Review of Myst V: End of Ages - PC

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As _Myst V, End of Ages_ opens, you find yourself in the K'Veer section of D'Ni, in the room where Atrus was trapped all those years ago. Nearby, you find a strange device. You approach the device and ZAP! Yeesha, Atrus's daughter appears. She tells you of a tablet with mysterious powers. She once was the keeper, but failed to use it properly. Now it is your destiny--as a friend of the family you *do* keep getting involved--to release the tablet and put it to its proper purpose.

Sounds like the set up for a pretty good game, doesn't it? Unfortunately, EoA takes a that concept and falls flat on its face when it comes to execution. This game is boring at best, annoying at worst and to get through it I had to resort to a technique I'd never before used: printing out the walkthrough and following it step by step.

I'm not the kind of gamer who demands the latest bells and whistles in sound and graphics, but even I saw a lack in EoA, especially coming after the exceptionally animated worlds of Revelation and Uru. The Ages we experienced here were pretty enough but quite static. We saw a few fireflies and falling stars here, but aside from that the environment didn't do anything much--and I think at this point in the history of gaming technology, there's no excuse for that. And I have to ask myself, what's the point of real-time 3-D if nothing happens? What's the point of freedom of movement and 360-degree panning if there's nothing to experience and nothing to see?

In addition to being boring, the ages were tiny. Compared to the huge areas of previous games, which took days to explore properly, these ages seem like a marketing demo: an example of "something that could be expanded on if we got the proper funding." One of them you could view from end-to-end by standing in a single spot. I suppose this wouldn't have bothered me as much if the puzzles had actually been interesting, but once again, compared to the age-spanning puzzles of previous Myst games, the puzzles in EoA were... just plain stinky. Each Age had about the same purpose: carry an object from one end of the Age to the other. So that's wasn't so dissimilar from other Myst games, where you had to solve an Age and return to a central point. Here, however, the concept failed in numerous ways. First of all, there wasn't anything interesting to see along the way. Second, whereas in other games in the series you have to accomplish a number of integrated tasks to reach your goal, in EoA each Age essentially contained one puzzle. Third, the puzzles were just bad. I've heard a number of people say they were too wasy; that wasn't my experience. In fact, I found the puzzles so arbitrary and confusing and full of just stupid requirements that I literally could not have got through the game without following a walkthrough (I've solved every other Myst game with a nudge or two). Here were levers you could manipulate, but no way of telling what the heck they did: no view from which you could see the results of your work, no movie showing you the effect that might be happening in the next room over. There were arbitrary obstacles galore. For example, in order to solve one puzzle, you had to do something that resulted in haqving your vision impaired to the point that you couldn't see what you were doing, and so you had to repeat the process over and over again, hoping you'd solve the puzzle by luck. Every single major puzzle was timed, in that you created a necessary event that lasted only a limited time and only during that event could you solve the puzzle. So there was no ability to explore an Age at your leisure and figure it out, as the effect of your event might only be apparent at the other side of an Age. Also, a particular game device required an inordinate amount of back and forthing. All in all, if not extended by artificial means, most of these Ages coul be solved entirely in five minutes or so.

A lot of the neat stuff from other Myst games was missing. There was no animal life and no animation, as I've stated before. There were no nifty rides and slides. There weren't cool machines that did amazing stuff. You got to go up and down in an elevator once, and that was about it. Instead, you got an annoying companion on your "quest." This guy popped up at intervals, usually just when you started to explore something, and gave you long pompous speeches which, though beautifully voiced by David Ogden Stiers, merely made you want to push the character over a cliff at the soonest opportunity. While I'm on the subject of character, let me add that nothing in this game made me feel any sympathy for any of the characters who appeared. By the end of _Revelation_, I felt something for both Sirrus and Achenar (a major accomplishment in character development and back story). But Yeesha here just struck me as a whiny fanatic who couldn't get over herself.

