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fish traps? What happened to this series?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 130 / 162
Date: March 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

To whomever at Cyan may be concerned or cares:

It took me about three days to beat Riven. It took me exactly 26 hours (minus sleep and food) to beat Myst III: Exile. As soon as my roommate gets done with Myst, I'll beat that too.

I'm not on my fourth day/night of Uru, and I have a few observations for whomever makes product/marketing decisions around there, or whomever wants to read this in general. I don't really care if you read it or not, but it'll make me feel better to write it.

... I just spent over an hour and a half of perfectly good screen time unsuccessfully attempting to correctly place two FISHTRAPS in a river using my feet. WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE THINKING!? You took a perfectly good idea and completely demolished it.


Here's why your first three titles were fun, and why Uru isn't, imho.

1) They were very binary. Do something wrong, *crickets chirp*. Do something right, *poof! presto chango*. Even when you had to go see if your action had positive consequences or not, it was very clear-cut. Or, as I like to put it, "Repeatable Results." Things work the same way every time.

In Uru, however, depending on how one jumps, leaps, kicks, walks, runs, etc., there are a finitely much greater number of possibilities. And, doing something "more or less" the same may not necessarily return the same results. Or, more simply put, "Marginally Repeatable Results." Attempt the same maneuver 100 times, you might get it right 80 times or so. Those other 20 create a severe amount of frustration in a game with so much complication already built into the objectives.

2) Your first titles had a distinct visual style, which very much led to the first point. While this style may have been the result of a lack of funding, technological difficulties, attempts to make the software package smaller, what have you, it made the games!! This style defined your demographic! No joysticks, no 3D engines, just a slideshow.

Uru, while attempting to catch up to the rest of the electronic gaming universe, completely abandons the low-res charm of the earlier titles. We don't WANT to have to move a character in these games. We WANT the SLIDESHOW!!

3) No freely moving objects. You click a button, you pull a lever, you zip down a ladder with a click of the mouse, and you're there.

Uru: see fish trap rant above. The rocks in Teledahn prison weren't so bad. They were still way more than I wanted, but nowhere NEAR as bad as those fish traps. If you went to so much obvious trouble coding the engine and animating the avatars... couldn't I just pick the stupid thing up and carry it where I needed it? It's not that much of a leap! In fact, unless I'm very much mistaken, it's a heck of a lot easier to code/animate than kicking stuff around.

4) Skip animations. This is HUGE as far as I'm personally concerned. There were so many places you had to go back and forth over the same ground in the first three titles, that when you pushed/pulled/opened, you just wanted to get it over with quickly.

Uru... You know what? I saw that wonderful elevator graphic the first ten times up and down. I'd rather just get back to where I need to reread the map as fast as possible. If there is a skip animation key, I sure couldn't find it. If it's there and I missed it, then I apologize for the rant.

5) Speaking of looking for keyboard shortcuts, I never saw a manual in the first three games.

Why do you all of a sudden put out a game with a manual? WHY!!!! This should be glaring error numero uno in the unbalanced equation that is Uru.

6) This one is more or less all of the above rolled into one. When you put in Myst and fired it up, you were in the game. You didn't have the first clue in heck where you were, what you were doing, or what you might be expected to do. That was so..... refreshing.

The stupid stupid stupid very very stupid Desert. I can completely understand it from with respect to back story, visual excitement, and kicking off things with a puzzle, but:
a- It was huge. I spent way too much time examining fence posts and scrub bushes.
b- I didn't want to have to spend so much time learning how to move my character. See above.
c- What happened to just getting into the thick of things? "Training courses" always have and always will completely suck. Noone wants them except the people who put them in the games. No matter how you spin it, that was a classically cliche training course, complete with help manual Zandi.


Why did you have to kill Uru: Live? Why didn't the subscriber base come calling? As far as I'm concerned, see above. I never would've paid to push fish traps around.

I hope that another Myst title comes out. I really really do. The overriding concept is great. The ball ride at the end of Amateria in Myst III? Awesome. I went back to the top of that building at least 5/6 times to do that over. The plants in Edanna? The first time I figured out how to get into the Idol's mouth on Village Island in Riven? All stupendous. I'm a sci-fi/fantasy buff, love the story, love the characters.

Believe you me, though: I'm reading reviews and watching demos first. If the next one is anything like this - count me out. The only reason I'm going to finish this Age and get to the end of the game is pure stupid stubborness. It won't be out of enjoyment.

