MYST PS1 - to waste $20 or not? [Archive]

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kevin_psx

11-09-2005, 12:49 PM

Myst - "A puzzle game" says the reviews. In my mind I see a pretty 256-color of Activision's Mindshadow - not exciting - and yet it's one of the best selling pc games.

To buy or not to buy?

s1lence

11-09-2005, 12:52 PM

I would pass at 20 bucks for a game that was released for just about every system. Try it on the PC first and you discover how overrated of a title Myst really is.

kevin_psx

11-09-2005, 01:04 PM

Never mind. Sounds too much like Dragon's Lair - the mouse through the maze phenonemon - just to see the next pretty picture??? Pass.

Good advice on the PC - there's a cheap $15 version that includes all 3 games. $5 each is not too bad.

njiska

11-09-2005, 01:06 PM

For shame. Myst is nothing like Dragons Lair.

Myst is a good old fashioned point and click puzzle game and a legendary one at that. You're not wandering through a maze your sliding on rails from place to place finding clues to solve puzzles. Go download a demo and you'll see what i mean.

kevin_psx

11-09-2005, 01:32 PM

Slimedog

11-09-2005, 01:53 PM

Myst is nothing like Dragons Lair. Myst - your sliding on rails from place to place

How is that different from DL? Sounds slower paced.

Maybe I'll get the $15 ten-year-anniversary 3-in-1 pack. Doubt it.

k

Have you never played a point and click adventure before? Kings Quest? Shadowgate? Dragon's Lair is a twich fest. This type of games involve solving complex puzzles at your own pace. They are pretty slow and not for everybody.

kevin_psx

11-09-2005, 02:56 PM

Honestly?

I was turned off by this review - "developers Cyan built their game in HyperCard. HyperCard was an early predecessor to the World Wide Web -- a series of discrete documents which could be interconnected with the use of hyperlinks. It was a clever use of commonplace technology to create something with the illusion of sophistication. But ultimately, it was just that: an illusion.

"The technological trickery also imposed severe limitations on the gameplay -- Myst was hopelessly shallow. Once gamers had undergone the mental gymnastics, there was no further challenge to the game. A second playthrough could be completed in a matter of minutes."

"Myst left many gamers with a bitter taste. Myst's emphasis was on unraveling its backstory rather than creating a new plot, which fans of the adventure genre saw as a betrayal of the genre's principles; solving abandoned puzzles and passively watching videos meant that the player was simply wandering rather than creating their own tale. The player's impact on the adventure ultimately boiled down to "came to island, solved riddles, placed page in book."

"Further frustrating adventure gamers was the fact that Myst's illusion of technological sophistication lured many newcomers to the medium. Its solemn atmosphere and passive experience was at odds with the generally irreverent tone and action-packed plots of games like Zack McCracken or Space Quest, and the new breed of PC gamers found it difficult to switch mental gears from the funeral elegance of Myst to the cartoonish whimsy of Sam & Max Hit the Road." -http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=437863

"simply wandering through the creator's setup" sounds dull. Like a mouse following a maze. Like Dragon's Lair - just slower.

k

norkusa

11-09-2005, 03:12 PM

Okay, we get it. You obviously don't want the game. So why bother asking us if it's worth buying or not? It sounds like you've already made up your mind before even posting here.

Ed Oscuro

11-09-2005, 03:26 PM

I played through Myst recently. There's definitely some nice moments and scenes to enjoy, but some spots (the outdoor segment - i.e. most of - of the Selenitic Age, in particular) suck pretty badly. I got as far as I could in a reasonable amount of time, then pulled up the ingame hint/cheat function on Masterpiece Edition.

The game's got many redeeming elements, but I read through all of the Library's books in record time. After that there really wasn't much plot development, save for a handful of lunatics. Definitely worth a save near the end, though, so you can see all four endings (once you can get one, you can get all of them - it's really pretty simple) . :)

Riven, on the other hand, is a totally different matter. Gone are the lousy, tinny sounds and awful navigation of the original; the world of Riven also looks much, much better than that of Myst. Riven's scenes are still very convincing, and hold up very well compared to modern 3D games.

