Myst
SCORE: 85
A CD phenomenon spanning five games, 3 books, and an online community similar to that of World of Warcraft (though not near as violent), Myst has become widely popular. The creators of the game didn’t want to make games, but rather to make worlds. And make worlds they did; twenty-one beautiful worlds in fact. I’ll explain the Myst series a little bit right here before I get into the review (since all five of the games will be up eventually). You take upon the role as “the traveler” or “the stranger” as the character has come to be known. He/She came across a peculiar book in a library which transported them to this new world. He eventually comes upon a man named Atrus (a man with the ability to write worlds). And the entire series revolves around this man, and his very problematic family. As you start the game, you are shown a video of a man falling into a fissure as he narrates. A book falls in front of you and you open it to reveal an image. You place your hand upon the image and everything goes black. When you wake up, you find yourself standing on a dock connected to a small piece of land. Welcome to the island of Myst.
The graphics in this game are absolutely beautiful. You can look at these images and you find yourself in disbelief at how wonderfully detailed everything is. So detailed, everything looks real. Now, lack of things actually seen moving helped with the images but the things actually seen moving are good enough. But here’s a cool part. There are actual people in the game. Not 3D computer generated images but actual people acting within the game. Now, with the people acting, however, they are just simple QuickTime movies that don’t get up and walk around. Still, the game is fantastic based on looks.
The sounds in this game work perfectly. You open a book and turn a page in it, there’s page flipping sounds. Press a button and it clicks. Most everything clickable will make a sound. And then there’s the music. You spend a lot of time in solitude on this game and the music can set a dark and lonely atmosphere. And here’s a nice little tidbit. There’s an entire level based on sound.
Gameplay in the game is point-and-click. You click to turn in the direction you want to go and click in the center to move forward. Click doors to open them, switches to activate them, pages and books to pick up and read them, and the ever popular flipping the light switch. The entire game is one giant puzzle with all the pieces strewn about and multiple ways to put them together. You start at a dock with no clue what to do until you start finding your “pieces”. Getting stuck in the game is half the fun as you try to figure out the mechanics of each world.
There isn’t really anything in the game to unlock. However, in the rather rare edition of the game, real MYST, there is a new “age” (a Myst world) added once you complete the game. I, the reviewer, have not had the pleasure of exploring this age yet so I can’t really say if it is worth it although I am a Myst fanatic and am searching to find that version of the game. On a side note, Myst games are known for their multiple endings. If you save at a certain point, you can go back to that point (very near the end of the game) and change your last few moves to view each one. Just so you know, there are four total endings to the game.
As far as Family Friendly goes, I would say no one under eight years of age should play this. One of the brothers in the game is rather psychotic acting and his living quarters in each age support that little detail. But also, the sheer perplexities some parts of the game employ would even make a full-grown adult flustered. But there’s one thing that may be a bit of a concern. And hold one because I’m going into Myst explanation. You see, there are these special books this ancient race of people had that, when they wrote in them in their own language, would link them to other worlds as described in the book. And thus here comes the question of, are they creating worlds or are they linking to already existing worlds with the same criteria? Well, that’s player discrepancy although it seems it’s a little bit of both. But alas, I must say that while the game has no Christian influence, it’s still a great game.
To sum it all up, Myst is
a wonderful game and as it has four sequels and an awesome storyline to
it, I doubt anyone would be disappointed. As far as current
availability, the game may be hard to find as it has been about for at
least ten years now and real MYST is even harder to find. Gametap may be
your best bet at playing it. I recommend this game to anyone who doesn’t
have a short attention span and a short temper.
- vernanonix
Graphics: 82%
Sound: 90%
Replay/Extras: 85%
Gameplay: 90%
Family Friendly Factor: 80%
System: Personal Computer
Publisher: Broderbund
Rating: 'E' for Everyone
Want more info on this
product,
or the company that made this product?
Set web browser to:
Link
Got a question, comment,
or a concern regarding this
review?
Email them to:
GameReviews@familyfriendlygaming.com