Pretty Good But Has Irritations

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 73 / 79
Date: December 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Overall, this is a pretty good game. Even though Uru presents the world in a fully immersed 3D view (using either 1st person or 3rd person), it's still very much like the rest of the Myst series. Personally, I'm not quite sure if I like the 3D perspective or not: I spent a lot of time switching between 1st and 3rd person (the game's written to work better with 3rd person) and trying to see things around me, but I'm still not sure if I prefer the old Myst "still-life" mode or Uru's 3d perspective. I suppose it's six of one or half a dozen of the other (EDIT: I'm now playing Myst IV: Revelations. It's written in the old "still-life" Myst style. I can now say that I much prefer that mode over the 3D, real-time view used in Uru).

Anyway, for the positives, the game is beautifully drawn (though I don't think it's as captivating as the earlier Myst episodes) and has great sound (Note: I've got a 3.0 GHz P4C with an ATI 9800 Pro and SB Audigy 2: all the graphic/sounds settings are turned to their highest). Since everything's static until you do something with it, there's no time pressure and you don't have to worry about dying. For the most part, the puzzles are fun, interesting, and doable. However, near the end, that changes (more later).

Unfortunately, I've got more negatives than positives:

- The game consistently crashed to the desktop every hour or so. There was really no rhyme or reason to it: one moment I'd be doing something in the game, the next, I'd be looking at my Windows desktop. I also had one instance where the game crashed Windows XP and caused a reboot.
- The game doesn't properly explain it's operating procedure. Specifically, it doesn't really explain that there's no SAVE process. In the game's defense, saving isn't really needed. As noted above, you can't die and nothing happens that you don't cause. Also, there are Journey Cloths that you touch that save your position (the game state is always up-to-date). Most of the sub-areas are small enough that coming back to the last Journey Cloth is no problem. The biggest problem is that the first time you leave the game you're really worried that everything will be reset when you come back. Of course, it's not.
- There's a device called a KI which appears to be associated with the Live (online) part of the game (i.e., it's not used at all in the single player version). Unfortunately, it's not well explained at all in the game and a good portion of one world is devoted to finding this KI. Also, when you get it, you're not really sure that you DO have it. It's basically added to your wrist when you use a certain machine. If you're not watching, you'll miss it's addition.
- In each world, there's a subquest for "Yeesha pages." They're added to your "Relto Book" and modify your home base. These are purely cosmetic changes with no value whatsoever. Sort of a worthless process.
- There are a LOT of totally useless, long, boring history books strewn around the game (in one room, there were around 12). Since you assume that everything you find in such a game is useful, you end up wading through them all. Yet, they serve no purpose whatsoever except for fleshing out the background.
- Each world seems to have a jump to a room which serves no purpose whatsoever. You jump there, look around at nothing of value, and then have to find your way back to where you were. Silly.
- When you put your mouse pointer over something important (i.e., you can manipulate it), it changes to a sort of bullseye thing. Unfortunately, it doesn't change unless you're close enough to the point and facing the right direction. You can pass right by important things because you weren't in the right spot when you examined it.
- Very early in the game, it gives you positive re-inforcement that closing doors behind you might be useful. However, later on this same activity can cause you trouble since it will make retracing your steps very troublesome. There's a similar problem with jumping down chasms: sometimes you need to jump down them in the right place (with very little indication that you should). But, most of the time, doing so will end up in your "death" and subsequent return to your home base.
- Several puzzles have NO indication how you are supposed to manipulate them. There are usually clues present that tell you what the answer should be. But, you just don't know how to change the state of the puzzle to get there. VERY frustrating.
- In one case, you push a button to lower a drawbridge and nothing happens. You think you've missed something and end up running around for long periods of time trying to find out what's wrong. It turns out that in this particular case the bridge is stuck. You have to body slam it to get it to drop. VERY irksome.
- Two of the puzzles require you to move objects into certain positions. BUT, you can't pick things up. You have to kick them into position. In the later puzzle, this is EXTRAORDINARILY frustrating because of the hidden nature of the need to position the objects and the degree of precision required. Also, most kickable objects serve no purpose whatsoever.
- One puzzle puts you in a pitch black location where you're supposed to do things. This requires an external light source (which you don't know you can get since you can't carry things). Also, once you get that light source, you're probably not aware that the pitch black area was even USABLE since when you ran across it you couldn't see anything there.
- And, finally, one of the Yeesha pages requires a very sensative set of running/jumping actions to retrieve. This kind of activity has no business being in a Myst game.

