I THOUGHT PART 3 WOULD BE FUN, BUT I WAS MYSTAKEN
The first Myst was one of my very first games I bought for my IBM compatible computer. I had no idea what the game was...I just knew that it looked beautiful on the box. I spent three days nonstop solving that game and when I finally did, I was very satisfied. The great graphics and engaging storyline kept me engrossed. When Riven came out, I was excited...until I played it. The introduction of a few more people to inhabit the world was good, but Riven didn?t have enough gumption to keep me interested. And here I am with Myst III: Exile on the PS2.
Exile continues on the Myst universe by introducing a new villain, a hateful man whose world was destroyed by Sirrus and Achenar, the sons of Atrus and Catherine. These characters were encountered in Myst and should be very familiar to those who play the series regularly. The new guy is played by Brad Dourif, an Academy Award nominee (One Flew Over the Cuckoo?s Nest). He?s been hiding in Atrus? ages, patiently waiting for his chance for revenge. You track the bad guy through 5 Ages, navigating puzzles to find out the truth behind this new villain.
A game like Myst is made or broken with the puzzles and the puzzles do satisfy. The difficulty of the challenges range from easy to downright frustrating, but did you really expect to blow through the game? For instance, in the very, very beginning you walk into Atrus? study and you must touch the pedestal with the encased book for Atrus to walk in. I know I felt pretty stupid when I spent 30 minutes walking around the study looking at everything but that. But then Myst is there to challenge your mind from the simplistic to the academic. One positive note: the puzzles are not impossible. Most time you?ll be able to figure it out the first time. Images in your notebook or conversations you?ve had or pictures in real time inform you of your task and are more clear than the other games.
Graphically, I would put Myst III: Exile on an above average scale. The photo-realistic scenes do complement the PS2?s processing power. It also helps if you have a Flat screen TV. Sometimes I did have a problem figuring out which way I had to go or which way I could go because some paths were hard to make out, especially when the outdoor settings blended in with each other. Other than that, islands were absolutely breathtaking and the indoor décor of building were wrought with imagination. One other minor flaw was the characters that spoke with you. The fake backgrounds were supremely apparent when they arrived on screen. Because they were filmed and added into the program, they seemed too cut out and took away from the beauty of the game. Don?t worry though, especially if you?re a hermit, because these people are few and far between.
Myst III: Exile was not made for the console. The disc access times slowed down the progress immensely and don?t get me started about going from outdoors to indoors! Moving around Exile made me impatiently right away: move the cursor in the direction you want to go and the PS2 had to load up the next scene. On average, it took about 2 seconds each time; which means some took longer and other scenes were instant. Too much inconsistency in this regards. One thing I did like was that you could look 360 degrees in any position left to right and you could also look up and down. There was no slow down for this, which was good. So just think as you moved around the 5 worlds solving puzzles and you realize that at the end, just when you think you?re getting out of that world, you forgot to set some lever near the beginning of the level. You have to go all the way back via point and click maneuvers and slow loading times. Better get a sandwich.
The sound engineers have always done a great job on the Myst series. I consider it movie quality and would give them a Grammy if I could. Exile continues this greatness with sharp orchestration and tense music. It plays at the right moment and even though it?s there most of the time, you will find that it enhances the mood just fine. Other sounds, if on a stereo, do make you look this way and that and I feel the sound is one of the strongest points of the game.
I think consoles are a bad choice for games like Myst and that?s too bad because while this game is good, hardcore console gamers probably won?t want to fit some time in for this puzzle adventure. Decent graphics and superb sound put you right in the middle of an engaging story (which stems all the way from the first Myst), but the horrendous and continuing loading issues will have you severely distracted. If you have $20 (yes, only 20--I imagine to compete with the PC sales) to spare and you love puzzles and you love loading times, then help yourself but don?t say I didn?t warn you.
