply don't understand - there were journals and backstories everywhere, just like the last three...but whatever), more open-ended design, etc. It seems to me that these guys weren't trying to make another Myst game, they were trying to make a good adventure game, and they displaced it from the rest of the mythology on purpose. This is a game designed to appeal to everyone, not just the people willing to click through an endless slide show.

Fourth, people seem to not like the puzzles. I don't get this at all. Aside from one fairly arbitrary solution at the very end of the last age, all of the puzzles made sense and I felt were quite clever. Exile had this feeling going that each puzzle was in isolation and I never felt like any of them really related to the game that much; here, each puzzle is an important part of whatever world it's in, more like the first game than either of the other two. There was only one age that followed the solve, move on, solve, move on mentality, and it was themed - each puzzle had an obvious solution that turned out to be completely wrong, and something else had to be done. It was genius, I thought - every solution made me think "oh, THAT makes sense!" once I finally got it.

It's not perfect - the not picking up objects thing was irksome, the load times can be annoying on older machines, and the ending is a little weak. But this is a Myst game that finally felt to me like a real adventure game, not an austere exercise in puzzle solving. I felt like I was part of it.

So, I'd reccomend this more to broad gamers than specific fans of the Myst franchise (as if the plethora of one-star reviews wasn't enough to make that clear), but I didn't think that it was anywhere close to as bad as most of the people here are making it out to be. One of the best games I've played in the last year.

Uru - Great gaming for all ages!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: December 07, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The latest in the Myst/Riven/Exile series follows in the tradition of "pushing the envelope" the folks at Cyan have been so good at for over ten years! Uru is not strictly a sequel but part of an ongoing saga. While it is a "must buy" for avid Myst fans, it would also captivate someone who has never played a Myst game.

This game is intended to be played on-line with a broadband connection to the Internet, but the boxed version contains a single-player game that is an outstanding follow-on in the Myst tradition. The single-player game is the prerequisite for going on-line, and the first month of on-line play is included in the price. Visit their web site at http://uru.ubi.com/ for a preview and additional details. This game has something for everyone - spectacular graphics, challenging puzzles, and a story line that follows the back story of the Myst sagas. An informal survey of about 200 current players shows an even distribution of ages from late teens through "over 60."

The game is played in the third person - you start off by creating an avatar - a graphic representation of yourself. In the game, "U R U" - You Are You, and you're actually in the game. That's not to say you can't improve on nature a bit. I'm in my late-50's and admit to having shaved a few years and a few pounds when I created my avatar! You control your avatar as you explore the worlds that you are actually walking, running, and jumping through, interacting with various objects to open doors, operate machinery, gain information, and progress through the game.

The on-line version is even more exciting, adding the exploration of a vast underground city together with your fellow adventurers with whom you interact visually and with real-time voice communication.

If you're not familiar with the Myst saga, it revolves around an ancient civilization called the D'ni that has developed a way of traveling from world to world (called "Ages" in the game) using special books called Linking Books. Each of the games has four or five Ages, and Uru is no exception, with six Ages in the single-player version. Each offers a totally different opportunity to explore, solve puzzles, and learn more of the background story that is being woven together into an elaborate tapestry. The on-line version promises even more Ages for the adventurer, probably at the rate of one new Age every one or two months.

I've been playing adventure games since the "original" - ADVENT by Crowther and Woods in 1979, and Uru is a worthy latest step in the development of this genre. Like all of the Cyan games, there is no violence or gore, and the game is suitably rated "E" for everyone. Uru offers a challenging and enjoyable experience for adventurers of all ages.

Highly recommended!

Walt Scrivens

Know The Graphics Card You Have Before Buying

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 11
Date: December 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

After reading through over 100 reviews (many of which unfairly rated the game without playing it) the main beef with the game seems to be graphics card related. If you do not know what kind of graphics card you have in your computer, do not buy this game YET. Do the research and find out.

The ages in this game are simply breathtakingly beautiful and one reason why they are that way is because of something called transformation and lighting. Your graphics card must support this. T&L gives the game world a more realistic look, but is only supported on newer graphics cards.

A brand new computer may not come with a graphics card in its AGP slot because the onboard card is much cheaper and most consumers won't recognize the difference between a newer graphics card and the onboard one. Intel motherboard graphics cards are great for older 3d games like Half-Life or The Sims, but newer games with T&L (like Uru) won't be supported. You will need a newer graphics card for your AGP expansion slot.

A word of warning, Nvidia has a line of cheaper graphics cards with an Mx tag on the end like the GeForce 4Mx. DO NOT get this type of graphics card. The Mx graphics cards do not work nearly as well as the regular GeForce graphics cards. A vanilla GeForce 2 will work better than a GeForce 4Mx. Don't fall prey to fancy advertising. Do some research and your experience with Uru should be very enjoyable.

I recently bought my girlfriend's family a new ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB of RAM for $70 so that they could play this game. I downloaded the newest Catalyst drivers from ATI's website and installed the game. Guess what? It works perfectly and they love it.

