GAME STUDIO DESCRIPTION: Journey into a world of mystery and beauty as you piece together the secrets of a shattered past. In Myst IV Revelation, the next chapter in the greatest adventure saga of all time, you’ll travel through environments pulsing with life to unearth a treacherous scheme involving two of Myst’s most sinister villains.
• Unravel an intricate mystery… Solve elusive puzzles and enlist the help of others as you uncover secrets left buried since the original Myst.
• Adventure through rich and vital worlds… Mysts astonishing new visuals will enthrall you with opulent landscapes brimming with life, while tense, live-action cut scenes draw you deeper into the labyrinthine plot.
• Original music by Peter Gabriel… Drift away on an ambient soundtrack composed by world-renowned artist Peter Gabriel, in collaboration with Jack Wall.
• Record your discoveries… Capture clues by taking original photographs of Mysts lush environments, and keep track of your explorations in your in-game journal.
• Bring along a guide… Take advantage of the optional multi-layered help system, including illuminating flashbacks and an intuitive Zip mode that transports you from place to place.
PLAY: With Doom 3 being ported to the Xbox it seemed we’d finally have more great PC games on the console. Unfortunately, Myst IV Revelation wasn’t ported quite as well. It would seem the Xbox controls would make any PC game easier to play considering the alternative being a simple mouse and yet that isn’t the case.
Thankfully the story is well written and hasn’t changed from the PC version. The actors are very good and add a depth to the characters and make Myst a game that is easy to get involved. An additional depth comes with the ability to find your own way. It can be very frustrating at times however there is an added sense of adventure that lacks in many games. You have to be more aware of your surrounds as its easy to waste hours exploring and find absolutely nothing.
Searching is very important as there are clues scattered throughout the game and not always easy to find—actually hardly ever easy to find. Even worse, you may get to an area and think you’ve found everything when in fact you haven’t and can’t go any further. It’s very frustrating. Myst IV offers puzzles as well and can add to some of your frustration if you aren’t able to solve them. Some of the puzzles seem absolutely impossible. It does take time and some intellect to you through them.
GRAPHICS: The PC version does outshine the Xbox. The 3D elements are gorgeous. There is some framerate issues and you will notice obvious slow downs.
SOUND: The actors do a fine job and the narration is top notch. The fact that you can tap on an item and tell what it is made of is cool. It adds such a wonderful element to a game that is already pretty good. What’s next? Smell something? The soundtrack is also very well done. Each area has a unique sound and works wonders for the different ages.
FRANKLY: Thank the Lord there is a help map otherwise Myst IV Revelation would be nearly impossible. You could play Myst IV for eons. It might take a month just to complete—not months straight… we mean months if you have a real job. This is a brand new way of approaching a game and being unique is usually a great thing.
+ Richie Wright
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.