|
|
|| Adventure Links || Archives || Articles || Independent Developers || Interviews || JA Forum ||
|| JA Staff/Contacts || The JAVE || Letters || Reviews || Search || Upcoming Releases || Walkthroughs ||
|| What's New / Home || Play Games! ||
| Over 1 Million Visitors a Month! |
|
How much more can be said about this mother of all adventure games? Or maybe the question should be: how many times can Cyan remake it? To date, there are three different versions of Myst: The original 1993 release, the 1996 24-bit "masterpiece" edition, and the 2001 technology heavy realMyst. And that's just the PC software! Myst can be found in adaptations for Macintosh, Playstation, Dreamcast, and the short-lived Atari Jaguar. It's been translated into numerous different languages, spawned two sequels: Riven (which you'll hear from me about at a later date) and the Presto-developed stepchild Myst 3: Exile. To round out the collection of soundtrack CDs and comic books, Rand Miller co-authored a trilogy of well written, equally engrossing fantasy novels based on Myst and Riven's main characters and the D'ni world. AND in a more recent development, the Sci-Fi Channel announced that it will make a mini-series based on the world of Myst. In a genre that has had its share of ups and downs, Myst seems to be one of the few sure things.
(Jen jumps up from her cubicle.) "I love this game!" (Co-workers stare and shake their heads, realizing she must be working on an article for Just Adventure again.) I'm not sure there's a better way to put it than that. Myst was the game that certified my fate as a fan of the graphic adventure genre and became the standard to which I compared all others. (And trust me, this was back when the market was just glutted with bad Myst-clones like Rama and Lighthouse, so it was no easy task to win me over.) This was the first game that kept me awake at night rolling a puzzle around in my head. "How can I get the chest from the bottom of the lighthouse up to the key chained to the platform?" (Psst, just make the thing able to float and voila!) "How can I find my way through the underground tunnels in the Selentic Age?" Just open your ears! These were the sort of things that started getting me to think in a three dimensional manner. Myst . . . well, it reopened my underused imagination and introduced me to one of the most original universes I had ever encountered. That, ladies and gentleman, was my obligatory pro-Myst rant. We shall now continue with our regularly scheduled programming.
After playing the visually and audibly superior Myst-sequel Riven, it was almost painful for many of the series' loyal fans to go back and replay the first game. Then Cyan had a bright (or not-so-bright) idea: why not go back and retool Myst for modern equipment so it won't look so dated next to it's sequel? In early press releases for the game, we were told that the graphics, sound, and engine were going to be given a fairly substantial overhaul, updating them into 24-bit quality as to eliminate the graininess that was present in the FMV and the static in the music and sound effects. In addition, they were to add a hint feature that would allow the player to get clues of varying degree to help them get through the game. Did Cyan meet the standards they set up for themselves? Keeping in mind that I'm going to comment mostly on the technology differences, let's take a look.
For anyone out there who has been living under a rock since 1993, Myst is the story of a lone adventurer who finds him/herself lost in the forgotten D'ni age of Myst. Once home to Atrus, Catherine, and their two sons, Myst now stands dormant, devoid of any human life, save for a few cryptic messages left by Atrus, and the incessant pleadings of his two imprisoned sons. The player is cast in the role of this lone adventurer who must uncover the whereabouts of the island's inhabitants, and in doing so, possibly find the path home. Over the course of the game, you will visit five other ages (including the home of the D'ni people) and use your wits to outsmart many of Atrus's complicated machines. The story is engrossing and gives the player a real feeling of importance, the knowledge that the fate of this world and its people depend on you. In this edition, the story and the puzzles remain exactly the same. No new Ages, no new machines, no new details. If want some new story content and puzzle fodder, go pick up realMyst. (And a new video card while you're at it.)
Myst has some of the most flat out, drop dead gorgeous scenery in the entire graphic adventure genre. It is this aspect of the game that sets Cyan Worlds products apart from any other out there. Instead of the flat, smooth surfaces seen in many games like Beyond Time, Myst makes use of detailed textures to give all its surfaces an authentic, organic appearance. I'm big on tactile, gritty images, so this game sat well with me. The colors are amazing (though I think that they made use of every single shade of blue available to map the sky of the different Ages). In keeping with the update theme of Masterpiece, Cyan reprogrammed the over 2500 screenshots from 256 colors to a clearer 24-bit scale. Unfortunately, unless you have a really nice monitor, it is difficult to see the differences in the graphic quality. The sound affects are identical to the original game, and have been enhanced to a higher bit-rate to accompany the updated visuals. They are still beautifully ambient and organic. That's about all there is to say there. (Shrugs) FMV in Myst Masterpiece is identical to that found in the original version. Again, the colors have been redone for 24-bit clarity and do come out to be less blocky than their predecessors. (And the brief shots of Sirrus and Achenar with snake tongues are still creepy as hell.)
(Um yeah, so my mom's name is Robin. But let's talk about the music instead of her. It's not that she's any less interesting. It's just that she gets really shy when I mention her in these articles.) Robyn Miller, one third of the Miller brother trio that have brought Myst and its franchise to us (the others being Rand and Ryan), composed every piece of music heard in this game. Not bad for a guy who only had a mid-grade synthesizer at his disposal! All the themes in Myst are original and fit the mood of each room perfectly, from the sad and haunting strings in Achenar's room in the Mechanical Age, to the airy and atmospheric sounds found in the astronomy room on Myst Island. If you're really into the melodies found in this game, you can purchase the soundtrack from Amazon.com and or grab a used copy from Ebay. Makes for good study and paper-writing music.
(If you can figure out where that quote is from, I will deem you as one of the coolest people on the planet. And maybe even throw in a paper crown from Burger King.) Okay, yes, I am going to do it. And make sure to mark your calendars for this one kids, cause this doesn't happen very often. I am going to give a criticism to Cyan! Yes, I know what you're thinking. Who does she think she is, criticizing one of the most successful game developers in the world? Well, I think I am writing for Just Adventure +, or at least I was the last time I checked. Freedom of the presses man! You remember that little hint engine I spoke about earlier? Poor, guys, that was REAL poor. I mean, yeah, I know that you were trying to make Myst more accessible to people who weren't necessarily fans of adventure games. But that's what little peons like me are for! Let me write the walkthroughs and have the player choose whether or not they want to use them. In all seriousness though, the hint system takes a huge chop off of the intelligence curve for this game. Instead of letting the player stay awake at night pondering a puzzle (like me), the answers are incredibly accessible, coming across the screen at just a click of a mouse. This made the game feel less immersive to me. (Cringes) Sorry guys!
Okay, so here's where I stand with this game. As a game in and of itself, Myst is complete genius and I will always give it a grade A. At the time of its release, it was the most original idea with the most amazing visuals and sound. So times changed, and games became more advanced - but was it really necessary to update the technology (only marginally at that) and re-release Myst under the heading of being a grand update of the original blockbuster? In my opinion, no. If anything, I felt like this version of Myst should have had the sub-heading "Abridged" instead of "Masterpiece" due to the silly addition of the hint engine. My advice, if you want to play an updated version of Myst, go dust off your copy realMyst now that you've purchased that fancy new video card. (And for all you Mac users, realMyst for Mac shipped on April 10.) All you get with Myst Masterpiece is pretty new box art. Grade: C- If you liked Myst Masterpiece then: Read: All three
of the Myst companion novels System Rrequirements: PC Mac |
|
|