Overall, I much prefer The 7th Guest to the original Myst. Much better game overall, though it uses a straightforward system for determining where you can go, and at what times.

davepesc

11-09-2005, 03:40 PM

"developers Cyan built their game in HyperCard. HyperCard was an early predecessor to the World Wide Web -- a series of discrete documents which could be interconnected with the use of hyperlinks. It was a clever use of commonplace technology to create something with the illusion of sophistication. But ultimately, it was just that: an illusion.

"The technological trickery also imposed severe limitations on the gameplay -- Myst was hopelessly shallow. Once gamers had undergone the mental gymnastics, there was no further challenge to the game. A second playthrough could be completed in a matter of minutes."

"Myst left many gamers with a bitter taste. Myst's emphasis was on unraveling its backstory rather than creating a new plot, which fans of the adventure genre saw as a betrayal of the genre's principles; solving abandoned puzzles and passively watching videos meant that the player was simply wandering rather than creating their own tale. The player's impact on the adventure ultimately boiled down to "came to island, solved riddles, placed page in book."

"Further frustrating adventure gamers was the fact that Myst's illusion of technological sophistication lured many newcomers to the medium. Its solemn atmosphere and passive experience was at odds with the generally irreverent tone and action-packed plots of games like Zack McCracken or Space Quest, and the new breed of PC gamers found it difficult to switch mental gears from the funeral elegance of Myst to the cartoonish whimsy of Sam & Max Hit the Road." -http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=437863

"simply wandering through the creator's setup" sounds dull. Like a mouse following a maze. Like Dragon's Lair - just slower.

k

Sounds like someone scoring a 20-year-old game using today's standards. Unfair in my book.
Now I was never a big fan, but at the time, Myst was like nothing we had ever seen graphically.

And while it is true that the game is over once you solve the puzzles, it's the journey here, not the destination. Sure, replay is low, but I've yet to replay any RPG I've ever owned, and I love RPGs. Replay isn't everything.
Myst came before the internet. And Strategy guides. I remember 4 of us playing simultaneously, working out the puzzles and suggesting possible moves. If you do decide to play this, don't go anywhere near Gamefaqs, or you may as well just let one of us sum up the game for you. All the fun will be gone.

Ed Oscuro

11-09-2005, 03:43 PM

My main issue with Myst is that it's so darn short - you can run through the whole thing in an hour or so if you know what you're doing. There's not really any depth to it, either; you sorta run around and solve puzzles on Myst Island; when they're solved, you run off to the next one, and they're not connected.

It does provide a great anchor for the series, though, and I've been interested in finding realMyst for some time...it's only second on my list of adventure priorities to getting a copy of Myst Mayhem LOL

kevin_psx

11-09-2005, 03:51 PM

It sounds like you've already made up your mind before even posting here. So why bother asking us? No. I made up my mind (post 2) after I asked the question (post 1). My apologies for bothering you.

"Now I was never a big fan, but at the time, Myst was like nothing we had ever seen graphically. "

I thought we're not supposed to judge games by their graphics? ;) just kidding! Might have liked the game in 93 but I'm older now. I learned ignore graphics & focus on the fun.

k

njiska

11-09-2005, 03:59 PM

My main issue with Myst is that it's so darn short - you can run through the whole thing in an hour or so if you know what you're doing. There's not really any depth to it, either; you sorta run around and solve puzzles on Myst Island; when they're solved, you run off to the next one, and they're not connected.

Well you're half-right. The Game can be beaten in under and hour, but like you said that's if you know what you're doing. If you don't know the trick to beating the game then it can take weeks for you to figure it out.

While Myst doesn't offer the richly detailed back story of it's decendants, there's still a lot to it and a lot of the mythology of the series is rooted in it.

goatdan

11-09-2005, 04:10 PM

I own Myst for a couple systems (PC and Jaguar CD) and I never played it all the way through, but I've been wanting to more and more lately. I think it may be time very soon to see it through to the end.

