Myst III: ExileDeveloper: UBI SoftSystem: PC Publisher: UBI Soft Released: 2001 |
A Review by Becka Lucas
03/03/2004
Myst was an instant legend, spawning several editions, sequels, parodies, books and even a television mini-series.
In Exile, the third installment of the story, Atrus has reorganized the D'Ni people and created a new age awaiting their inhabitation. Just as he is about to cut the proverbial ribbon on this new wonderland, a disheveled character named Saavedro (played by the always delightful character actor Brad Dourif) links in, steals the book and links away, but not before setting Atrus study aflame. Of course, does Atrus do his own dirty work? Noooo, that would be too easy. So there you go, running after the bad guy with no way to return unless you succeed. To anyone who has played the first two parts of the Myst series, this scenario is all too familiar.
So how does Exile stack up against its predecessors?
The graphics in Exile are astounding! Coupled with 360° scenery and crystal clear surround sound, the sensory experience of this game is not to be missed. But truth be told, I wasn't really playing it to look at pretty pictures and listen to the ocean, although that was a draw. I wanted a challenge, something to stimulate my brain (Internet Spades just isn't doing it anymore).
Unlike the first sequel, Riven, the puzzles here do make sense and have a point to them. However, they are far too simplistic. For instance, let's say you come upon a locked door or some object which needs to be moved. Further down the path you come to a lever. You push the lever. Puzzle solved. Continue down the path, find a new road block, look for another obvious solution, puzzle solved again.
Of course, some of the puzzles are a little more difficult, and hence more enjoyable. The Sound Barrier puzzle and the final test in the world of Dynamic Energy were not necessarily hard as much as a lot of going back and forth to change things and try new paths out. For the most part, though, if you have the intelligence of a fruit fly this game will be a cinch. It took me three days to complete and I am in no way the brightest crayon in the box.
As far as technical issues are concerned; one thing I learned very quickly is that you will have massive problems if your volume is controlled on an interactive keyboard. Also, if you are running any program in the background which may periodically give you a pop-up box, Exile will shut itself down each time game play is interrupted. Take home message: Save often. You never know when the program will decide to off itself. Also, make sure you have all the patches before you start the game. When I get a new program, I want to put the disk in my computer, install the game and play. Don't expect this to happen straight out of the box. There are a number of bugs to be fixed. Apparently, many have already been addressed, however, if you do load the game and cannot get it to run, check out the UBI web site for the appropriate fix. It's a hassle, but it works.
As I said, the puzzles are a bit simple. If you are new to the first person, non-character-driven puzzle solving realm of gaming, this would be a fine place to start. I will warn you, there is a ton of reading. If you want to get the whole story as to the motivation behind Atrus and Saavedro's actions and animosity you will need to run around and collect pages from a journal, much like in the original Myst game. But the music, images and sound effects manage to immerse the player to a degree that a little extra reading time isn't really so bad. And when that final puzzle is solved and all the pieces fall into place, the reward is well worth the effort.
© Copyright CultureCartel.com 03/03/2004
