Myst

"Not bad, but not excellent either"

I was very excited about finally getting the Myst game, despite bad reviews of the game. I am a HUGE Myst fan, playing and collecting all the games are a hobby of mine. I had originally expected more from this port, but was not all that disappointed as many others have been.

Minus the graphics and sound being butchered, the game play was very much the same as the original pc version had been. I think the biggest difference in the game was since the DS is faster than the original game was intended for, it moves too quick for some camera angles. The stylus made for an interesting point click perspective, though some of the issues that have been changed in the game is because it was not a simple matter of point and tap, but point and hold till the effect was completed.

I had very little problems playing the game, with the exception of the sound. The music and score compositions of the original were fantastic, but the DS version lacks a "BIT" much to be of any real quality. Any Myst fan would be glad to at least have one copy of this, whether it was played or not, just to add to the collection of Myst games available. I really thought, given the power of the DS and its capabilities, that realMyst would have been a better version to port, sadly, those involved in this port put in some special music (which wasnt all that impressive), new tools (which I never even used in the DS game ver and they dont work half the time anyways), and cut out some of the problem solving of certian areas (which was part of the fun of the original version) when they could have used the extra time and space on the DS card to port a better version. Though adding Rime into this version was a nice touch (as it was originally only available in realMyst), I'd recommend thinking of this version as a kind of Myst-lite.

I would recommend this version if:
1) you are a Myst series fan and just want another piece of the Myst history for collectors purposes.

2) you want play the game but do not have the opportunity, cash, software, or hardware to get the original or realMyst version.

3) have the opportunity to rent the game or R4 it and have not been to or seen the world of Rime, that way it could be returned with very little loss of time or $.

Personally, I am glad to have a copy and will probably still play it from time to time just to retain the original feeling of traveling through the Myst Ages.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/13/08

Game Release: Myst (US, 05/13/08)