Most of the above irritations are pretty minor. The trouble is that the more serious/bothersome ones occur near the end of the game. So, that's what you tend to walk away with. Overall, the game is pretty good. Irritations or not, I still recommend it. One other thing to note: the Live or online portion of the game is not yet available (since I don't play such things, that makes no difference to me one way or the other). So, keep that in mind if you're looking for online play.

ATI Drivers May Need to be Updated - Fun after that

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 54 / 60
Date: January 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

When I first bought this game, I could not get it to run, in spite of the fact that I had the high end of the system requirements listed on the box. I went to ATI.com and downloaded new drivers for free. The game ran beautifully after that.

Things I liked about this game:
1. The graphics. Incredible. I especially loved the 3-D environment that allows you to spin around and look at everything, and gives you more freedom of movement than previous Myst games.

2. The sound. Wonderful, rich sounds that fit perfectly into the game.

3. The story. Apparently, this a matter of taste, as I see most reviewers here on Amazon really disliked the story. Personally, I found the story at least as engrossing as Myst: Riven, although not on the same level as Myst: Exile. I enjoyed learning more about the D'ni people featured in the Myst games. The main story revolves around Yeesha asking you to restore four pillars in order to make things right for a new group of people, called The Least. I found the story very satisfactory.

4. The end. Again, this appears to be a matter of taste. Most people don't seem to have cared for the ending at all, but I loved it. I didn't feel like it was just a prelude for the online game, which I have no intention of playing.

5. The puzzles. They are definitely challenging. If you don't like a challenge, or you don't want to use a good walkthrough to finish, this may not be the game for you. I loved the puzzles (with a few exceptions), and as usual, found them to blend seamlessly into the game.

Things I didn't like:
1. Camera angles. They were pretty good most of the time, but often I would find myself watching my avatar walking somewhere on a path I couldn't see to an area I couldn't see. You can change the camera to first person, but the game will pull you out of it for puzzles, which interrupts the flow of the game.

2. Load times. It takes about a full minute sometimes for a new area to load. Granted, that isn't long, but considering how frequently you have to enter new areas, it can get annoying. This is probably an unavoidable drawback of having such lush graphics in 3-D game.

3. Jump, die, reload. Isn't that what most experienced gamers really hate about some adventure games? To be fair, you don't die, you're simply transported back to a central start point. Which has to load. Then you have to click to go back to the age you were in, and wait for that age to load. Then, depending how far you were from your last save point, you get to go find where you were when you fell. This can get tedious, especially when you factor in load times. One puzzle requires you to do quite a bit of difficult jumping, and I must have had to go through the above sequence 30 times. For that, I knocked a star off my review.

4. You can't save wherever you want. Jumping and falling would not be so frustrating if you didn't have to sit through the constant reloading of areas. You would not have to sit through the constant reloading of areas if you could save right before you jumped in the same area. However, this is not allowed. You never save in this game at all, except by finding and pressing jouney clothes. These save your place in each age. (Puzzles save themselves automatically once completed.) This isn't a huge problem, but can be inconvenient, especially if you're doing a lot of jumping and falling.

Overall, I really enjoyed this game, but there are definitely some flaws.

Uru: short single-player game, no on-line play to date

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 35 / 36
Date: December 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Myst, the most popular computer adventure game series in the history of the universe, continues with its latest offering, URU. The theme in URU remains the same as in past Myst games: you find yourself in deserted, mystical places and you need to figure your way out of them by solving a series of puzzles, many of which involving manipulating exotic gadgets and machineries. Every Myst game is essentially a glorified puzzle game rather than a traditional adventure or role-playing game with fully-developed stories and characters. Like its predecessors, URU appeals you with simplicity and challenge.

For those who worry that URU may not run properly on their PCs, there is a playable demo for URU available in many game sites (such as gamesdomain.com) that you can download and try on your PC.

I encountered no crashes or bugs, and got pretty smooth performance (30 to 50 frames per second at 1280x1024, according to the FRAPS frame counter utility, available for trial at fraps.com), while playing URU on my Pentium4 2.4GHz with 768MB DDR RAM and a GeForce4 Ti4200 128MB graphics card. Windows XP users should have at least 512MB of system RAM, as recommended by the game, to avoid long load times while traveling from one game area to another, which you will often need to do in the game.

