Customer Reviews

Myst IV: Revelation

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a big fan of the Myst games since I played the original on my brand new 486pc. I have played them all, and I am very happy to be able to play the latest offering.

When Myst IV was initially released for the PC in 2004, I was upset to discover that my current machine would not be able to run it. Therefore I was surprised, and greatly pleased, to find that Myst IV was released for the Xbox, and at such a great price to boot. I had been hoping for months this game would be released for Xbox, and I can only wonder how UBI managed to sneak it in without anyone knowing, especially considering I had even scoured their website for information about just such a release. While I am sure the game would be better if experienced on a PC, for those of us that do not want to spend the funds to upgrade, the Xbox version is the perfect (and only) alternative.

There are a few complaints about the game, but they are minor. The biggest issue is the loading time. The game seems to have to buffer the data into memory, and moving to new screens can take a few seconds. Return to previous screens is a bit faster, but on average, it will take about three to five seconds after clicking the move button to actually see the new screen.

I have read reviews that usually focus on poor video quality in the Xbox version. I have to say that I have not noticed any substantial problems with video quality when compared to the previous games on the PC. Not surprising, when you have someone appear and talk to you on screen, the video for this is clear, but not quite as smooth as the world around you. Let's face it; plugging some video into a world that is already created virtually is never going to fit in seamlessly. In all honesty, it does not look any worse than what was experienced in Myst III for the PC. One issue though is the lower resolution of the television screen. While reading the handwritten journals in the game, the resolution is sometimes too poor to read the writing. This is helped a lot with a zoom function to see them better. Perhaps it is the poor handwriting of the author that makes them hard to read, but even zoomed I found myself squinting to read the pages.

This current game also features a new "touch" option. This is made even more so by implementing the rumble feature of the Xbox controller. Users can tap objects and hear a sound specific to it, along with an appropriate vibration on the controller. This feature also extends to having to "move" objects, instead of just clicking on them. To open a drawer, players must click on the drawer, and then drag the hand down to open it. It can be difficult at times to tell what items can be moved or not, as the slight change in the hand cursor is sometimes too subtle to see on a television screen.

This new game also has a divergent story line that will change depending on how you treat the people and things in the various ages. If you open a box and release some beetles early on, the owner of the box, upon their return, will criticize you. If you leave the box alone, the owner will instead talk to you about the experiment they are performing. I admit the change is small, but it can be cumulative, and has potential to change the way people will respond to you in the game. This is very different from the previous three games where players could fiddle with everything without the risk of causing problems, just wasting time.

My favorite new feature is a snapshot option. This allows the player to take a snapshot of an individual screen and view this same snapshot anytime. This is a great help in the game as I have previously filled pages with my own notes of something I just wanted to be able to reference somewhere else in the game. With this snapshot, I can take an image of it, even if it is a journal page, and go back to it at anytime.

The last new feature of this game is the implementation of a help system. I myself have not utilized this feature, but I was pleased that when you select this option, players are warned that using the system may affect the storyline, and to choose to proceed or exit. Having this feature at all makes this game much more accessible to new players.

Another problem is that Myst IV was a game created to be played with a mouse, and not a controller. Using the joystick to control the on-screen pointer can be tedious at times, especially when trying to "move" an object on the screen, and the screen moves along with it. These times are not common, but they do take away a bit from the game. Thankfully there is an option in the game to adjust the sensitivity of the joystick.

Overall I am extremely please with the game. Keep in mind that the entire Myst series is a cerebral adventure, and it will require a large amount of time to figure out the puzzles, let alone just figuring out what the puzzles are in the first place. If you enjoyed the other games, Myst III in particular, I would highly recommend this game. The only real detractors for the Xbox version are the loading times, and the occasional difficulty with control, resulting in a score of 4 stars instead of 5 overall.

Works with the xbox 360 which I was happy with and why I took the chance, unsure about other Myst xbox games

The game seems difficult for the Xbox to process. While the game is new, I get dirty disk error messages and other games work in the console with no incidents. I have read other reviews about this, but when the game works it is very fun to play.

