Customer Reviews

Myst V: End of Ages Limited Edition (Mac)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been a Myst fan since the start. I have played nearly every game (not uru...its not on mac) and I have even read all of the books.

One of greatest assests of these games has been the intigration of live action video. Real actors playing all the characters, creating intense emotion. This live action video was one of the things that made Myst so "real."

It is such a sad thing to see this new "3-D character". When the *people* we encounter are simply animated figures with poorly mapped-barely real- faces the "virtual reality" we step into is destroyed.

In every other Myst game I have played the characters have been central to the feeling of the game. You felt for the people, you saw the emotion on their faces, and it drew you in. Here, we have the animated body and head of an individual with an almost spooky mapped face of an actor. I hated this part of the game, and am so disappointed that it was allowed to happen.

Buy this game if you must know what happens, if you are a true fan. But be prepared to be be disappointed in the end. This game is not as immersive, the emotion is lacking...It feels rushed.

This final game should have been the greatest of all. It isn't, it feels as if it is almost a slight to us fans and it certainly won't draw in new ones. And that, is the greatest tragedy of (this game) of all.

I would like to review this game from the experience of playing it. Unfortunately, there is a KNOWN problem (known to Ubisoft) that causes the game to freeze Mac OS X. I have a fully loaded Mac (2.5 GHz dual processor, Radeon 9600 Pro, 2 GB RAM, etc.) and the game crashes at even the lowest video quality settings. (The first Myst's game graphics were better than what Myst V provides at this setting). Ubisoft refuses to correct the problem... Do some research... search for "Myst V Crash OS X" and read all the forums discussing just how much Ubisoft really cares about their Mac customers. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME!

I have been a fan of Myst for a long time. I played the original Myst back on my Mac with a 2x CD-ROM drive. I bought Riven upon release and spent hours exploring the wonderful worlds. I purchased Myst III on its first day and, although not as good as Riven, enjoyed it a lot. Myst IV was incredible, also immersing me in a wonderful world where the trees now moved, and it was helped along by a heap of FMV featuring some good acting (unlike most games).

Enter Myst V. When I read that it was going to be a real-time game, I had mixed feelings. Myst IV had been beautiful, but then I played Half Life 2 and it gave me confidence that maybe some stunning graphics could create one of the best immersive experiences yet.

Now I've played it for a few hours, and I'm horrified. I'm not sure where to begin. The characters are terrible. I've had to spend time listening to Yeesha rant on while not making any sense at all. Is she mad? Esher isn't much better. It seems like every time I move to a new area someone appears to spout gibberish that makes no sense. And someone who had played any of the previous games would be totally lost... at least I know who Catherine, Atrus and Ghen are. A lot of people don't.

Replacing the actors with 3D models was a terrible decision. The character's jaws don't move, so the talking looks unnatural. Their faces look stretched like Michael Jackson gone even worse, and there isn't enough texture details.

When I walk around in free look mode, it feels like I am floating a foot above the ground. When I walk over a rock, even a large one, my position relative to the ground doesn't change, like I have walked straight through it. When I walk over water it doesn't splash... that was implemented years ago in FPS! There are "invisible barriers" that stop me from going places where the developers couldn't bother designing. I really don't feel like I am "in" the environment.

I don't want to finish this game, and I regret getting it. It's a sorry way to finish what was an awesome series. Don't give me excuses about it being rushed, because you should have spent time making a decent game instead of churning out this sorry excuse for a game.

Rand Miller, CEO of Cyan Worlds and creator of the Myst series, said that he didn't want to end the Myst series with a bunch of explosions and drama, but rather he wanted to help tie up some loose ends and give players answers to questions they've been asking. And Rand succeeded.

Packaging: While the Limited Edition could have been a bit better in comparison with the European Collector's Edition, it was well-designed and has enough to be worth the money. It contains a soundtrack CD with high sound quality and interesting ambient melodies. The Behind the Scenes DVD was a treat to enjoy on my TV after I finished the game. It also included a beautiful piece of artwork which I plan to hang, as well as the complete strategy guide, which has an entertainingly written walkthrough and a series of interviews with Cyan employees. Some have said that the smaller size of the strategy guide makes it not a good value, but I was able to read it just fine.

Graphics: The move to realtime 3D was important -- from playing the game, you realize that it just couldn't be done with prerendered. While some details take a hit because of this, it was an immersive experience even on my old bargain computer. The use of motion-capture and face-recording for the characters helped keep the worlds feeling alive. At several points in the game, I was stunned and simply watched with literally an open jaw.

Puzzles: This was the first Myst game that I was able to finish completely without using a strategy guide. I do not think that this was because the puzzles were easier, but because they were logical and catered more to my style of puzzle-solving. The length of the game was rather short, and some may find that a flaw, but I saw it as a good length, especially considering the short time in which it was made.

Plot: This plot does a stupendous job of connecting the storylines of Myst and Uru in a satisfactory way. The characters are interesting and realistic, and the way that the story is told through journals and speeches continues the Myst legacy. The ending is stellar and is definitely worth the time to get there.

