Cubase!

Wow, well there are quite a few instalments now... but lets see if we can get you familiarised with them so that you can make an informed choice:

MYST I: As you have played, it was the first in the series, you are stuck on an island. You visit other worlds in order to piece together a puzzle and eventually get off the Island, which I don't think every happens, but you get an island to explore for the rest of your life... yay. Dated graphics, sound, and everything you would expect from a first-in-series title. Also one of the simplest of the series to complete. But very atmospheric and entertaining.

MYST II - Riven: Atrus (the old geezer in the green book) enlists your help as his wife has been kidnapped by his father and being held hostage. You visit many more worlds in this one, and it is by far the most challenging and longest title of the series. The visuals are (still to date) some of the best you will see in a game, but they are once again pre-rendered and you will be going from place to place clicking through nodes. But there are some neat transitions between nodes that makes the process a little less cumbersome. Also the acting and sounds a pretty amazing too. It's everything you would expect and more from a sequel which has been regarded as one of the very few occasions where the sequel has actually been better than it's predecessor.

MYST III - Exile: This is often hailed as the most 'cinematic' of the series due to the amount of full motion video and B-grade Hollywood talent on offer (Brad Dourif, who played Wormtongue in Lord of the Rings plays the villain in this one). A very engaging story, and a completely new intercafe this time (it was the first and last MYST title to be outsourced to another studio, Presto, to create). Instead of having static images for you nodes you get full 360 degree nodes to explore. It's not real time but it's pretty close and very immersive. The game also takes advantage of 3D acceleration which makes the interface very smooth and easy to work with. Once again the music and audio is very immersive and the graphics don't fail to deliver as expected with some of the worlds you visit in this title being truly breathtaking. It is actually no as challenging as the previous title, but definitely more challenging than the original.

MYST IV - Revelation: This has to be my favourite of the series, because, put simply: it's breathtaking! You once again have full 360 nodes to explore in all their pre-rendered beauty, but alongside this you have a richly animated environment, and characters which keep every inch of your screen bursting with life. The level of interaction is phenomenal as well, with your ability to tap, touch, rub and influence almost everything in your environment. Best visuals of all the MYST series, best sound, best music, best acting, best interface. It's really quite a treat. And you even have a nice feature song from Peter Gabriel. The story is also very engaging because for the first time since the two brothers' demise (remember the red and blue books) we get to re-visit their characters and find out exactly what happened to them, and what happens next. To say this game is challenging is an understatement. Once again, not as bad as Riven... but you will be scratching your head to the point where you will need stitches.

MYST V - End of Ages: The first title in the series to feature a fully real-time 3D environment. It is very beautiful and fun to explore... but in my opinion you lose a lot of what makes it a MYST title. Sure, you get the freedom, but limitations of transporting to a completely new engine meant that a lot of things that used to be quintessentially MYST were lost. That said, it is still one of the most beautifully constructed real-time 3D environments to date, still standing tall against the big guys. Unfortunately there is no FMV here, it's all 3D characters too, which is a shame but not a complete loss. The voice acting and music create a wonderful atmosphere, but you will not have the same MYST feel you had in previous titles. A good way story wise to bring the series to a close, but it's also in my opinion the weakest title of the series. About as challenging as Exile was too.

I will no go into details with the Uru online series as they stray too far from the story-driven and gameplay formula of the main series. And to be honest I never saw the point in having an online component to the MYST series. Adventure gamers have been doing it solo for years, and will continue to do so for years to come.

anyway, hope this clears things up or at least gives you an insight into what I think about the series. It's well worth it for a fix of adventure to keep the juices flowing. Happy exploring!

-Cub. =o)

myst relevations is the best, gog currently have the following

myst masterpiece
real myst (this is better)
riven

Wow, looks like I'm gonna have to play these eventually myself... I only knew of 3, I had no idea there were 5 of them...

I went ahead and bought StoneKeep and Phantasmagoria from GOG... StoneKeep is being offered at half price so I couldn't pass it up...

played any yet baf

Of what the 2 I downloaded or the Myst series??? I haven't played any of them in years... I'm hoping to get to StoneKeep within the week, but we'll see... Phantasmagoria will hopefully follow not long...
I just downloaded them this evening...

I don't know what it is about StoneKeep, I mean the graphics aren't all that, the game play is standard and all, but I just always loved this game... And it is so long that I have Never finished it... Just mapping some of the levels can take hours, if you can't get a map...
I just always felt it was a great value for the money and now getting it again for only 3 bucks, can't disagree with that...

I meant stone keep, just wondering about that one , will have to read on gog about this one.

they have just put out syberia 2, shame I have it already but I think it's the dvd version & the screen shots look much clearer than my cd version . I will wait for a discount day when they offer the 2 for 9.99. My original cd's are pretty scratched.

Cheers mate! I appreciate the time and effort you put into that!

So MYST IV: Revelation is not available on GOG then?

Also, Cub? Brad Dourif is also known for being the voice of Chucky, from the Child's Play series

-Fred

I honestly never made it past Myst II. Those games didn't do anything for me. Just a lot of wondering around fixing stuff or figuring out machines but not really having anybody to talk to. I felt like a lonely game to me.

sam
myst relevations had live actors & you had people to talk to in a sense. the characters spoke to you.

fred,

you won't see relevations on gog for a while as you can still buy it. I actually purchased the 10th anniversary edition that gave you the five myst games in a box. I purchased as it said they were on dvd & I thought great I can get rid of the riven cd's but inside the box myst 1 & 2 were still the cd's.

it's very hard for myst 1 to run on xp & later so that's where gog did their job on that one.
the rest are fine.

for myst 1 - go for real myst as you can roam the island you don't have go along the set paths, & it gives you an extra age.

Sam I'm with you on Myst... I got through that first one the 2nd one couldn't light my fire and I didn't even bother with the 3rd and I knew nothing of the 4th or 5th...


StoneKeep I will be playing tonight... There is nothing, at present, that should get in my way tonight...

God, those early MYST games (I only played 1 and 2) were so depressing. And I still played them! It was just torture to wander around those empty islands.

I'm getting bummed out just thinking about it. I'd say it was the Myst games and their ilk that got me out of adventure games for a few years.

Ha ha. That's how I felt wandering around aimlessly the island. Yeah I figured if a game series isn't good after two games, I don't have the time to give them anymore chances to get it right.

yes I know what you are saying, the first myst game I played was riven & that was only due to a free game I received with a HP pc, had a few goes at it before I could work it out.
desparate for a game after tex I purchased exile which was better & then I purchased relevations which I love. heaps better than the rest. The last one end of ages was okay but I think everyone thought it was a step backwards from relevations. It seemed like they rushed it just to end the series.

Man, when i checked out Myst after buying the 10th anniversary pack, i fell in love with the first game. I devoured it. Just the use of audio and visuals (even though the slideshow was annoying).

Riven i had a good crack at, but after a couple months and pages of notes, i gave up on it -.-

I remember playing the demo for both URU and Revalations and both were amazing. I need to complete the series... but Riven. Riven ><