Review Myst DS Developer: Midway Publisher: Empire Interactive Genre: Adventure Release Date: Spring 2008 Platform: Review by Ray Ivey May 21, 2008		Buy this game at Trade for this game at:

Okay, so sometimes I’m a slow learner.  I remember years ago my pal Cindy Kyser showing me Shadowgate on the Game Boy.  “You’re playing an adventure game on a hand-held?” I asked, not convinced.  “Sure!  It’s great for the plane!” she enthused.  Not long after that Charles Cecil showed me the Game Boy Advance version of his Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars game.  I was still skeptical.  “How will I be able to see all the clues?” I asked.

Well, it turns out my cynicism was very misplaced, as the Nintendo DS has become an unexpected haven for innovative and imaginative adventure games. 

And now . . . just when you thought you’d finally seen the last version of it . . . comes Myst DS!  Yes, the 1992 classic that changed everything is now on the perky Nintendo hand-held.

First off it must be said that this is a remake of the original Myst game, not the real-time 3D RealMyst.  In other words, it’s in the quaint “slide” show, nodular movement format.

The game is controlled entirely with the stylus.  Most of the game takes place on the lower screen (the one with touch-screen capabilities).  You use the stylus much like you’d use the mouse in the PC version.  Tapping on the screen allows you to move and interact with the environment.

The bottom screen also includes several tools to help you along in your adventure.  There’s a magnifying glass which will give you a nice crisp close-up on the top screen of whatever you’re looking at.  This feature is vital for reading the game’s many notes.

There’s also a camera, which will hold exactly one photo at a time.  In the cryptic world of Myst, of course, that picture can possibly be the key to successfully solving a tricky puzzle.

There’s also a simulated typewriter which allows you to simply keep notes, another plus when dealing with the complexities of the puzzles in the game.

I was disappointed that the DS version has a new, original soundtrack.  For me part of the charm of the original was the haunting, minimal score.

But other than that, it’s all here.  The crazy astronomical charts.  The beautiful forest of tree houses.  The fiendish wind puzzles.  The stupifyingly long maze (that you have to go through twice!).  The wonderfully bad acting by Robin Miller.

How you react to this game very much depends on your relationship to the whole Myst franchise.  Since it’s such a faithful port of the original classic, your response to the game could be anything from sweet nostalgia to OMG Not That Goddamn Space Ship Piano Puzzle Again.  If you’re of a mind to revisit this singular game, having it in handheld form can be a fun way of re-experiencing it on the go.  If you’re all Myst-ed out, this port probably won’t change your attitude.

Final Grade: B- (find out more about our grading system)

If you liked this game, then Play: Morpheus (PC) Watch: Lost Read: The Mysterious Island

This review is copyright Ray Ivey and Just Adventure and may not be republished elsewhere without the express written consent of the author. Republication of said review must also contain a link back to Just Adventure.