"Shut the door, turn down the lights, turn up the sound, sit in a comfortable chair, and let yourself be drawn into the world of Riven."

Riven is the result of 4 years work by the people of Cyan. It's obvious they were planning on making a great game. Better yet, a sequel to one of the top selling PC games of all time. The outcome is a game with much better graphics, sound, and another mysterious place to explore.

Story(10):This game has a great storyline to it. Riven was an island created by Atrus's father,Ghen. Because of difficulties, the island split into 5 smaller islands, and worse, they are slowly on the brink of destruction. However, Atrus has been writing in his copy of the Riven book (remember the book he was working on at the end of Myst?) to try to stabilize the islands. But the biggest problem is Ghen, whose lust for riches and power exceeds that of Atrus's sons. Atrus was able to trap Ghen on Riven, but now Ghen has forced the villagers to work for him, finding a way to escape. There is also a group of people called the Moiety, a rebel group against Ghen, led by Atrus's wife Catherine. Fearing them, Ghen has imprisoned Catherine. Now Atrus relies on you to carry out the task of Capturing Ghen and saving Catherine.

Gameplay(10):Go through Riven solving puzzles. All it takes is some thinking and logic. Often enough, you will find clues to help you solve certain puzzles. Sometimes, figuring out one puzzle will help you solve another one. There are many places to explore and lots of stuff to check out here and there. And since you use the mouse to move around and interact with stuff, control is perfect.

Graphics(10):What captures your attention before anything else is probably going to be the graphics. These have got to be some of the best still-picture graphics of any PC game. All the sights are incredibly realistic and colors are used perfectly. The movies are done very nicely as well, even though the full screen ones are a bit blocky. But they were done that way to avoid slowdown. Overall, these are the best PC graphics without a 3D card.

Music/Sound(10):Calm sounding music fits the game excellently. The songs are longer,have better quality than the ones in Myst,and are great to listen to. The sound effects are another high point. They are all realistic sounds and none of them will make you wonder if something should sound different. You'll here the wind blowing, water, birds screeching, etc. If you want to capture the feel of the sounds, wear headphones.

Challenge(7): The first time you play Riven, you may find puzzles that are difficult to solve. Keeping track of clues will help a lot. When you play it the next time, you already know what to do, so you'll get through the game more quickly.

Replay(7): Once you finish Riven, you probably won't start over right away, and it's likely you probably explored every place. However, the next time you play, you're sure to be drawn into it as much as the first time, and you won't quit until you finish it again.

Rent/Buy: This is definitely worth buying, no questions asked.

Overall: Riven,in one way, is a game that you'll find addicting ,like many other games. But, in another way, it's drawing you into this world that you can explore without any hassle. There are no enemies to make your explorations worse than a prison book (you'll understand that term as you play this, those that haven't played Myst). This is definitely a game you can't miss out on.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/00, Updated 02/27/00