Girlfriend's system:
Windows Xp Home Edition
2.0 Ghz Pentium 4
384 MB of RAM
ATI Radeon 9600 with 128 MB of RAM

The game also works perfectly on my GeForce 4 4200 with 128 MB of RAM.

My system:
Windows Xp Professional Edition
2.26 Ghz Pentium 4 with 533 Mhz FSB
768 MB of RAM
Nvidia GeForce 4 4200 with128 MB of RAM
Sound Blaster Audigy Sound Card (well worth it, the sound in Uru is amazing [Uru won Gamespot's award for Best Sound in a PC game])

By the way, the online community is just great and more than willing to help out. Check out UruObsession (http://www.uruobsession.com) and join in on the fun!

Something fishy in D'ni

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 12 / 18
Date: January 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Firstly, I'm a computer animator and illustrator by trade. I had no technical problems with the game whatsoever; it ran like a champ, even on an out-of-the-box year-old Dell. However, that didn't mean that I liked the game overmuch. In a nutshell, its biggest weakness is that you explore 4 ages so that you can get online. That was the glaring point and purpose. There is no other reason. No story, no plot, no tension-building, no great sense of mystery and discovery - all the things that made the first three tremendously appealing. However, I understand the technical trade-offs Cyan needed to make to achieve this - but that was absolutely no excuse to sacrifice storyline. I am sadly disappointed with Uru. Where is my story! Weak, weak work, Cyan.

The gathered are known by their faces of stone.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: April 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The Psion here (I never wrote a review before, and I figured this is a good time to start...):
From what we can tell, this is going to be the most in-depth and advanced MMORPG ever! The story has already started ...and the screenshots and music are excellent. One of the best things about the work from CyanWorlds is the music, and this will prove to be no exception. From what movies we have seen avatars will be very varied and movement and interaction seem very easy. We're counting down the days...

The Psion

Why use strength when you can use your mind?

~hapile

Beautiful.. lush... brilliant

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: November 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

There's something to be said for innovation, and Cyan has certainly created one of the most innovative massively multiplayer games to date. This isn't about repetitive monster munching, like Everquest and Anarchy Online, and nor is it a glorified chat, like the Sims Online or Second Life. This is more; it's about exploration and puzzle solving. This is a game for the rest of us, those who would rather read a book or stargaze than rack up frags. This is the massively multiplayer game which allows for a life outside of the game, something I welcome greatly, after having spent far too much time in Anarchy Online... hours now I wish I could reclaim. So if you're even a little bit curious, get this game; you'll be glad you did.

It's so pretty!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I played a Myst game for the first time less than two weeks ago. After downloading the demo for Uru: Ages Beyond Myst I could hardly wait to pick it up, I ordered my copy immediately. I have to say without a word of exaggeration that this is one of the most beautiful games I've played, both visually and from a gameplay standpoint. It's a strange experience, I'm usually more inclined to play fast paced 3D shooters and RTS games; this game is a such a delightful departure - it's steeped in mysticism (pardon the pun) and wonder. The game plays out at the pace of the player - my own sense of urgency to complete it took a back seat for a little while as I enjoyed the vistas.

I'm really looking forward to the online component of the game - from what I've read it's going to expand on the game like a real world, adding new content on a regular basis. This game is a phenomenal experience - for that experience to keep growing, it's like a wish come true!

Thanks Cyanworlds! It's great to play a game and just enjoy it!

The Real System Requirements

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The requirements that Amazon is listing are incorrect. Here are the correct requirements taken from the Ubisoft support site.

In order to play this game properly, your computer must meet or exceed these minimum requirements:

Supported OS: Windows 98SE/2000/ME/XP (Only)

Processor: 800 MHz Pentium III or AMD Athlon or better

RAM: 256 MB RAM or more

Video Card: 32 MB Nvidia Geforce 1,2,3,4, or FX - ATI Radeon 7000-9800 or better

Sound Card: DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card

DirectX: DirectX 8.1 (Included on disc)

CD-ROM: 4x or faster (NOT recommended for use with CD-RW's)

Hard Drive Space: 2 GB free hard disk space

Peripherals Supported: Mouse, Keyboard

Display: 800x600 16-bit display

Been there, D'ni that....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: January 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Now that I've finished the entire game, I like it better than I did while in the middle of playing it. The other reviewers are correct in stating that you will probably have to upgrade your video card in order to play. I did, plus added more memory. But the game worked fine after that. My biggest complaint with Uru is that, unlike the previous Myst games, finishing Uru depends a great deal upon your dexterity. There is jumping, walking jumps, running jumps...I confess, I once jumped off a cliff in sheer frustration! You figure out what you must do, and then spend "hours" trying to accomplish it! C'mon Cyan...we don't need busy work in our games!! I must say that the old thrill of snooping around, opening doors, going down hallways and reading other people's journals is alive and well. Just be prepared to "panic link" hundreds of times before you're through!

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