I don't have as much objection to the story (such as it was) itself as some others have had. However, I missed the personal touch of previous games. You helped Atrus because you liked him and cared about his family, and because the events of the games affected that family. I couldn't really get how the story of EoA was important to anyone but Yeesha. From some of the events of Uru, I get that it *was*, but the developers failed to convey it in any way that made me care. Even the ending failed to move me, filled as it was with melodramatic speeches and bad character animation (and yes, I failed to mention that EoA also lacked the FMV movies of previous games and that this was a major bummer).

I was really surprised when EoA was announced so shortly after _Revelation_ and the release date was less than a year ahead. Well, the rush shows. This game is barely worth playing and is certainly not worth the inflated price it was issued at. I've been playing this series since MYST and I even loved Uru. But take my advice, leave this one on the shelf. The ending of _Revelation_ is way more satisfying.

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This is almost insulting. I'm outraged.

I've been a fan of the Myst series since Riven, always eager to immerse in the stunning, utterly beautiful sceneries, and there to push switches and pull levers, to tackle the mind-boggling puzzles that would lead me to more dream-like places.

And I was a bit disappointed when Uru came out, with its real-time, third-person interface, because it wasn't exactly was I was expecting, graphically. But then, it was advertised as a side-quest, so I didn't mind too much, especially when Myst IV: Revelation came out with its good ol' QuickTime VR and video-overlaid characters.

So when I heard that Myst V: End of Ages was coming out, and that it'd be the last episode, I really expected the series to end with a flourish. Admittedly, I was slightly surprised by the rather short, one-year gap since the previous instalment, but I trustfully put it down to technical progress.

Well I was wrong.

Visually, Myst V: End of Ages is closer to Uru. Again they traded the QuickTime VR for a first-person navigation that allows you to look around as you walk from point to point. As you might deduce, this real-time rendering implies models with a lower polygon count, and lightmaps. What is gained in movement fluidity (which, by the way, is not required to solve puzzles à la Myst) is lost in image quality, putting the whole trademark atmosphere in jeopardy.

Same story for the characters you meet throughout the game, who are now CG with a video mapped on their face. It's ugly. The Motion Capture hasn't been corrected, or not enough, and the characters' feet are either sliding or entering the ground. They also tried to impress us with cloth movements, but with such a low polygon count you can often see it go through the characters' legs. Really, what were they thinking?

As for the puzzles, even though a couple of them were a bit tricky (but mostly because the symbol I drew on the tablet wasn't quite accurate), they were for the most part repetitive and unchallenging. Proof is, I finished the game in one day.

This is such a letdown.

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A new and irritating aspect of Myst V are puzzles that must be solved before your 'timer' runs out. Different puzzles have different 'timers' but the plays the same set the timer, try to solve the puzzle, if not then go through the whole process again of resetting the timer. Grrr... This really detracts from the classic Myst experence it turns it into an action game. The game is worth purchasing but be prepared for aggravation not relaxation.

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I wanted to like this game. Really, I did. I mean, it's the first one by Cyan since Riven, and I wanted to let the original creators have the final word. But compared to all the previous games, End of Ages is a huge letdown.

Okay, first things first. The game engine. I understand that Cyan was desperate to conclude the series. Their Uru endeavor failed and they were in financial trouble, so they had to use the real-time 3D engine made for Uru because they couldn't afford to make Myst 5 from scratch. I can get past that. I wanted to get past that.

I have played Uru, and I didn't like it at all. That game centered on journey cloths, jumping puzzles, and kicking objects around with your feet. (All that attention to photorealistic detail, and yet the player can't pick objects up or climb low ledges.) No sense of mystery, no story to discover. Just a long-winded D'ni history lesson as you move through linear ages by solving blatantly artificial (and often illogical) puzzles.

The fun of Myst-the whole point!-is to believe that this is happening to you right now. It is an alternate reality and you are part of the story. You are Atrus' friend and have earned the privilege to be part of the family. Uru made all of that false. It separated the player from this beloved viewpoint. Someone in the distant past helped Atrus and now you are really exploring the ruins of a long dead civilization. It was way more fun when we were part of the story instead of just witnessing the ruins of its end. Cyan destroyed their own world by taking it out of the context Myst established.

