Riven: The Sequel to Myst

"Survey Says!? *ding*"

...A good game, everybody! (I had to follow through...)

Seriously, though, this game is absolutely incredible. I could say a thousand words, and still not accurately describe the game, but here goes!

Story: 8/10
Atrus is having a BIG problem with one of the ages; the Fifth Age, or "Riven," hence the name of the game, has begun deteriorating and will eventually succumb to the fate the majority of his father's experiments meet. His father, Gehn, is a bit on the insane side, so Atrus can't go there himself and rescue the inhabitants of the poor age, or his wife Cathrine (There's likely to be a LONG story about that...) without getting killed. However, that's where you step in. He'll give you a Trap Book and his journal, and send you to Riven. Naturally, like everything in a game/movie, it all goes awry and you lose the Trap Book, so the first half of the game is pretty much devoted entirely to finding your book. The second half deals with the problem of getting Gehn out of the way so you can rescue Cathrine, and by extension, the Rivenese. That's YOUR reason, but the villager/Gehn story is also a pretty good one, so you're really seeing a GIANT group of stories converging into one.

Gameplay: 9/10
Well, it's a bit easier than some games (Namely, Days of Thunder, but we won't go into that.) and INCREDIBLY simple. The bottom of the screen contains your inventory, which always threw me off (WHERE DID THAT BOOK COME FROM!?) until we got a new computer, which turned out to be the one I needed to complete the game because of a glitch, and the rest of the screen can be manipulated by a little hand icon. The tough part is the rooms where there's a lot of darkness, so it's awful hard to move about, but that's really my only complain. Another part of the gameplay, though, is trying to write down all the important stuff without making your notebook look like a bunch of notes that don't fit together. It's enjoyable, though.

Graphics: 10/10
This blew me away. One reason why I couldn't really enjoy the game on my old Win 98 was because the framerate was not too good. This game pushes the limit of your graphics card (Not as bad as some games, though, like NASCAR Thunder 2004, but that's a different story.) and STILL has a good gameplay. In the old days of gaming (I'm digressing here, but bare with me, it does have some relevance...) graphics and sound were a sure sign of a loser game. The better they are, the poorer the game was. However, with new technology, we can now have HUGE games that deliver the eye candy and still has the great gameplay. This is an example that not all eye candy in the old days was bad; rather, it enhances the game. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Back to the graphics. You'd think they built Riven in the middle of the Atlantic or Pacific and built a set there! They are incredibly lifelike, and while at some parts you can tell that it was CG (Plateau Island is an example. How do you make water behave like that?) most of the time I really can't tell!

Sound: 10/10
Lifelike, anyone? The team really went out of their way to make this game as realistic as possible, while keeping it good. They hired actual actors (I'm used to CG, mind you.) to be the characters that appear, no matter how minor. The voices, thusly, sound incredibly lifelike, and the wildlife on Riven sounds like it's coming from our own world. The music is INCREDIBLE, and I'm really quite pleased. Here's a thought: how much programming was put into the sound department ALONE? Answer: I don't think I want to know.

Replayiblity: 8/10
Ay, there's the problem. While the game does change at points, you have to go through so much of the same old, same old, that it's really not worth it. (Although picking on the "wahrks" is always enjoyable, if dangerous.)

Overall: 9/10
A fine game, and one that's worth the price. If you can find it now, get it. It's pretty cheap today, and besides, why not WOW your friends by showing off your latest gem?

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/26/05