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Myst V: End of Ages Review
Derek dela Fuente
08/10/2005
It certainly feels like the end of ages as TVG take a look at the final chapter in the legendary Myst series...
When anyone muses about the Myst brand you are placed in one of two camps. You are either an avid fan talking about the games for hours on end, expounding the merits of the Cyan Worlds series and how the Myst series has brought a whole new lease of life to this genre, that had almost died 5 years ago; in effect Myst is perfection personified and woe betide anyone who says differently. Conversely, you could stand there with a vacant expression, puzzlement, and be at a loss to understand why so many people have found the formula that Myst has progressed along, through its many releases, that has worked so well.
This said formula, the basic building blocks for Mystās success, has been its lush graphics, along with its enchanting and also mesmeric settings with an amount of detail that is both stunning to behold, although in many cases not needed, but that is one of the many underlying contributory features that make the Myst series such a cult. Why not have the most detailed exquisite looking game no matter what? The stories have been involved, intertwining, and cerebral on one level but on another many could see them as pretentious, hugely āpadded outā, with dead ends, red herrings and nonsensical but isnāt that the ploy, ingredients, for any adventure game?
Myst has had, still has, fabulous presentation, style and dialogue but this has only aided the game mechanics, itās supplemental to playing and achieving real success. Myst V: End of Ages starts with such a lot of dialogue, introducing stories and so many strands are thrown at you in the first hour that youāll start to worry in case you have missed something or not taken it all in. A three minute dialogue may suit the game, but when so many characters are presented and you are trying to remember the last snippet, you donāt actually panic but wonder if you are missing the plot for in all this you are driven along through the story despite all of this. It does appear you are placed in a headlock before you come out passively fighting!
The early Myst games had nice FMVs, a few lines of texted script at the start and you were off, touching everything, taking various goodies, all in a nice orderly sequence! The safe design was complemented by great looks and ever changing scenery. It was only at real pivotal points that you were interrupted and given a further sermon on what was required. Now it does seem that if you are not preached to every five minutes then there is something wrong. Perhaps confusing you is a ploy, to make you concentrate even harder.
Neither an avid Myst fan nor one who views it with contempt, Myst V early on kept on both spoon-feeding and coming across as very pretentious. The black and white nature of the game, a number of opposites, does give the game it fascinating feel but there does come a limit to it all! The puzzles are both devious and simple but you then start to ask yourself the question, are the simple things meant to be devious and are the cerebral puzzles meant to be straightforward. That, to many now, is the dichotomy of the game, you are always looking for something special where in effect there is nothing that extravagant BUT the devious amongst you, the hardcore fans, will say just the mere fact you are looking for āsomethingā is the pull and ethos of Myst!
Within two hours you had been underground in dark caverns, in snow covered mystical surrounds, in lush greenlands, in a huge forest, in winding circular chambers which all seem to double up on themselves, but there is no denying the shift and constantly changing styles keeps you going. There was also overload in the sensory stakes, both visually and audibly, some might say good, whilst others, like myself, were constantly feeling uneasy, queasy, that I did not quite understand the ramifications of endless plotlines!
Point, click and use are the primary asks and dare we forget to mention it the fate of the
D'ni civilization rest with you! Like any good book the plot line and what happens and what moves you make are part of being successful and we will not give away too much. However itās safe to assume that one or two surprises lay in store as this IS the final game in the series and only a real twist will give it a real stonker of an ending but then you ask yourself, will a simple ending be the big surprise? (Myst can really muck your brains up!) Matching hieroglyphics, retrieving the right artifacts, pulling the right levers, moving in the correct sequence are all part of the Myst formula and here we have it again in abundance.
Escher, looking like John Geiguld, and Yeesha are your main helpers who goad and give you snippets of information throughout as they appear almost like magic at various stages. Overall the puzzles did not appear that difficult early on and a number of times it was a case of finding them as opposed to solving them but go around in circles enough and you will find them!
The game is all about ātabletsā and we donāt mean aspirins but the real allure of Myst V is the sheer speed and movement that is fast and highly responsive. We wonāt go into the gameās interface too much but needless to say it canāt be improved on which certainly cannot be said of the active mixture of the gameplay elements. Being sharp eyed, clever with shape distinguishing, being able to draw certain patterns, may not be enough for many gamers, even if the 4 ages that you traverse through are full of wonderment and special effects and weird and enthralling forms.