Having said that, I know what I am expecting. I saw that review somewhere else, and I thought that it was incredibly unfair -- Myst is an adventure / exploration game, where as someone else stated a lot of the fun is in the path to getting from point A to point B and seeing the things along the way. If you're looking for a game with a lot of action, don't bother. But for that review to say that Myst left a lot of gamers with a bad taste in their mouths... I don't know how they can figure. Myst sold like hotcakes, and it appealed to a WIDE, WIDE amount of people. It was a best selling game for a long, long time. If it was truly a game that left a bitter taste, it wouldn't have sold nearly so much.

Games that are based ONLY on graphics may sell a lot initially, but sales die when word-of-mouth from them tells others that they suck. Games with great graphics and intriguing gameplay -- even if the gameplay is very similiar to other titles, even perhaps simplified -- have much longer legs.

I have heard that Myst destroyed a lot of the King's Quest style games, and unfortunately I can understand that criticism (as it sold better with a simplified interface and just mostly static pictures telling the story) but at the same time, that shouldn't have been the entire story.

norkusa

11-09-2005, 04:20 PM

No. I made up my mind (post 2) after I asked the question (post 1). My apologies for bothering you.

After reading reviews and coming to the conclusion that it's "not exciting" (post 1) sounds like you've got your mind made up to me. Whatever.

Captain J

11-09-2005, 05:46 PM

myst was a great game and everyone should experience it at least once. i remember having for saturn and working on it for weeks trying to solve the puzzles. the graphics were (and i think still) amazing. such a cool idea to be stuck on island not really knowing why you are there and how to get off of it. the lack of people in the game (mostly) makes it even more mysterious and has a sense of feeling that it could really happen to you and that you are working on it by yourself. i recommend this game to all, on any format available (pc,ps1,saturn,jaguarcd,3do,cd-i,etc). give it a chance, its so cheap (about $5 or less on pc) why wouldnt you just give it a try?

Ed Oscuro

11-09-2005, 06:00 PM

Well you're half-right. The Game can be beaten in under and hour, but like you said that's if you know what you're doing.
Sooo...I was right after all? :P

The truth is that there just isn't a lot of content. There are books on myst island, there are some interesting things to play with (i.e. the drooping sculpture on Sirrus's desk in - I think it's the Stoneship Age), but ultimately they do nothing for the story and don't have any replay value. You fiddle with them a few times, they look nice, but they're still just part of the scenery.

Some of the puzzles are truly great, but many are simply poor. The one in the selenitic age...well, it wouldn't have been bad had one of the entrances to a section of the island not been obscured by the confusing "you can look left but not right" camera system, but even so this puzzle was pretty lame. Or take many of the puzzles using the observation tower in Myst. You just look, copy down what's there, and go run off feeling that it was just handed to you. Some puzzles are tedious - battery cranking or tuning into sounds on the Selenitic Age among them.

For these, though, puzzles like the great "chest with an attached key" one make up for it a lot. It also took me a really long time wandering through Channelwood to start to get sick of that, too.

I guess Myst is best played if you're just looking for a somewhat relaxing experience - well, that's hampered a bit by the outdated graphics and sound nowadays - or a good starting point for the series, which went on to become one of the greatest game series ever, easily one of the best adventure games ever.

Riven, from what little I've played, goes beyond this with one-time events, some ambient wildlife to observe, and objets d'art strewn about that help give you an idea of what's going on (the metallic beetle sculptures you can open up early on to see some stained glass windows, for example).

Richter

11-09-2005, 06:09 PM

spend the $20 on the Myst 10th Anniversary DVD Edition, which has the first 3 games

njiska

11-09-2005, 06:33 PM

Well you're half-right. The Game can be beaten in under and hour, but like you said that's if you know what you're doing.
Sooo...I was right after all? :P

My point was that a virgin player won't beat it in an hour without cheating so it's kind of unfair to bring it up.

I agree that MYST is spare on content, especially compared to it's sequels, but again it was just a starting point. it was all about pretty pictures and puzzles, not story, however this changed with the sequels.