URU does not allow you to save your game freely. It does automatically save the progress you've made -- what buttons you've pressed, machines you've turned on, and so on. But it does not save your location, so you always start a game session in a "home" location. It does offer you a way to link instantly to a desired location so you can at least avoid re-treading earlier paths. But you will need to figure out how the method works, along with all other puzzles in the game.

Whenever a game has no save-game feature, it is a good bet that at some point the game will MAKE you do certain things over and over. Sure enough, this is true in URU, but thankfully only for a puzzle or two. It seems that the lack of save-game is due to the addition of on-line gameplay, which has no save-game.

For the first time in an original Myst game, URU offers freedom of movement in a fully 3D environment. Now you cannot "zip" past an area to save time as in past games -- you always have to run or walk there yourself. All the graphics in URU are generated in real time, as opposed to displaying pre-rendered static images as in past games. This is why URU comes in only one CD (thus no more CD-swapping as in past games) -- because all the images are not actually on the disc, but dynamically generated while the game is running. Generating real-time images also means that your PC must have enough horsepower for the task. So be sure to try the demo and see how well it runs on your PC.

The most intriguing aspect of URU is the long-promised on-line multiplayer gameplay (monthly fee will apply), in which you discover new areas and solve multiplayer puzzles. Sadly, URU LIVE, as it is called, is still not available as of now, and there is still no word of when it will be.

The best thing about the URU's single-player game is that it offers one of the most difficult puzzles ever in the Myst series, or perhaps in all adventure games. It requires you to perform an action far away in order to produce an effect in your current location, with almost nothing in either location that may clue you in. You may, however, find it annoying to do certain things without a save-game feature because of the large scope of the puzzle. But the game designers are to be congratulated for coming up with this devilish brain-teaser.

The rest of the single-player game isn't nearly as hard nor as memorable. The puzzles that involve powering up machineries are, of course, highly familiar to veteran Myst players. There are quite a few code-breaking type of puzzles, which can be tiresome because you see them in almost every adventure game. There are a few "finding-the-concealed-object" challenges, which are made more interesting with your ability to move and look freely. But with the freedom of movement, URU inevitably has its share of action-oriented challenges that involve jumping and running, and they are always the least favorite things among adventure gamers.

Unless you like spending time admiring the scenic beauty of the game's enviroment (yes, this is a very good-looking game), you'll find that URU's single-player gameplay is actually pretty short. The sheer size of the environment may give you the impression of a big game. But there are often large areas, long corridors, and imposing structures that offer no interaction, and only serve cosmetic purposes. Not to mention, there are quite a few "dead end" areas that offer nothing related to the gameplay. I finished the game at an leisurely pace in two weeks. Here is the hope that URU LIVE will be available soon...

Great Game ... will run fine if you have the requirements

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 23
Date: December 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I don't often submit reviews for games I have purchased, but after reading some of the misleading reviews on here, I had to chime in. First off, to those complaining about the onboard Intel cards not working, a built in Intel card doesn't even have it's own memory (let alone the 32MB needed), it burrows memory from your system (8 MB in most cases). The specs call for a high powered computer, and unfortunately, many people think the new computer they just bought last week will do the trick. The problem with this, is that most computer companies (Dell, HP, Compaq, etc) make their machines cheap by using "on-board" video rather than a real video card. This onboard video will work fine for most applications that require minimum video processing, but if you try to run a state of the art graphics intense game like URU, you are SOL. So to sum up, don't blame the game maker, blame your lack of computer knowledge, your computer manufacture(for using onboard video) or your reading comprehension (it lists supported video cards on the box and the website).

Now, for those of you that have one of the video cards listed (Gforce or Radon) this game is beautifully rendered and will make use of all of the advanced features of the video card. The reason that URU is one disk is because it is all rendered on the fly (thus the graphics requirements) rather than 6 disks full of static pictures that are displayed as you move to that area.

Good clean single-player fun; CHECK SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 20
Date: December 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was very pleased that this game was released in a single-player version; I have the broadband connection to play Live and I'm looking forward to that, but I appreciate having a full single-player game as well!

I expected the single-player to be less than what I've come to expect from MYST series games. I was wrong. It's no Riven, and there will never be another MYST; like the original Star Wars movie, part of the MYST experience was playing it for the first time, and how incredible it was *for its time*. In terms of plot and storyline, URU compares favorably with MYST III: Exile. In terms of gorgeous places to wander around in, it's the best MYST game yet. Graphics have gotten better and if you have the right graphics card to run URU, you'll find a beautiful immersive environment. In terms of puzzles, I found it comparable to Exile adn the original MYST with some simple puzzles for us duffers and a few really tough nuts for those who love a challenge.

