Riven: The Sequel to Myst

""Unglaublich!" exclaimed my imaginary German-speaking friend"

Yet another Myst fanboy is created. Riven: the sequel to Myst is near perfection as far as video-gaming is concerned. The sales speak for themselves- Riven has grossed approximately 10 million since its release, and I don't think that has a whole lot to do with the box cover.

...definately not in Spokane anymore, toto

The tale of Atrus and his linking books continues right where ''Myst'' ended. The player finds him/herself in the lost city of D'ni; Atrus frantically makes corrections to the linking book leading to the decaying ''Fifth Age'', also called Riven. He asks that you trap a man named Gehn in a ''prison'' linking book, rescue his wife Catherine, and signal him once you've completed these two tasks. After stating these obscure objectives, he holds up the Riven linking book and promptly transports you to this mysterious world. Upon arrival you are greeted by iron bars and a mysterious Rivenese-speaking man who takes your prison book, only to be killed by another man who then takes the book and scrambles off. From here, the story progesses mainly with journal entries and brief cutscenes that force the player to draw their own conclusions. I'll not ruin the story by revealing it further- I'll mention however that it is quite incredible and worthy of more than just a video game.

Go go gadget imagination!!

The way Riven looks and feels is totally beyond one-worded descriptions- the words ''breathtaking'' and ''engrossing'' are good words to use, but do not do nearly enough to help one picture the Fifth Age. Riven is composed of 5 islands connected by roller-coaster like trams. The 5 islands of Riven are extremely unique; including Rivenese settlements, glimmering resevoirs of rippling water, native wildlife, and the most elaborate and awe-inspiring machinery one could possibly imagine. As puzzles are solved (most of the time via machines), the correct solution results in some sort of eye-candy in FMV form- the animation is crisp and the artwork here is truly amazing. Even toying with a few gadgets in Gehn's laboratory is visually rewarding.

Since movement is achieved by clicking on a direction, the world of Riven is revealed to the player through a vast set of still-life screenshots. To quote another reviewer, one could hit pause at any moment in the game and the resulting screenshot would be worthy of a poster. Riven is absolutely gorgeous.

The sound in Riven is also noteworthy. Every mechanical click, organic chirp, and ambient loop is perfectly believable. Furthermore, both the voice-acting and music present in Riven is excellent. Breathtaking? Engrossing? Um, yes. Definately yes.

Rocket science meets adventure-gaming...

Like Myst, the Journeyman Project, Full Throttle, and other adventure titles, Riven is a point-and-click videogame who's primary fixation is puzzle-solving. The puzzles in Riven are complicated; truly the most convoluted, confusing, enraging, complicated puzzles ever designed for a game- including complicated numbering systems, gadgets with an ungodly amount of levers and buttons, and very obscure clues that lead to their solutions. Riven's puzzles remind me of some sort of extremely complicated mathematical principle- unless you are naturally gifted with a creative mind, impeccable logic, and perhaps an affinity for code-breaking, you probably aren't going to be able to figure it out without some sort of guide. I feel tempted to strangle the creators of Riven for making it so insanely difficult. I had to consult online strategy guides more often than I'll admit, and no I'm not mentally incapable (as says my imaginary german-speaking friend). However, if puzzle-gaming is your thing; if you are honestly a veteran among veterans, then Riven is DEFINATELY the game for you. Even if you are among the rest of the gamers out there who are not uber-geniuses, you'll still enjoy Riven. There is absolutely nothing like figuring out a Rivenese puzzle after hours and hours of frustration. Be prepared for lots of personal note-taking though, unless of course you just happen to have a photographic memory.

ding ding ding!! We have a winner!!!

If you had your doubts about Riven, I hope my humble review has convinced you to drop your inhibitions and buy it immediately. It's obvious that large amounts of effort and creativity were poured into the production of Riven- this game transcends gaming: it is art.

And no, ''unglaublich'' is not a German expletive.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/09/04