It really is a love it or hate it game.

jajaja

11-09-2005, 06:45 PM

$20 isnt much anyway so even if you buy it and find it boring its not like you lost anything.

Isnt Myst first person point and click? I see someone earlier compared it to Kings Quest, which is all in 3rd person view.

njiska

11-09-2005, 07:23 PM

sabre2922

11-09-2005, 07:26 PM

Myst was OK I thought RIVEN sucked ass thought

Have been thinking about getting the anniversary edition for my PC since I have a total of 4 games for my PC O_O

Daltone

11-09-2005, 07:44 PM

I love adventure games but hate Myst with a passion. I honestly don't get it. I found it heartless and mechanical with absolutely nothing that actually made me want to play. I never, ever got the appeal of the graphics. Everything seemed just, dead.

I'd keep far, far away from it, no matter how many bajillion units it sold.

Haoie

11-09-2005, 08:00 PM

Riven got a PS release too, 5 discs I seem to recall. Huge.

Ed Oscuro

11-09-2005, 08:04 PM

My point was that a virgin player won't beat it in an hour without cheating so it's kind of unfair to bring it up.
Not really...many other adventure games flat-out kick its ass in terms of longevity, especially The 7th Guest, which was a huge counterpart (and competitor...) of Myst.

Besides, I qualified the statement.

Ed Oscuro

11-09-2005, 08:05 PM

Riven got a PS release too, 5 discs I seem to recall. Huge.
Definitely will be picking that up.

Oh, and folks, do yourself a favor and download the Uru demo. It's...very nice.

wufners

11-09-2005, 08:08 PM

I thought Myst was all right--certainly not my favorite.

The whole idea of Myst was to feel like you were in a new world. It wasn't so much about gameplay, but about exploration, atmosphere and mystery. Thus the name . . MYSTery. At the time, it was pretty incredible, although like Ed, I prefered the 7th Guest (even if the games got a little frustrating and the story got lamer and lamer as the game went.)

And unlike sabre, I FAR perfer Riven to Myst. It's still one of my favorite game playing experiences. It's more atmospheric, has a more interesting backstory (though you gotta dig between the lines to find it), and more immersive. I'm a sucker for games with immersive atmospheres. At the time, the graphics were amazing. The first time I rode the tram or saw the shark swim by in the throne room were great gaming moments for me.

But as many have already said, these games definitely aren't everyone's cup of tea. No biggie if it doesn't sound interesting to you. Even though they were to me, I can understand why someone wouldn't dig 'em.

Ed Oscuro

11-09-2005, 08:12 PM

And unlike sabre, I FAR perfer Riven to Myst. More atmospheric, more interesting backstory, and more immersive. At the time, the graphics were amazing. The first time I rode the tram or saw the shark swim by in the throne room were great gaming moments for me.
I know I've said it before...

*everybody groans, or at least Ed imagines they do*

...but back in 1997, I didn't have the game; all I had were the magazine ads and the game package to go by. They definitely caught my attention.

I first played Riven within the last two months. The first time I rode the tram...yes, that was pretty jaw-droppingly good. Myst isn't terrible, graphically, but it makes you appreciate Riven much more.

And that guy who walks out in front of your temporary prison at the very beginning to talk to you in some other language...wow, that wasn't expected.

Daniel Thomas

11-10-2005, 04:14 AM

I don't think any game has divided gamers more than Myst. There really is no middle ground; you either love it or hate it. Personally, I loved it, although I could understand why the hardcore gamers didn't. But the game simply wasn't made for them. Hmm. Perhaps that's an unspoken reason for the opposition.

I loved the whole visual style of the game, its slight touch of surrealism. There was a slightly creepy tone in exploring these uninhabited worlds. It's all empty, but haunted with a past that is only suggested at. You're inspired to poke around in all the corners to see everything.

The puzzles, I think, require a certain mode of thinking to understand. They follow a solid logic, but it's not standard to most adventure games. But everything is fair, and they all fit in with the environments.