Overall: Myst V: End of Ages is a wonderful game that is more than anyone could have hoped for an end to the series.

I am SO let down by this game. The Ages don't even begin to touch the other Myst games. After just finishing Revelation, EoA seems like it's a rushed attempt to finish an epic series. The game play itself is boring, with very few realistic enviromentals (like butterflies, wind, birds etc). What happened to the interesting creatures we got to meet in the other Myst games? The backdrops themselves are static, and motionless, not typical of a Myst game. The graphics are jumpy if you try and play in any mode but first person and then they're locked on with little maneuverability. This leaves exploration frustrating with the whole "point and click and no that's not where I wanted to go". I haven't even found myself wanting to play this game since the second time I tried to get into it. In short end it with Revelation and save yourself the disappointment, and the forty bucks.

You can see screenshots of Myst V and find what you recall to be D'ni. Recalling Myst and Riven, I remember being emmersed into the game through storyline and the detailed visuals that represented worlds and culture. The detail that went into creating these worlds were so believable that I believed I was actually there. When Ubisoft took over for creating the Myst games, cheese was poured over the storyline and a 3-D engine was put in. Suddenly I was taken out of the believability in the worlds that were created. With a 3-D engine, quality in resolution and detail was reduced to less than 30% of the original. The choice of using a 3-D engine was like taking something that was innovative and turning it into every other game on the market. It is now a first/third person shooter without the gun and people to kill. A younger audience may find this game entertaining for a few days. As a fan of Myst and Riven, I'm not impressed with the degradation done to the series by Ubisoft.

Ok, ok, I agree with the other reviewers that this one was not as good as the others, but hey, it's the last one and we all knew it. If they had ended the series without telling us with Myst IV we'd also be equally upset, right?

So, it's an ok experience. Not nearly as challenging as IV, not nearly as exciting as Riven, not nearly as experiential as III, but it's ok. If you've played all the others I feel you owe it to yourself to play this one, but it won't be one that you'll be talking about for months or years to come! Hey, you can do like I did and turn around a sell it here on Amazon when you're done, but at least play it!!!

I have been a Myst fan since it came out in 1993 and loved every game. Rand Miller and the Cyan Worlds team came up with a perfect end to the series. I was glued to my seat from begining to end and didn't even want to stop to go to work! I have the limited editon and definitly recomend it for all you true Myst fans. Do not listen to the bad review of the soundtrack. Very moving music just as the music of the entire franchise. This is a must buy. The game has gorgous graphics I think as beautiful as revelation if not better. Execellent story and well done gamplay. I will not give any spoilers but the game leaves the ending up to you. You will be given several differnt paths to take pick the right choice or there will be no turning back.
The puzzles are challenging enough for any Myst fan. Do not listen to reviews of it being short. It is a little shorter than most but not to short unless you read the guide all the way through. Only prblem I found is minor sluggy graphics on lower end computers. My desktop runs it slow while my laptop runs it smooth as silk. All in all Myst V is an excellent game and Myst fans young or old will love it.

I've finished this game. I must admit the installation seemed to take forever (anticipation?) and I encountered my share of annoying bugs *crosses fingers for a patch*. Overall, however, this game is the best game of the Myst franchise since Riven in my opinion. The puzzles are not as mind bending as Riven's, but the feel that these places were actually ones created and used by the D'ni civilization is everywhere. The point and click interface is as simple as the player wants while the twist of carrying around a slate to communicate with in-game creatures is very interesting.

The choice of deciding the fate of a civilization is put into the hands of the player. The worlds are amazing to see (with minimal loading times), and each one reveals part of the history and personalities behind the final choice the player must make.

I just watched the making-of DVD today. It was a very interesting, if slightly skewed, look at the "success" of Myst and Cyan. I use quotes since Cyan nearly just went out of business after completing Myst 5.

All in all this game is a wonderful game. It will make you think if you let it and don't reach for that pocket-sized guide included ;) .

This game is recommended for anyone who wants to think. For those of you who ever have enjoyed a Myst game, this will be a great final addition to the collection.

To sum it up in a few quick sentences: The music scores used in the game as well as the Soundtrack are wonderful if you're into Classical music, but are immensely boring if you're not. If you loved any of the previous Myst games, you'll love this one. If you're a first timer, go get an older Myst game from the bargin bin and try that first before purchasing this one. And if you disliked the other Myst games entirely, then just forget about this one as it's beyond your interests.

For those still interested, the game itself was drawn on an outstanding group of writers and imagineers, and it shows. The graphics are fun to adore, the puzzels are difficult, but not absurd, and dialogs are very fun to listen to. I thoroughly enjoyed the game and played every one of the multiple outcomes I could think of at the very end. I guess my only other gripes about this game were:

-Worlds were not very big and did not have much space to just "get lost" and roam around.

-Too short of game play. I finished it in 3 days (16hrs or so) of playing).

-Limited edition Prima Game Guide had VERY small text, but was still worth it in those tight spots where my patience cracked.