This game is extremely well adapted to xbox. Beside the nice possibilities to move it has a help-function where it is possible to chose between "hints" and a full solution. The help-function also contains maps of all the ages of Myst IV helping to move around. Myst IV is not an easy to play game, I would only recommend that game for people being fond of solving puzzles (difficult and extremely difficult ones). Also some puzzles contain to bring codes, others are not straight foreward. Therefore just for the really really fond of puzzle gamers. Besides that, wonderfull environments are always a great joy in Myst (I never encountered such nice environments in other games), and the movement possibilities of 360 degree and up and down viewing is adding to this joy.

Very disappointed! I'm sure the game is a blast, but it IS NOT compatible with the new Xbox 360 unless you have a hard drive attached to it. I read one review that said it was compatible, I thought I was in the clear. My Xbox is the version that came boxed with Kinect. Now that it is open it is un-returnable AND un-playable. Totally bummed. Anyone want to buy this off me??

I have played Myst, Riven, Exile, Revelation, and End of Ages. I have old Power PC Macs and have had no problems running these games at all. Please be aware that these old Macs also allow me to run both Native OS9 and Classic OS9. The original Myst does not run very well under Classic but runs perfectly under OS9. Do not despair, the Myst Masterpiece Edition runs flawlessly under Classic, a much better choice for those who can run Classic.
Exile, Revelation, and End of Ages all run flawlessly under OSX.
I run both OSX 10.4.11 and OSX 10.5.8 with either ATI or NVIDEA cards. G4 and G5 PPC 2 GHz machines with 4GB Ram or more with ATA or SATA hard drives.
I cannot comment on game performance issues with PC's.

The problem is with Myst IV Revelation XBOX version.
I purchased the new Xbox 360 250GB and followed all the instructions for playing original Xbox games to the letter.
The Xbox Myst Revelation game will simply not run on the new Xbox 360. I am currently attempting to resolve this issue.
I suspect that since I use HDMI to connect my Xbox 360 that the Xbox machine simply does not have the code to convert Myst IV Revelation into digital HD.

With regard to the games themselves you must be aware that the first three Myst games were simply gather clues and use the clues to solve puzzles, really quite entertaining.
The first three games were 90% puzzle solving by deductive reasoning and 10% mathematical solution.

Myst IV Revelation is 75% mathematical solution and 25% deductive reasoning and puzzle solving.
If you enjoy solving mathematical puzzles this is the game for you. (some are VERY complex)
If you enjoy just solving puzzles, you may find Myst Revelation quite annoying compared to the first three editions.
You must also be aware that Revelation does no supply you with a return linking book once you have solved a puzzle and this is completely opposite to the first three editions. Basically you can drive yourself crazy trying to find the elusive missing linking book even though you have already solved the puzzle. If you have played previous versions of Myst, this major alteration in game play can literally drive you insane.

I have not played End Of Ages enough yet to make an informed comment.

Overall I would rate the Myst games as a wonderful diversion to daily stress and far more entertaining than Kill, Conquer, Fight, Destroy, Dominate, Blood, Guts, Gore, and Die games that pervade the gaming industry and brain wash our youth.

I have played this game before and it's an EXCELLENT learning experience for little and grown minds. I didn't pay attention to the fact that this was an XBOX game and it won't play on the XBOX 360. My bad, but a great game.

I had only played the original trilogy, but I've enjoyed this one. My only criticism is that it's a bit limited on environments compared to Riven and Exile. There's only four major areas here, but they seem very small.

Great story. The game is great and is like a fantasy - scifi- magical- mystical saga version of Star Wars. Myst twists the laws of physics to an alternate reality. Good game.

First off i would like to say that i love the myst series, i started playing them since Riven: The Sequel to Myst. I'm not a big computer gaming fan because i dont like the keyboard and mouse, the only games i play on computer are click and point puzzle games like broken sword or 7th guest. Well i dont really play computer that much and when i heard the 4th myst was coming out for xbox after the release of the 3rd one for xbox, i said to myself, i gotta get it. Well i did since i love xbox!!! And wow, i love this game, im hooked on it, i also bought the strategy guide with it. I only played about a half hour of this game and im already hooked. The graphics are BEAUTIFUL!!! they look so good. The sound keeps you in the game, all from quiet good sounds, to up tempo music, its all there and its all good. The adventure and puzzle part is what hooks me to it, i love adventure/puzzle games and this is one of the best click and point puzzle/adventure games ever along with 7th guest for the PC. Anyone who wants a GOOD challenge should pick this game up, and since it's only $20, it's a definate pick up, trust me.