realMYST
For: PC
Genre: adventure
Reviewed by: Escee (Brandon)
Developer: Cyan
Publisher: Sunsoft
Released:11.5.00
 
Okay, I'll admit it. I thought the original Myst was a great game. I enjoyed the game thoroughly when I played it back in the day. realMYST is basically the original Myst but in realtime 3d, so you can move around yourself and go anywhere (as opposed to pre-determined locations). realMYST also includes a new Age, which was the main reason I got the game.

realMYST has incredibly steep system requirements. This is actually ironic, considering that the original Myst would run on a 486 with Windows 3.1 and a CD-ROM drive. I ran realMYST on my Pentium III 600MHz, 256MB RAM, Voodoo 3 3000G, and the game was incredibly choppy far too often. The graphics are very impressive, however, but it takes a powerful computer to run these. My system is well above the system requirements but the game still has a crappy framerate.

The puzzles are identical to those found in the original Myst (except for the new Age). They are challenging and sometimes frustrating, but they all come together. The game actually has a good storyline, even if much of it is not detailed in the game itself. The creators of the game have actually written three novels which revolve around the Myst and Riven (the sequel to Myst) world & storyline.

Graphics
The graphics are incredible, but the system you'll need to experience this is ludicrous. Not to mention the crappy framerate.
 
Sound
Myst creates a surreal environment, in both aural and visual. The sound is top-notch, and the soundtrack is nice.
 
Gameplay
It really depends on if you like frustrating puzzles. This game is exactly like Myst - either you love it or you hate it. I thought Myst was a wonderful, classic game. The puzzles are frustrating, but not ridicolous, and the solutions really make sense. I thought Myst was a work of art.

Control
You will never see simpler controls on a PC game. Move with the arrows, click the mouse button to manipulate things on the screen, press shift to go faster. There, I just wrote out the entire controls for you!
 
Lastability
This is, always has been, and always will be, Myst's (not to mention most graphical adventures) weakness. There is no replay value, being that if you try to play it again, you will already know the solutions to all of the puzzles. Well, the frustrating puzzles will keep you playing for a while, if you count that as lastability.
 
Ratings

1.20.1

click on the above screenshots for larger versions.
 
images from ign