Myst III: Exile Review (no fat)

Game Description

It's very rare that a game is able to truly offer a different perspective on gaming. It was a wonder to many that a game as static (some might say lifeless) as Myst would become such a mainstream success as it did. But not only did that happen, it also had a continuation that was just as successful in Riven. And now, after some years have passed a third member joins the series. It's name is Myst III: Exile.

For those that haven't played either Myst or Riven, these games offer you the opportunity to immerse yourself in large worlds with stunning graphics and a fantastic storyline. Whole worlds are at your explorer fingertips. What's the catch? These are not entirely 3D games. They rely on pre-rendered graphics to do their wonders. This means the graphics can be extremely beautiful but you're stuck in a pretty static game

Myst III: Exile – The Plot

Continuing the story in Myst and Riven, we're told the tale of Attrus, one of the last people that has mastered the art of creating worlds (Ages) through writing. Attrus has now moved to the island of Tamahna with his wife Catherine and their new child. You enter the story as an old friend of Attrus, who he has called you to present his latest creation.

The plot thickens in an unexpected way and you are once again brought upon to help your old friend, starting from the world of J'nanin. Like the first member of its series, Myst III relies on jumping between a number of worlds, solving puzzles in each of them and relying on your intelligence to piece together the puzzle.

Although by no means a revelation, nobody can really expect originality from a sequel. What can be expected is for Myst III to blend in well with its predecessors, and it does quite well. The journals and writings will fill in the gaps of the action and the tale is as nicely glued together as one might expect.

Myst III: Exile Gameplay

Surely a game like Myst III: Exile could have been created with a completely 3D approach that would rely on high-end graphic cards with a lot more freedom of movement. But the people at Presto Studios probably wanted it to 'feel like Myst'. And they have probably made the correct choice, given that the wide amount of freedom was never the most enjoyed part of such games.

Nevertheless, the producers wanted to do more then what had previously been done. So they made a compromise: instead of having fully static images, you can rotate your point of view on a full 360 degree angle. While you can't really move around, you can look around and it manages to create a strong feeling of freedom.

So those of you who haven't played games such as Myst or Riven before might ask why would anyone want to play around with a bunch of static images? Well anyone who has played and enjoyed this series (and there are quite a few such people around) can tell you: "It's all in the story, the puzzles and the imagery".

The puzzles are a bit less difficult then what may be found in Riven which is actually not so bad. They're by no means simple and they will have you thinking, quite a lot actually. But, unlike Riven a lot more of the game's players will actually be able to finish it. The puzzles rely on some of the old tricks (pulling levers and such) but some of them are quite new and ingenious as well.

The worlds provide a variety of environments compared with each other, which is almost always a good thing. The new movement engine is nice but does, at times, get in your way as some movement directions may not be as obvious as they'd be in a previous incarnation of the game.

However, a let down is the cursor which does not indicate the direction you can move in and explore. While such indicators are not always appreciable, gameplay in Myst III would certainly have benefited from this feature because it would mean less frustration and put more emphasis on the brain stimulating puzzles instead of childish gimmicks.

You can probably play the game almost as well if you're not familiar with the first two pieces, but it will leave you a bit stumbling at first. However, as for any game in its category, Myst III doesn't leave too much room for re-playability. But this would be a nearly impossible feat and we can't really blame Presto for not doing anything about this aspect of the game.

Myst III: Exile Graphics

As for the graphics, there's not really much to be said. If you're fine with the fact that these are actually pre-rendered prepare your jaws properly as they'll drop quite a few times while you're moving around in Myst III's wonderful worlds. The artists who've made this game really put in a lot of effort in making the 'pretty images' ... well ... pretty.

Myst III: Exile Sounds

The game's score does an excellent job of blending in with whatever it is you're doing at the moment. It sounds fine and doesn't get in your way at any one moment. The ambient sounds aren't all that well and the worlds might have felt a bit more lively if more care had been taken in this regard.

Myst III: Exile Overall Impression

Myst III: Exile doesn't try to stand out as something completely new and unique. And for a good reason: it has a legacy of two of the most popular games on PC created with a rare amount of mastery. It doesn't deny its heritage and it won't disappoint any of the old fans. Newcomers will find an excellent game, leaving plenty of room to stretch your brain after the mindless hours of fragging in your favorite FPS.

Myst III: Exile Pricing:

The game currently ships from $26.89 (not such a bad price considering this game covers four CDs).