Product Description: Myst III: Exile introduces a new villain, a bitter man whose home world was ruined by Sirrus and Achenar, and who returns to take revenge against Atrus and his family at their most vulnerable time. The player is trapped in a mysterious age, and must explore the environment and navigate its puzzles to gradually uncover the mystery of this new adversary.
Amazon.com Review: Myst arrived just in time to take advantage of brand-new CD-ROM technology, and quickly became the number-one reason to buy a new computer. Myst and its sequel, Riven, featured beautiful and lonely landscapes, a strong and fascinating sense of pervading mystery, and puzzles both fiendish and clever. Players navigated through the games by clicking on points of interest, and solved puzzles by paying careful attention to the lush graphics and haunting sounds of the environment. Myst III: Exile proudly continues and even advances that tradition.
Myst's ongoing story line is as convoluted as it is fantastic. Central to the story is the mysterious civilization of the D'ni, which creates entire worlds by writing books. Other books are used to link the D'ni worlds together. Myst trapped the player in a series of interconnected worlds, and challenged the player to puzzle through the ramblings of two mad brothers in order to free Atrus, their imprisoned father. Riven revealed more of the history of the D'ni, and sent the player to the unstable world of Riven in order to rescue Atrus's wife.
Myst III: Exile concerns Atrus's earnest attempt at creating a new world. He hopes this world will mark the rebirth of the D'ni, but before he finishes his book, a thief (portrayed in the game by actor Brad Dourif) breaks into his laboratory and mucks things up. You have to track this thief through worlds written by Atrus in his earlier years. Within each world you must right the wrongs the thief has created, all the while uncovering a deeper mystery surrounding his relationship to Atrus and his troublesome children. Prior experience with Myst and Riven isn't necessary for this third excursion, but familiarity with Myst's point-and-click gameplay and its often infuriating puzzle logic helps.
New to the game is a full 3-D landscape, which replaces the static prerendered artwork of the previous games. The gorgeous new graphics allow you to quickly pan and scan your way through an area, looking for puzzles and action spots with the hand cursor. The puzzles have been improved so that you can now see changes to the environment immediately after you solve one, rather than simply moving on to the next picture. Still, the puzzles are often wickedly difficult and may prove frustrating to new players.
The environment is the true star of the game, and is sure to enchant players of all stripes. As before, the music and artwork are topnotch and immersing, and the experience is not easily forgotten. Myst fans of old will be delighted with this new installment, and those new to the series will be enchanted, provided they are willing to spend time on the puzzles, enjoy the scenery, and let the game carry them away. --Andrew S. Bub
Pros:
A strong continuation of the series
Brilliant new artwork and music
Cons:
Puzzles can be confusing
Not for impatient gamers
Amazon.com Product Description: In creating Myst III: Exile, developers combined new technology with the history of the popular Myst series. Supporting optional 3-D hardware, the game features a free-look movement system, allowing players to pan 360 degrees in any location. There are five new ages to explore, each featuring a unique visual style. The story line focuses on a new character, a villain whose home world was ruined by Sirrus and Achenar (familiar to those who have played the previous games), and has returned to take revenge against Atrus and his family. Explore the environment and solve puzzles to uncover the mystery of this new adversary.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Finally! A Myst Game that Satisfies More Than One Audience!
I hated the first and second Myst games. (That's a nice way to start a review.) Although I found the concept interesting, and the visuals good for their days, it lacked everything else. Myst III, is the first in the series that is worth your while.
The problem with the series, is that it's not like other games. Myst is about solving mysteries and undoing puzzles. It's a neat idea. However, it attracts a very narrow audience. The story lines had very little suspence or character development. Also, the puzzles required a lot of thinking and could easily make you throw your mouse in frustration (and I mean 'throw'). The only people who enjoyed the previous Myst games had the patience of a saint.
However, Myst III is everything the series should have been. Basically, Atris returns and he plans to recreate the D'ni civilization. To do that, he needs a new age for them to live. He does it, but then a villian steals the link to that age. You must go through the new worlds and recover Atris's lost age.
The story is deeper. The audience will continiously ask what happens next. For the first time, you feel like you're apart of the story and you are an actual person. As you go around, you collect peices of the villian's background story and learn as much about him as possible. If you're sensable, you can't help but feel story for him. The story proves the best thing this game series ever had.
Meanwhile, the gameplay has been seriously improved. Of course, you solve puzzles. However, it's not as difficult as the previous games. The previous games were a search and find. This game allows you to experiment with levers and buttons. It makes you learn from your mistakes. However, there are still some areas where you will get stuck. Thankfully, you won't feel as guilty if you cheat this time around. Each puzzle's more rewarding in the end.
The visual effects are also brilliant. This time around, the worlds each have unique appearances. You can tell when you've left one and gone to another. The cinematics are also better. This time, they don't get a grainy appearance when they play out on your computer. The images are clearer and the human characters look more real.
I have been waiting for this Myst game for too long. I'm glad it finally came around. However, there is one peice of advice I'd like to give people. If you like to submerge yourself in gameplay, DON'T LOSE! I love the story, but I can't stop hating myself for allowing the badguy to win. If you make wrong choices, the game makes you seriously hate yourself for it.
I like this Myst game above all others. However, many people would disagree, but I think that's because we have different tastes. However, if you want to play a Myst game, you must start with this one. The previous games aren't a good way to introduce you (unless you like playing them in order).