In terms of backstory, this is the best MYST game yet. Players who don't appreciate having access to lots and lots of information that fleshes out the story may not like URU. It is fairly clear in-game which items are game-critical and which are "extras". Those of us who like piecing together the backstory will love URU for this.

The live game shouldn't be reviewed yet, because it isn't fully available. If you purchase this game in 2003, register for Live immediately; you should expect to be on a waiting list for a while. You will not be charged for playing time during the Prologue, the introductory period in which the developers are working out the bugs related to going fully live, and you should receive one month free *after* the "grand opening" in 2004 when the Prologue ends and the game goes fully Live. For now, in 2003, the live Prologue should at most be treated like a playable demo.

CHECK THE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS for this game. It runs on Win98SE but not on Win98; there is currently no Mac version; only certain NVIDIA and RADEON graphics chipsets are fully supported. Here are the requirements from the UbiSoft site:

PC Requirements for Uru: Ages Beyond Myst:

Supported OS: Windows® XP/ME/2000/98 SE (only)
Processor: 800 MHz Pentium® III or AMD Athlon™
RAM: 256 MB RAM
Video Card: 32 MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 1, 2, 3, 4, or FX; ATI® Radeon™ 7000-9800 or better
Sound Card: DirectX® 9-compatible audio card
DirectX Version: DirectX 9 (included on disc)
CD-ROM: 4x or faster (not recommended for use with CD-RWs)
Hard Drive Space: 2 GB free
Peripherals Supported: Mouse, keyboard
Display: 800x600 16-bit display

Consider the playable demo, which can be downloaded from http://uru.ubi.com/us/downloads.php
to determine if URU runs on your system... and if it's the kind of game you like.

Great game, marred by a few issues

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: November 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

For the past several months, I've been lucky enough to beta-test this graphically stunning and intellectually challenging game. Yes, there's no doubt that the controls take some getting used to (but you can re-configure them all in-game), and the idea of seeing yourself takes some getting used to, as well. The online launch is proceeding, albeit very slowly and deliberately in stages to ensure that everything works properly.

The game, while not a direct sequel to the Myst series (it's more of a parallel storyline), is a stunning foray into adventure gaming and a ground-breaking one as well. To my knowledge, there have been no "Massively Multiplayer" adventure games. Imagine a game that requires you to work together with three or more players to solve logic puzzles to unlock access to other worlds. That's something you can look forward to.

"Uru Prime" (the single-player portion) is utterly gorgeous, and tells a tale of a culture's pride before their fall. The story also exposes a much darker side to the D'ni culture that hasn't been seen before (if you've played any of the previous games), including slave-trade, extermination of other races, and corruption within the supposedly "utopia" of the D'ni Guild system (which was hinted at, in the books). The single-player storyline perfectly sets up the online portion, while allowing a decently satisfying gaming experience for those who decide to not explore deeper, and participate in the online portion, dubbed "Uru Live".

The biggest portion that attracts me about the online portion is the sheer storyline potential for it. With so many of the other MMORPGs out there, the story is a sketchy framework wrapped around the gameplay. So much of the gameplay in those games seems too repetitious to me. In Uru, the gameplay serves the storyline, not the other way 'round.

The game's creator, Rand Miller (who created "Myst" and "Riven" with his brother Robyn), envisions the online portion much like episodic TV. He even calls each new story installment as "episodes" The announcement recently that has made waves is that there will be a multi-lateral approach to "Uru Live" episodes; you'll receive in-game mail, get to read posts on a message board, and you'll also run across other players in-game. The biggest difference is that these players will actually be acting out the story, to help further it.

In fact, I ran into one of these last night, in my first foray into "Uru Live". Was interesting, to say the least.

The other big thing that has got my attention versus other MMOGs, is that the sheer evolution of the environments. The new worlds will become available at an estimated one every other month, and there will be smaller changes to the online game environment weekly, according to the game's designer.

No RPG, this: there's no levelling-up, no killing, and no dying. No experience points, no buying better armor/weapons, and no PvP killing. It's all about the story, about using yer "noggin" and working with your fellow explorers to solve the puzzles.

