My Trip Back to Myst Island

By James Korwek

Guest writer James Korwek is familiar to many of you as Orion from our JA Forum. Sit back and relax as he relives our collective Myst experience and shares his experiences with realMyst.

I don't take too many vacations, so when I do it is a real treat. This time is special. I am going back to Myst Island. I am standing in line waiting to be transported. It won't be long now ... here we go!

I can see the island, I just love this in-flight music along with my favorite in-flight drink, Bloody Marys. Starting to descend ...

Touch down ... Hmm, the place definitely has a face lift. The 3D graphics are stunning, sound is ... very real. The winds are very strong on the island. I have lost my hat to the waves, darn. Let's start throwing some switches.

Having thrown all of the markers on the island, I found out that there are no set paths--you can do circles around trees, run up to the shores, and look everywhere. This is good, I can take shortcuts.

I went into the library, checked myself out in the mirror and closed the door at the same time--how neat is that? After playing around inside the library and getting the info I needed, I pulled up my collar and buttoned that top button, and it was back outside with me. It was dark, the crickets were making noise, doing their thing. The stars were out, and the place was lighted in certain areas. The symbols for raising the Stoneship are lit up, looking sharp.

First stop, what else? The space ship.

I have been trying to get the ship's door open with a branch, prying and beating on the door. I forgot I had to get some power to her first. Be careful going across this walkway to the ship. It is very windy. Hang on to the ropes. Where are those generators? I need to power her up, play a little Bach and boogie.

The organ puzzle has to be the hardest of them all. Stay with it, don't give up. It will be worth the trouble.

The Selenitic Age was absolutely a trip. The door opened and introduced me to a fog-filled atmosphere that I could cut with a knife. I could feel the moisture in the air clinging to my face and hands. As I made my way through the fog visiting each of the altars, day turned to night and night turned to day and day turned to night again. The stairs leading me around this strange land lit up with blue lights running under the steps when nightfall came. The altars' symbols lit up neon white, giving them a look of meaning. I definitely recommend checking out each of the altars at night. What a sight! Especially the heat/chasm glowing red way down below. I camped out right there for the night. The heat kept me warm.

Daylight broke, waking me up. Time to deliver some pages. Tuning in each of the altars was not the same as before. The coordinates have changed, probably due to an earthquake making the land shift.

I made my way down to the tram car and started the journey back. This was one maze I was glad to be a part of. I opened the window, stuck my hand out, and kept on trucking.

Two pages delivered, now it's on to the clock tower. When crossing over the gears to the clock tower, watch yourself, it's very slippery!

Having pulled on the levers until my arms gave out, I finally managed to open up the gear. I ran through the woods behind the cabin and tripped on a grave marker and fell on the ground ... Ti'anna ... well, I'll be. I paused for a moment of silence ... then I took off running, sliding down the hill to the dock ... safe! I walked up to the gears, and off I went to the Mechanical Age.

There it is, the Fortress ... I entered and started to check out the rooms. What a nice pad! Even has its own torture chamber. I know a few people I would like to stick in here. Just kidding. I threw the level on the jail door and got bit by the electricity, yow! ... I guess I deserved that. Having found the pages, it was time to get back. I went up to the controls to turn the fortress and could not believe my eyes. What a sight to behold. The lighting inside was beautiful. I am gonna stay here for awhile ...

Having soaked up the atmosphere, I decided it was time to leave. I wrote down the symbols from the other two islands next to the Fortress and took the pages back to the island.

I spent some time looking around the island before deciding to head off to the Stoneship Age. I could not remember what it was I had to do to get there, so I headed up the tower to get the info. If it does not sound like the 16th Chapel up there, I'll eat my hat. Luckily for me, I lost my hat, just in case there is someone who wants to disagree with me.

Watching the ship rise out of the water, I knew my ride had arrived. Once again, I ran down the hill, sliding right onto the boat. Man, does that thing creak. I wasted no time transporting to Stoneship, and here I am.

Talk about deja vu, looks just like the demo. I remembered to bring my raincoat this time and a fishing pole.

Time to explore.

The Stoneship Age has got to be the coldest of the Ages so far. It is pouring down rain with no sun to speak of at all during my stay. There is lightning and thunder all over. I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of lightning through the telescope holding 60 degrees. Pretty wild, if I do say so myself.

When I first arrived, I placed my fishing pole in the water and went about business. Having grabbed the pages, I checked out the fishing pole and found that I had caught a grouper. In the process of reeling it in, a snapping turtle tried to eat my fish, so needless to say I am having a combination turtle/grouper soup right now down below in the boat. What an atmosphere, wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor aquarium. Got to get one of these. As soon as I finish eating, I will get back to the island. Mmm!

Now that I am working on a full belly and back on the island, it is time to start a fire, my favorite pastime, and get that huge tree a'moving.

The Channelwood Age has got to be the noisiest place on Earth. Be sure you take a hard hat with you. With all of the birds up in those beautiful trees, it is almost like the Stoneship Age and its rain. I swear they were dive-bombing me.

I am glad I ate before going, that is the hardest I have had to work in a long time, but it was worth the awesome views. While up in the trees, take a moment to look around; you won't be disappointed. I have the final pages, and I know the drill.

I am back on the island and have finished the game. Atrus did away with the boys, and he and I shared a little island made tea together. As for the New Age, it's here. Wow!

Now what ... I think I will find a spot on the shore somewhere and watch the sun set and the stars rise.

Some Thoughts on realMyst

From beginning to end, I was in awe. The 3D graphics were totally amazing. Every turn added to the enjoyment of playing the game. Explore everything very thoroughly. Check out the lands, the waters, the skies, the buildings, the trees. Go back at night and do it again--everything takes on a whole new and interesting look at night. The lighting effects made some of the objects come to life, especially in the Selenitic Age.

Save in each Age so you can go back later and explore. This might be the last time you ever play Myst. Take it all in. For those of you who are still skeptical, you do not know what you are missing if you do not run this game one more time. Myst is definitely the best adventure game ever made, so don't miss out on its finale ... and what a finale it is.

The music, well, you could not have asked for a better-composed soundtrack. The sound effects were crisp and sounded digital. Having surround sound speakers, the sound was placed all around me. I felt like I was in the middle of it all.

The game took definitely took a lot of memory. I had to stop the game and reboot to get back up to speed in a few spots during gameplay. I would say that an 800 MHz machine with 256 MB of RAM would be more suitable than the recommended setup to run the game without problems. It took a minute in some cases to save and load a game. I thought the game was locking up, but it wasn't. Don't reboot; give it some time to do its thing.

I found it hard to move around--either I was moving to fast bypassing my target or I was bound up by some object.

I ran the game on a Gateway 500 MHz with 128 MB of ram and 16 MB 3D video card.

Myst still is the best adventure game I have ever played and I doubt there will be another like it for some time to come. I hope I am wrong.