Rating: - Myst:: Exile to the world of nausea
I had only been playing the game for a few minutes when I got dizzy and had to stand over the toilet until the feeling of nausea left and I stopped feeling like I was going to blow my lunch out of this world. I played Myst and I thought it was really good. I tryed to play Riven but I coudn't get it to start, so i skipped ahead to Myst Exile. The way your cursor moves in the game sort of gives you the illusion that the screen is concave and the way you move about made me get motion sickness and i am fine on roller coasters. Though my stomach couldn't take it i will admit that the graphics are pretty good and plot line made sense and the concept of going to the other worlds is pretty cool. If you think you can stand it then i would recomend it.
Rating: - Stunning Myst Scenery with terrible plotline and unsatisfying ending
I'm a big fan of the Myst/Riven/Uru serries, but in myst 3 they tried to add an in-depth plotline with characters you couldn't interact with. The point is the characters and plot they added made the game seem korny. And Exile was painfully shrot. I think there were only three or four worlds. The game ended and I sat there wondering if I skipped something, I didn't. Out of all of them, Riven has been my favorite. It's a beast though, like 7 disks or something. Anyway, I didn't care for what they did with exile, and the reward for solving stuff wasn't that great either. I wanted to scream durring the bounce-the-sunlight-off-the-flowers puzzle!!! Myst V better not be the last installment, cause it was pretty lame too. The serries is great though.
Rating: - Excellent game, satisfying endings
I just re-played Exile, and have come to appreciate this game more than before. While it is an off-shoot of the Myst series, it is still an excellent game for many reasons.
The storyline makes sense, unlike some games I've played. Poor Saavedro- you can't help but feel sorry for the guy. Those hoodlum sons of Atrus ruined Saav's world- he's lost everything, including his wife and small daughters...and he's out for revenge. To do this, he steals a linking book to another world, hoping Atrus will chase after him. Luckily, it is you who ends up in the chase- and the game.
Saav takes you through the uninhabited worlds Atrus created to teach his sons. Once you solve the worlds and collect what you need, you can then access Saav's homeworld. Along the way, we see pictures depicting the boys' atrocities (nothing gross or graphic) and videos he made, telling us about the horrors he's been through.
Basically, there are 5 areas, however the 5th one is much smaller and is where the game ends. From the main area, you will solve puzzles to access different worlds. And, there's plenty to keep you busy.
The puzzles are medium to hard, however they make sense- much more than most of the new games that have come out since Exile. Several are devilishly hard, I'll admit, but not impossible. I completed the game several years back without a walkthrough- something I rarely do with more modern games. Most experienced gamers won't need more than a prod or 2, in the more difficult puzzles.
The 3 teaching worlds you visit are impressive. My favorite is Armateria- a huge pinball machine. Thunder, lightning, blue glowing crystals at sunset...great mood setters. Too, when the crystal balls smash apart (because you don't have the puzzle set correctly) they explode into wonderful shards that fly everywhere! And, the ride when you've solved Armateria is well worth the effort.
The graphics are lovely and do not disappoint. There's good detail and nice use of color. There is one area that is rather dark and can be confusing due to all the foliage. Still, it is not that difficult to find your way. I like the 360* view. If this makes you dizzy, right click to hold the picture, then point and click to move.
The voice work is excellent and actors are used, not CG figures. That really makes a difference, in my opinion. The actor portraying Saavedro does a fantastic job as the half-crazed antagonist. The other 2 characters are Atrus and Katherine, both performed well. There's good use of costumes and staging, too.
The music and sound effects fit nicely and do not distract from the game. There's lapping water sounds, wind, insects, etc., that add richness to each setting.
The ending is very satisfying. All too often now, games have really poor endings. Exile has several and you should try EVERY possible combination of actions you can think of. There's at least 4. Be sure to save to that you can reload and try them all!
Exile has no foul language, inappropriate behavior, or violence. One heartless ending even carries with it an admonishment from Atrus.
Exile is certainly worth playing. Take your time, wander, take notes...and enjoy.
Rating: - Great graphics, but that's about it
I will be one of the few people to write a negative review about this game. I tried to play this game several times, and all to no avail because it made me dizzy and nauseous, literally -- due to the way the graphics were constructed. Yes, the graphics are very well done and colorful. But as you move through the realm in 1st person, you have to constantly click through the land, go back and forth, clicking to look around in all directions, which gets annoying after a while. It seems like the very point of this game is to only look around. While the game encourages a real-world feel in the 1st person perspective, you cannot easily turn your head to look around, so you have to click away. This game offers a 360 degree panning option, where you can look in all directions with "more ease". But this just makes matters worse because the view constantly sways back and forth as you move the cursor and it made me dizzy. It's the same feeling as when you're trying to read while in a car.
And besides that, the gameplay is lonely. I found no satisfaction going through a colorful fantasy world with no one to talk to, looking at everything but not being able to examine and trying by myself to figure out what all those creatures and objects were. When playing a game, I prefer a more realistic environment. Anybody can "make up a world" if they use their imagination. But it's more difficult, I think, to create something closer to reality that's involving and realistic.
- Finally! A Myst Game that Satisfies More Than One Audience!
- Myst:: Exile to the world of nausea
- Great graphics, but that's about it
