[AFGNCAAP]

What are your thoughts about the Myst series? In particular, are there noticeable differences between parts 1, 2 and 3? Regardless whether you happen to love them or hate them, do you value all just the same (I get the impression, that usually liking one of them implies liking the whole series, URU aside)? I had always meant to check these games out; I finally bought the third - Exile (haven't started playing yet) but I am told its puzzles are not as interesting as in previous two. True?

What about "less pure" instalments? realMyst is a 3D remake of the original, but with the essence unchanged, isn't it? As for Uru, I tried to play the demo but just couldn't stand the controls...

Please treat the poll above as nothing but the appendix. As you noticed I am expecting more general discussion.

[Sanjuro2]

I chose Riven.

I know you wanted us to say more, but... I just found the game to be the best mix of imagination (brilliant environments), story, character, and puzzles.

[Jake]

I've never really loved a Myst game, but I have heaps of respect for Riven. I think that game is amazing, especially the first 2/3 or however far until you get sucked away into that nighttime age with the tree (from the box). It's retardedly frustrating, yes, but the fact that you honestly don't know what to do with everything the game gives you for the first handful of hours , and then having it all sort of congeal into this giant interconnected web of puzzles is really awesome, and none of it feels artificial like the more cloney games, or like the 7th guest or something. In Riven you never just walk up to a chess board, or an obscure grid of things that has no connection to the rest of the world - its all completely interrelated ... and excellent.

That said, I've never become addicted to a single Myst game, and couldn't tolerate Myst 3 at all*, but it's clear why people find so much appeal in those games. As far as the Myst clones however... I just have to file that under "you have bad taste."


* probably because Myst 3 seems like a pale attempt at making something that "looks totally Cyan," without understanding the underlying things that make Cyans games good. Note that the "raytraced graphics" are not what make them good, though that's never hurt I guess.

Nothing in Myst 3 felt organic or real in the right way. I mean, I guess it looked "real" but I never felt like I was in a real place... in Riven it was as if you'd walked into this insane creation of some crazy guy, laboriously tooled together over years of work (or weeks of writing in a book).. Everything had a story behind it I guess, and you felt that even without going and investigating the story behind it .

Sure the Myst games are loaded with crazy contraptions, but those worlds in Cyan's games all have a really really cohesive logic in their own way, while Exile just sort of felt like "lets throw a bunch of crazy shit on remote parts of this kerazy island!"

[Fickfack]

Riven is generally considered to be the best and Exile the worst. The difference is mainly one of atmosphere generated; Riven presents a largely interconnected and non-linear gameworld with well-integrated puzzles. It seems more like a real world than the other games; the creators put a fair bit of effort into creating a distinctive language and culture for the peoples of the game.
Myst III on the other hand, is a bit of a cop-out. The worlds in the game are themed puzzle worlds, and the only excuse for the existence of the puzzles is that Atrus was goofing off designing puzzles. It's still a compelling game, but less immersive and a bit more twiddlewarey.
Myst is in between. Some ages (Channelwood) acheive great puzzle integration and a real sense of exploring an actual world. Others (Selenitic) are well-designed but don't give any sense as to what the puzzles are doing there.

[Zack]

I chose Myst III: Exile, even though I'm surprised that almost everybody who joined this thread have said that they didn't like it. I found the game to be very immersive and pretty to look at, and that the puzzles weren't as hard in the first two Myst games.

So, Myst III: Exile is my favorite of the Myst games, followed close behind by Riven. I haven't tried the demos for either RealMyst, or Myst IV: Revelation yet, but I plan to do that, soon. I also agree with AFGNCAAP, about the URU Demo. I simply had no idea what I was supposed to do in that demo, and the interface was too tricky to learn. But, the avatar creation was pretty cool, though.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

What about "less pure" instalments? realMyst is a 3D remake of the original, but with the essence unchanged, isn't it?

realMyst is basically Myst, but instead of a boring slideshow you walk into the world and it wraps around you, it's the most alive and breathing world out of all the series - animals fly, flutter, and swim, the sea churns and the skies storm and shift, there's even day and night cycles. If you're thinking of getting Myst get realMyst instead, it's the exact same game, everything from the original is intact. Plus there is a bonus age, Rime, that you unlock once you finish the game proper.

[remixor]

(Trep actually voted for Exile)

i have only known about "real mist" for a few months. all i realy know is that its a realtime 3d game that you can walkthrew like your playing a FPS. when was this game released and who made it?
i'm guessing it was made by cyan but thats all i realy know.

[Bard09]

I'd have to say Riven, though I have respect for most of the installments. The original Myst, of course, for starting it all. Exile for improving the general narrative of the Myst games, even if it was using a fairly ambiguous "bad guy" character. Uru for all of its progressive hopes and dreams as well as the transition of the world into a 3D engine.

But Riven is still my favorite. It's the only Myst game I completed 100% without any walkthroughs, etc. I had to be miles away from an internet connection to do it. But I did. Riven is one of those games where looking back you're just amazed you actually finished it without any help.

Well, for me at least.

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by AFGNCAAP

What are your thoughts about the Myst series? In particular, are there noticeable differences between parts 1, 2 and 3? Regardless whether you happen to love them or hate them, do you value all just the same (I get the impression, that usually liking one of them implies liking the whole series, URU aside)? I had always meant to check these games out; I finally bought the third - Exile (haven't started playing yet) but I am told its puzzles are not as interesting as in previous two. True?