Excellent game, highly recommended

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: December 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I liked very much Uru. It is very immersive, the graphics quality is great, the music and sound are excellent and there is certain magic and sophistication in it. Some people have complained about the interface and the 3d person view but I personally disagree. After 1-2 hrs you really get used to the interface and you can easily switch between 1st and 3d person mode whenever you like. The only kind of negative comments I have is about the difficulty and lack of logic in many puzzles, particularly those in the Kadish Tolesha age. It may take you for ever to finish the game if you don't consult any hints in a guide or in the web. One reviewer said that you can finish the game in 10 hrs and I am telling him that if he was able to do that he should quit his job as a game reviewer and go to work for some high level cryptography position for the government or in the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton (Einstein used be there).

One word: Amazing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: December 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The Myst series, started in the early 90s by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller under the company name "Cyan" founded by the two, was a phenomenal series of computer games that would quickly move up to the top in a list of the greatest video games in gaming's history. From the beginning, Myst was an artistic, as well as technological, masterpiece. Scene by scene, Myst was carefully pre-rendered into amazing detail, while at the same time providing extremely challenging puzzles and an amazing storyline. The amount of effort put into this game provided a photorealistic environment, while at the same time exercising the gamer's mind more than any other game would. The Cyan team continued the Myst tradition in the two sequel games "Riven" and "Exile", each time making every aspect of the game increasingly amazing. Cyan has, once again, delivered every loved aspect of the original Myst games, incorporated into a new graphics engine meeting and exceeding all expectations of modern games. As I started Uru, I couldn't believe my eyes. Living in a desert myself for the better part of my life, I'm quite familiar with the landscape and skies of deserts. Starting the game in the territory of New Mexico on a graphics card that isn't by any means the highest-grade, a GeForce4 Ti4200, gave me graphics of the such I haven't seen in any other game. It almost immediately dove me into its amazing environment, storyline, and puzzles. Uru told me of a once-great, lost civilization, named "D'ni", and nearly every aspect of the culture and tradition of it. It provides the storyline with great detail, moreso than any other game on the market, breathing life into D'ni and sending you deeper into this civilization, its life and its worlds, than you'd ever imagine. Moving through the universe, each age(world in the Myst universe) provides a drastically different environment. While one may have falling leaves and abundance of wildlife, another may be desolate, deserted and gray. Variation between ages in the universe is amazing. Music throughout the game is beautiful, and pulls you even deeper in. The game also features various weather in each world. Different areas have different personalities in climate, yet cease to be repetetive and annoying. Uru is a whole other world, and from the moment you start the game, you see this. Words, however, do not do this game justice. If you're skeptical of the quality of Uru, download the demo. Make sure all graphical and sound settings have been tuned as high as possible to fit your system profile, and if you have a surround sound system, set it up properly; it's worth it. I strongly suggest any gamer to purchase this game and explore the world for themselves. It's more than worth it.

It's just not Myst

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 18 / 21
Date: January 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I expected this game to be similar to the other three in the Myst series. I was disappointed. The game is OK, but it lacks the charm and challenge of the other three. You don't feel like you're the first person to explore this world, and the puzzles are too easy. The graphics are stunning, but the Sims-like characters shatter the illusion that you're really there. Also, where the other games had a strong plot, this one doesn't have one at all. I've only completed one of the ages, and I'm having trouble bringing myself to finish the rest.

I also found several problems with playability. While I love the concept of a 3D world to explore, there were so many difficulties with it that I stopped in frustration several times. First, some puzzles involve moving loose objects around. The only problem is you can't pick anything up. You have to kick the object and hope it goes in the right direction. Second, there is NO ZIP MODE, so you have to walk all the way from puzzle to puzzle. This becomes very tedious after awhile. Third, this game takes a long time to load, and every time you enter a new age, which you do a lot, you spend several moments looking at a blank screen.

The main problem, however, is that this game does not stand well on its own. Its purpose is to get people into the internet game, and the age I beat left me very disappointed. In the other games, when you see towers off in the distance, you can always find a way to get to them, and when you have random pipes sticking out of the ground, they always connect to a macine that you must turn on. In the age I defeated, you can see strange towers in the distance, but you never get to them. I went to the internet site to see if maybe you could get to them there, but even on Christmas day, it was so slow that I had to give up.

While this game has many good concepts (like the ability to play with your friends in a 3D world), it just doesn't live up to its predecessors. All in all, if you are looking for the next Myst game, wait for Myst IV to come out.

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