Myst

"The sound of your teeth grinding is all you're going to hear..."

Myst is a game that really has to be taken for what it is. The point and click adventure that was apparently such a hit on the PC is nothing more than a game of puzzles and thinking. While not the action filled type of game that most PC owners and gamers would enjoy, what the game does is take you through a world that is strangely reminiscent of our own, but is different in the same respect. If you have a soft spot for games like this, then you’ll find that this game should meet all of your needs without disappointment! Something that comes into effect is that this isn’t the only Myst game out there, in which a sequel was made, entirely based on the results of this game. Although Riven wasn’t much better in terms of what you could do or the amount of action found in it, Myst is a good starting point if you’re looking to get into the near legendary series and enjoy what it tries to offer you!

As with most computer games, the results that I got with my game play was different than it may be with yours. For the most part, the game is nothing more than a carbon copy of the arcade machine and it is worth playing if you’ve got some bucks to spend. However, if your computer isn’t set up to handle the speed and the different visuals that you find here, you may find that some of the fatalities cause the program to shut down or cause illegal operations. Beware, as always because the files on this game take up a small portion of your drive, and if you try to delete it, it could screw everything up!

It's point and click...you move from place to place, pick up items, and solve puzzles, which could take you anywhere from 8 to 20 hours if you're lucky. A buddy of mine who is a die-hard point and click gamer has been working on it for 5 years, and still hasn't gotten very far. I played it through, and it took so damn long, I could swear the world had changed in my absence! The game play basically takes you through this world where nothing is what it seems, and your only job is to make it through and solve the different puzzles that come your way.

While this may not seem such a bad idea, there are key elements in the game that are immediately seen, and those come with any sort of action or adventure that you may want to find in the game itself. With no enemies to fight except for time, you may find that the game drags on more than it does advance, and after a while, there is nothing left to do but wrack your brain and attempt to find the solution to the final puzzle that could take you hours to complete!

As you move through Myst, the only true gameplay adventuring is seeing the new sights and rooms that you may come across as you play. Other than that, you'll run out of objectives, and in general, just wander around aimlessly, until your eyes pick up something that they didn't notice before. The control is also another problem, there is none? It's point and click, but you also have to have precision placement in order to work the different equipment, and get the different items, moving from room to room, etc.

You'll find that this gets harder and harder to do after you've been staring at the screen for 2-4 hours at a stretch! With the lack of control that you find throughout the game, you’ll find that if you’re looking for some massive action adventure, or even some action at all, it’s all about wracking your brain in order to get your way through the game.

The saving grace of Myst for the PC and any system for that matter are the visuals. Clean, crisp, and purely amazing, is all that can be given, with words, to describe something as beautiful as this. Lush worlds, elaborate detail, and even better special effects, when they show, make this game what this is. You'll be amazed that something like this game exists, even though it was made for an obscure and now obsolete system such as this. Placing you in the world of Myst, your travels take you far and wide throughout an amazingly detailed land that shows you everything, from the dripping waterfalls, to the mists that blow through certain parts of the game.

Even the rooms themselves have little to complain about, allowing the user to see every edge, every detail, and every item in crystal clarity. All in all, a truly amazing visual experience that features some of the best looking and most detailed visuals that you can find in a game of this type! While the games of this day and age have surpassed what this one can show off, you’ll still find that there isn’t much better than Myst if you’re looking for some brain busting puzzles.

There isn't much here in terms of music...as a matter of fact, there is no music to speak of. Just silence, and the occasional sound effect thrown in here and there for you to listen to if you do something right. It'll be the sound of falling rocks, water dripping onto the floor, or maybe a rusty door shutting or opening up behind you or in front of you. This is the killer of the game right here, nothing to listen to, except your own teeth grinding as you play!

For gamers these days, it’s hard to immerse yourself into a world as extensive as Myst proclaims to be without adding anything in the audio department. With the sole basis of the game being on the sound effects, you’ll find that there is nothing that will keep your interest in the game overall, simply because there isn’t anything to listen to while you play. What makes matters worse is that the game is sound intensive, in which you have to hear just what is going on around you in some points in order to continue through the game. Overall, it simply adds to the teeth grinding experience that I’ve found Myst to be!

Myst is a game for thinkers and puzzle solvers if nothing else. As a game that came with my PC, I can’t complain because it’s always a trip to go through the game a couple of times just to see what it was that was missed in the home conversions of the title. However, the game that you find here is simply for those who are into games that suck all of the sound out of the world and leave you with nothing more than the occasional sound effect to listen for. You like puzzle games? Then this title is for you and you alone. Everyone else who plays PC games, unless they like this type of non-action should stay away from this and play something with a little more action to it!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/27/02, Updated 01/27/02