Myst IV Revelation!

[sethsez]

For anyone who cares (hi Compass!) I just finished this.

First, the good. The game is absolutely gorgeous, and the variety is amazing. Haven (while a bit confusing to navigate) is one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen in a game, and it's perfectly constructed. Some of the puzzles rank up there with the best in Riven, and they never feel arbitrary (mostly because their purposes are all fully explained via flashbacks with the amulet). The plot advances more than any other game in the series, and it's nice to FINALLY have some character development (that's right, someone actually changes over the course of the game... what a concept). The camera is the most useful addition the series has ever had, and it alone makes it arguably the equal of Riven for me (god I hated drawing symbols).

Now the bad. The acting is really, really uneven. Atrus is as good as ever, but Yeesha is kind of annoying (who thought Myst needed an 11 year old girl?) and the sons ham it up like Saavedro only wishes he could have. Haven, despite being gorgeous, is amazingly confusing, and you will get lost in it at least once, I promise. It also contains the single worst puzzle in the entire series, ignoring Uru (you like slider puzzles? Timed puzzles? Puzzles with animals? Sound-based puzzles? Puzzles the require perfect timing? This one combines all these into one uber-puzzle, and it WILL piss you off). Also, the interface feels just a bit clunkier than in previous games, although it's not a huge issue since timing is rarely a factor.

Overall, aside from the final puzzle in Haven, this is a fantastic game. It might not be the best starting point for someone new to the series (it's quite difficult and refers to previous games a LOT), but for someone who already likes the games, it's a fantastic sequel. And the LE comes with Myst III as well, which IS a good starting point.

[Videodrone]

If anybody cares, you may be able to get the Myst IV LE with Myst III on DVD for $10-$15 on clearence at Target. I got mine yesterday for $9.98.

[sethsez]

I'm curious about what you'll think. From what I've seen, Myst fans seem really divided on it. Half think it's one of the best things to happen to the series, and half think it's just bad fan-fiction in game form. I'm with the former, but I can kind of see where the latter is coming from (I think better acting could have gone a long way to getting rid of this feeling).