I played Myst on the Saturn eons ago, and I think I became hooked once I uncovered a couple book pages, and started to unravel this mystery of the two brothers, trapped in the books. Their stories constantly refute one another's, and the whole saga comes down to a simple question: which brother will you believe? Who gets released from his prison? Thankfully, I decided to start wandering around, and it turned out I picked the right, Twilight Zone-ish surprise ending.

So, yeah, I have fond memories of Myst. It impressed upon me enough to buy the Myst books that followed on the game's success. I'm still surprised the inevitable movie didn't happen. No matter, it would have been terrible, anyway. Unless a surrealist like, say, Bunuel made it.

I've never played the later Myst games, but it was clear that Riven didn't capture the public's attention the way the original had. That's probably telling. And I have to say I much prefer the pre-rendered graphics over the modern texture-mapped polygons. Good old Myst island just looks more lived-in, more welcoming, and less cartooney.

Ed Oscuro

11-10-2005, 04:26 AM

I don't think any game has divided gamers more than Myst. There really is no middle ground; you either love it or hate it.
I like it quite a bit, but I'm also quick to point out its failings...my memories are definitely positive, though (and that partly because I used the ingame hint system, heh, which usually ruins a game for me but in this case I spared myself time and aggravation).

I've never played the later Myst games, but it was clear that Riven didn't capture the public's attention the way the original had. That's probably telling.
Not really. The game-buying public had pretty much gotten over the CD-ROM adventure game, and were moving onto different types of games. Riven was clearly the superior game in every way - especially in graphics and presentation of the story - the original featured game developers hamming it up in front of the cameras, which gets grating after a while.

Achenar and Atrus, by the way, were both done by Rand Miller, and the lack of range shows a bit (poor Rand, being forced to do a role he ended up not really caring for...he was good as Atrus, though.

And I have to say I much prefer the pre-rendered graphics over the modern texture-mapped polygons. Good old Myst island just looks more lived-in, more welcoming, and less cartooney.
Myst looks pretty awful compared to any other entry in the series, including realMyst or Uru - which don't look cartoony at all, but actually quite convincing. Uru in particular is amazing to behold, and I've no doubt Myst V is even more so.

kevin_psx

11-10-2005, 08:21 AM

Kid Ice

11-10-2005, 09:47 AM

It sounds like you've already made up your mind before even posting here. So why bother asking us? No. I made up my mind (post 2) after I asked the question (post 1). My apologies for bothering you.After reading reviews and coming to the conclusion that it's "not exciting" (post 1) sounds like you've got your mind made up to me. Whatever.

ME--->:deadhorse:<---YOU

Please stop beating me. It's just a game - not worth fighting over.

I can see where he's coming from, though. From time to time we get these posts where someone asks "should I get game X for $Y?", where $Y is often 5 or 10 bucks. I guess it's all relative but to me if I'm remotely interested in a game I feel pretty secure letting go of 5 or 10 dollars without asking 1000 people for advice. My answer to these questions is usually "Go crazy and spend the money". If your topic was "Is Myst for PSX any good" or something like that I don't think anyone would have had a problem with it.

For gaming purposes you should be able to find the PC version at any local used game store or flea market for a pittance. For collecting purposes, I don't think that game's worth $20 but your just a visit away from the online guide to finding out.

*TRICKSTAR*

11-10-2005, 10:00 AM

Myst - "A puzzle game" says the reviews. In my mind I see a pretty 256-color of Activision's Mindshadow - not exciting - and yet it's one of the best selling pc games.

To buy or not to buy?

Good thing i saw this thread, it reminds me that today
im supposed to look for this game for a friend that asked for it 2 days ago.
Some people really love this game.
Im a Willy Beamish fan myself.

kevin_psx

11-10-2005, 11:53 AM

I can see where he's coming from.
Sorry.

Won't do it again.

You scared me silent.

Kid Ice

11-10-2005, 05:23 PM

I can see where he's coming from.
Sorry.

Won't do it again.

You scared me silent.

Yeah but did I scare you straight? :)

Haoie

11-10-2005, 05:33 PM

Not unrelated, but there's a rather underlooked title in the PS point/click genre known as Ark of Time. I was going to get it, but I guess not.