Myst Trilogy
Score: 75% ESRB: Everyone Publisher: Ubisoft Entertainment Developer: Cyan/Presto Media: CD/10 Players: 1 Genre: Adventure
Graphics & Sound: Myst Trilogy is a compilation set of all three Myst titles. Myst was an incredible success and a remarkable contribution to the development of video games when it was first released almost a decade ago. At the time, the graphics were unheard of in a video game. Things looked real, and player could truly believe that they were a part of some fantasy island somewhere in the middle of real life and another time. As the Myst saga grew, so did the stunning visuals. Each game improves leaps and bounds over the previous, keeping the Myst name at the top of the list as far as creating beautiful worlds. Since it was released only a few short years ago, Exile is visually the strongest, with true 3D worlds capable of being rummaged through in exquisite detail. And even though they are predecessors, Riven and the original Myst are still quite submersive environments. Sound plays a major role in the Myst series. A huge score, dozens of character dialogs often synced with a believable video representation of the character, major sound effects and strong environmental sounds produce something that has to be seen to be heard. All three titles are truly amazing works in the sound department. Moving away or around things moves the location of the sound, and almost every item in the game has an amazingly believable sound associated with it.
Gameplay: Since Myst has been around for quite some time, most gamers could probably tell you what they believe Myst is about. However, seeing as how this game is remarkably huge it's unlikely that any one player could tell you the same thing. Myst is an incredibly shadowed game, with an unlimited number of possibilities in direction and plot advancement. One player could get a completely different game out of the same CD. The ability for the game to take different paths while still outlining the same basic concept is truly amazing. There really is not much that can be said about Myst and its successors without giving away something. Just know that for most of the games, you are completely clueless. Actually, your avatar begins, in most cases, having no idea where he is, what he is doing, or even how he got to his present state. As the games progress, things start clearing up, and by the end of the game you think you have it all figured out, when some unbelievable trick is thrown in front of you, changing the path of the game entirely. You will have to figure out many puzzles along the way. Puzzles consist of various types, such as finding the padlock combination, aligning a celestial globe or just figuring out exactly where you are. Each game builds upon the previous, but since the character is pretty much clueless throughout each game anyway, you do not need to play the three titles in order, although surely that is why you are purchasing a trilogy boxed set.
Difficulty: Because Myst surrounds you with so much questions and unclearness, it could be a pain to learn the ropes, and advance through the game. In fact, I remember purchasing Riven when it was first made available having only completed the first half of the original Myst game. A lot of careful observations are required to figure out a number of interrelated puzzles presented through the games. Solving one puzzle could help out by unlocking new potential puzzles or puzzle solutions. The reverse is also possible, as some puzzles can only make the objectives more difficult than before.
Game Mechanics: Each of the three titles build on each other. The first introduced an original form of interactivity with the world. Players use simple mouse click gestures to move around and solve puzzles. That same basic idea is the outline for the other two titles in the Myst Trilogy. And it is a good thing too. Most games today have so many controls to worry about that the game play is second only to the difficulty of mastering the keystrokes. Myst gives you easy control forcing every bit of game play and difficulty in your own problem solving hands. My only qualm with this set is the lack of additional features. While each game is amazing in its own right, all that is done here is basically a repackaging of the three games CD sets in one box. There are no additional booklets, no extra game play features. In fact the original Myst title won't even work on machines that are running Windows 2000. With the popularity of this series into cult status, so much more could be included into this trilogy to make it an incentive for current owners to purchase the games again. Nevertheless, the only people who should buy the Myst Trilogy are people who don't own the titles already.
-==Boy, GameVortex Communications AKA Kyle Prestenback
Minimum System Requirements: MYST MASTERPIECE: 133Mhz Pentium II, 32 MB RAM, 30 MB Hard Drive Space, 4X CD-Rom Drive, DirectX 6.1 Sound/Video RIVEN: 100Mhz Pentium II, 16 MB RAM, 75 MB Hard Drive Space, 4X CD-Rom Drive, DirectX Sound/Video MYST III EXILE: 233Mhz Pentium II, 64 MB RAM, 200 MB Hard Drive Space, 4X CD-Rom Drive, DirectX 8 Sound/Video, 8MB Video Card   Test System: Windows 2000, AMD Athlon XP 1800+, 128MB RAM, 75GB HD, nVidia Vanta TNT2 video card, on-board sound, 40x CD-ROM HP Pavillion N5150, Windows ME, Pentium III 600Mhz, 64 MB RAM, 10 GB HD, 4MB graphics
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