What about "less pure" instalments? realMyst is a 3D remake of the original, but with the essence unchanged, isn't it? As for Uru, I tried to play the demo but just couldn't stand the controls...

Please treat the poll above as nothing but the appendix. As you noticed I am expecting more general discussion.

I loved them all, Uru excepted, which I merely liked.
Exile is a tad easier, but still a great challenge IMO.

I think Riven is the vest of them all, because there wasn't a point in Riven that I could criticize. It's the perfect difficutly, very hard but possible, the graphics are gorgeous, and the world amazingly coherent.

EDIT: Also, RealMyst is awesome.
And it's very best, not vest .

[wilco]

I voted for Exile, but it is the only that I played and liked it, apparently I got to get Riven

[timcclayton]

OK I'm the only loser (so far) who has voted for the original Myst. It was just so different from anything else out there - the graphics were unparalleled and the puzzles, although not inventory-based, were involving and the different worlds were each completely unique. Myst has been unkindly received in more recent press articles because it spawned a whole host of almost entirely rubbish rip-offs and I feel that this has tarnished its reputation irreparably. Remember, this is the game that forced more people to buy a CD drive for their computer than any other game by far and there is probably no higher praise than that. And once most people had played the game, the reviews were still overwhelmingly in favour of the game.

I appreciate all the comments about RealMyst, but I can't seem to find a copy of it anywhere (I have been trying for 2 years on and off) so if anyone knows where I can get hold of a reasonably-priced copy (I live in the UK) I would be very grateful.

[Antoinetta]

Does RealMyst play on Windows XP?

Antoinetta

[timcclayton]

Not "out of the box" but apparently with some tweaking it can be made to work. I kept my old PC and installed Windows 98 SE on it just for these sorts of eventualities!

[Eleri]

Originally Posted by Jake

Sure the Myst games are loaded with crazy contraptions, but those worlds in Cyan's games all have a really really cohesive logic in their own way, while Exile just sort of felt like "lets throw a bunch of crazy shit on remote parts of this kerazy island!"

Actually... that's a good chunk of what happened. I'm trying to find the actual conversation (darn months worth of forum readings), but the bones of it was Myst game X was going to take longer than planned, so Presto was told "make a Myst game, don't use any of the story X is using, and have it done in 18 months."

Given that understanding, Exile wasn't half bad.

Oh, and I voted for Myst, because it was the gateway drug to the rest of them

Edit:
AHHA! Found the conversation, just need to clear quoting it here

[Intrepid Homoludens]

Originally Posted by guybrush_guy

i have only known about "real mist" for a few months. all i realy know is that its a realtime 3d game that you can walkthrew like your playing a FPS. when was this game released and who made it?
i'm guessing it was made by cyan but thats all i realy know.

Right. Imagine Quake III perspective but in peaceful settings and no dying. I think it was released 4 years ago by Cyan in conjunction with Mattel Interactive, and they developed their own proprietary engine (forgot its name).

Originally Posted by remixabutthead

(Trep actually voted for Exile)

And I vote for this:



Chris

[oerhört]

Quick overview:

Myst
Tolerable plot, excellent puzzles, on-and-off puzzle/world integration, simple audio effects still manage to create an atmosphere. Today it will fall short on the graphics, other than that it's still worthwile, and the puzzles are nothing short of very satisfying, never stressing it too much.
8/10

Riven
Good plot, excellent puzzles, excellent puzzle/world integration, multi-layered audio and much improved music. Brilliant atmosphere, continous sense of wonder, and its graphics still hasn't been surpassed as far as pre-rendered 2D stills go. Excellent more or less in every way. A classic.
10/10

Myst III: Exile
At times the best-designed puzzle progression of the series. Mediocre plot, mostly excellent puzzles, on-and-off puzzle/world integration, multi-layered audio, but worse music than Riven. More blurry graphics than Riven, but the ability to look around 360 degrees is a welcome addition. Very good.
8/10

Uru: Ages Beyond Myst
Moving in 3D is a step forwards, but the controls quickly become more of a hassle than in the first three games - now you have to wait for your avatar to run somewhere. Some excellent puzzles, some quite weak (some lacking logic), smells too much of originally being planned as an MMO. Extremely good atmosphere and audio, very good, and at times other-wordly good music. Graphics not at all reminiscent of the earlier titles, but more often than not astonishingly beautiful. Myst has never before been this real.
8/10

In short, all games have their strengths and weaknesses, but Riven is among the top 10 games of all time in my book, and that's an accomplishment.

[Fickfack]

Originally Posted by timcclayton

Myst has been unkindly received in more recent press articles because it spawned a whole host of almost entirely rubbish rip-offs

Such as? I must be playing all of the good rip-offs. The only obviously rubbish rip-off I can think of it Titanic: Dare to Discover.

[BacardiJim]

As far as the Myst clones however... I just have to file that under "you have bad taste."

Morpheus
Amber
Timelapse
Obsidian
Blackstone Chronicles
Bioscopia
Riddle of the Sphinx
Amerzone
Traitor's Gate
Lightbringer/Cydonia

All games presented in 1st-person perspective with minimal character interaction, little or no dialogue and minimal inventory. All "Myst clones." All superior games. And anyone who doesn't think so has "bad taste."

[oerhört]

The problem may well be, not only the general quality of Myst-inspired titles, but also the general quality of game reviewer brains. Stupidity and less-thoughtful comments are actually quite common. (PC Gamer UK gave Riven about 50%, i think - now that's what I call narrow-sighted.)