I'm not sure if this is the best topic for this post, but I just wanted to air some of my thoughts upon completing Uru: Ages Beyond Myst's single-player portion.
Let me say that I have played to completion all prior Myst games. In addition, I've read three of Rand Miller's Myst books. I own a really ghetto first issue of the Myst comic book and a "Making of Riven" coffee table book. Yes-- although I don't like the term very much, I am a Myst geek.
To be honest, I hadn't planned on purchasing Uru until I joined this forum. It seemed like a half-hearted attempt at milking the franchise with a MMOG. The concept seemed original, but it wasn't (at that time) going to be enough to get me to pay for an online game. But after a few days-- presumably to Garyos' postive enthusiam-- I couldn't stand it and ordered a copy for myself.
The first thing I was surprised with was the graphics. I have a pretty beefy system and the game looks fantastic. It was obvious that Cyan put a significant amount of work into making the textures look as detailed as possible. The 3D geometry of the Uru world is less detailed than the Unreal 2003 engine, but it still looks wonderful when covered with such rich textures.
Contrary to BacardiJim's review in his Uru Diaries #1 (we can agree to disagree on this), I believe that the world does indeed
feel like Myst. There were many times during gameplay that I would stop and think about how the environmens would have looked in Riven or even Exile. There is not much difference from the 3D worlds of Uru and the 2D worlds of the earlier Myst games, IMO. The fantastic visual stylings are back, and the excellent texturing of the engine helps to make it all happen.
I'd read some reviews of Uru prior to purchasing it and already knew about the mixed bag-of-a-control scheme. I agree; it is awkward. It's clear that Cyan had to compromise with people coming off of the earlier mouse-controlled Myst games and those coming from WSAD-controlled first-person shooters. A post earlier in this forum mentioned that it would have been better to commit to one scheme or the other, and I wholeheartedly agree. Nonetheless, you eventually figure out how to best control your character and maneuvering becomes pretty effortless.
Enough has been said about the avatar creation system, really. I like it a lot. It was really fun trying to create a digital-likeness of myself, even if I do look like I'm twenty years older than I am. Although I know Cyan will add more clothing styles, I also hope they add more hairstyles. One look at my character and I feel fifty.
Anyways, I should be talking about the gameplay! This is the reason I really wanted to write this post. I really want to compare notes with the rest of you on your opinions of the ages. Here are my thoughts:
**Possible spoilers ahead**
Teledahn: This was the first age I completed, and the one that reminded me most of earlier Myst games. In my opinion, Teledahn had the most goal-oriented puzzles, which made the age a lot more cohesive. It also had the most back-story of the ages. Although it is not my favorite, I think Teledahn is the best example of how the puzzles in Uru should work (at best). Then again, I lucked out on the kick-the-bridge part
Kadeesh: I immediately fell in love with this age. Although it is the most linear (and the most annoying) of the ages, the visual style was exsquisite. The "hint room" really reminded me of some of the portraits of Gehn in the earlier Myst games. Nonetheless, I felt that Kadeesh's puzzles were poorly-implemented for the game. Although it was possible to solve most using the "find what is missing" perspective, Kadeesh's puzzles had absolutely no feedback to what you were actually doing. It would have been nice to have the plates in the light-room depress when you walked on them. I spent multiple hours in that room, because I didn't even know if I was walking aimlessly or if I was solving a puzzle. Awkward design decision. The honeycomb room was also obnoxious because it incorporated symbols from three different areas in the hint room, two of which were irrelevant. Again it suffered from the lack of tangible response. The plates should have depressed in that room as well. All in all, Kadeesh was my favorite age and also the one I hated the most. Ironic...
The Eder ages: Yes, the kicking baskets thing was ludicrous. The fireflies thing was also irritating. The game gives you no indication that fireflies can be transported through books, which is why I had to resort to hint-boards for the solution. Other than that, I feel that the Eder ages were well-designed. I especially liked the look of the waterfalls and the look of the Brain trees.
Gaharessan: I played this age last. Although the puzzles are not as memorable as any of the other ages, this age made me utterly thrilled for the possibilities of Uru: Live. I'm not sure what it was, but as the age progressed, you can just feel yourself being a part of something larger, greater. It's easy to see the second garrison as a competitive arena of some sort in Live. The outdoor vistas in this area were second to none. I almost spent as much time looking at them as I did in Kadeesh!
**End spoilers**
I feel that Uru's single player portion did an admirable job at creating a range of puzzles that could challenge anyone, regardless of their gaming history. I doubt any one person has surfed through Uru: Prime without help. Most adventure gamers probably had trouble with the jumping sequences, yet they probably flew through the difficult puzzles of Kadeesh or Teledahn. Newer gamers who could have handled the jumping with ease probably had to break out a notepad a few times on their own. I generally liked the range of puzzles in Uru, even if kicking baskets was a poor decision.
As I continued through the game, it really occured to me what an excellent decision it was for Cyan/Ubisoft to turn Myst into a MMOG, especially the first adventure-oriented one. The Myst world, with its incredible history in books and computer games, is absolutely fit for a MMOG. The decision by Cyan to keep the in-character speak in use on the website, forums, and game is also really progressive. They have even incorporated real-life history into the game, which amazes me. Robyn and Rand Miller apparantly visited D'Ni in their day, and created Myst as a showcase of their experienecs. Cyan/Ubisoft masquerade as the DRC, or D'Ni Restoration Council. These easy mneumonics are great ways for inexperienced people to stay in character and I can see it being a major boon for Uru: Live.
I'm going to wrap this "review" up by saying that despite an awkward interface and some poorly-written puzzles, Uru: Prime was an excellent game that turned a disbeliever into someone drooling for Uru: Live.
That is all! [How's that for my first game review?]