On a more intangible level, the DNRC's presence ruined the atmosphere. I felt like I was exploring ages that had already been charted. Everything had already been discovered and I wasn't doing anything new. Esher's presence in Myst 5 creates this same feeling. Many have been on this quest before, so you are not doing anything special. (I wonder how the others failed. It wasn't *that* difficult.)

In all these ways Myst 5 suffers from Uru's engine. The graphics, while fluid and faster-loading, are lifeless compared to the beautiful pre-rendered landscapes of all the previous installments. The ages are tiny and horribly linear--there's no free choice in how you explore each age. You must stay on the path to move the slates and there's no room to look elsewhere. Like the journey cloths in Uru, the slates and pedestals are just inconsequential object hunting. Instead of discovering a story through exploration and problem-solving, moving slates is the goal. It doesn't feel like a Myst game at all.

Puzzles in Myst have always been part of the environment and story. They have logical reasons to be there, and when solved they mean something. And even if a few are artificial, they still serve some sort of purpose to the story. That's what makes Myst games so unique. The puzzles are not there just to delay the player, but to enhance the story. Not here. Puzzles are dropped in your path *only* to keep you from carrying the slates to the other side of the age and finishing the game in ten minutes. It's probably an attempt to recapture the feel of page-hunting from the original Myst, but even that rewarded you with another piece of the story and made you want to explore more, find out what happened. Moving slates is the goal of Myst 5, and it's a goal unto itself. It doesn't accomplish anything, so it's unsatisfying when you finally achieve it. If anyone wanted to make croquet into a puzzle game this is how to do it.

But there is some good here. With the exception of the elevator outside the arena in Laki'ahn, the puzzles are logical (even if arbitrary). In all fairness, the observatory age is the best of the four with gorgeous scenery and a brilliant set of puzzles that are satisfying to solve. The power of the Bahro is used for an impressive task in that age.

Elsewhere the Bahro are used to help you solve one puzzle in each age, which is obviously contrived so that it can only be solved in this way. It's an awkward use of the power because it all feels like a setup. This setup feel worked in Exile because it was there for a reason (you were forced to jump through the hoops the villain set up for you). But here it's not called for. This is supposed to be an epic quest, not a staged game of "Let's Move the Slate." Did the D'ni have to wait for a hurricane every time they wanted to use the winch in the last age? How contrived and pointless can a puzzle get?

About that elevator...it's just plain stupid that you can't run off it as it lowers. There's no barrier that holds you back, so running to the platform while the elevator lowers seems natural because you do something similar in a previous puzzle. Why stop us from doing it here? Alas, an invisible barrier keeps the player from doing something that by all visual cues is quite logical. I hate it when games use methods like this to make puzzles.

But I think all the above is nitpicking. The story is the real problem. Since my first day playing Myst, I was under the impression that the D'ni wrote all these things into existence. Every game (including Uru) has presented and underscored the breathtaking power of the Art to create anything by writing it. So where did the Bahro come from? Why did the D'ni need an enslaved race to do their building when they had the Art? They were never mentioned in the previous games and no back story is given to explain or give weight to their purpose. Even if they're mentioned in the Myst novels it does no good because it contradicts everything we've come to know and love about the D'ni. Again, Cyan spoiled their own world by putting this in there.

Without a solid story to discover, there's no Myst game. I could've overlooked all the puzzle and graphical shortcomings if the story had been good. But the journey is not worth it and the ending can't save it.

In Myst, Riven, Exile and Revelation, the endings leave you with a deep sense of achievement. You not only solved the puzzles and got to the ending, you earned the privilege to understand the story. Don't expect End of Ages to have this feeling. It'll leave you scratching your head and rolling your eyes.

The ending is supposed to be dramatic, but the unnatural, jerky movements make it impossible to take seriously. Cyan did the best they could with what they had, but these computer animated characters just can't replace live action actors. The CGI Atrus is especially laughable. Speaking of that, you better have a fast computer or the voices will be out of synch, making it even more awkward. At least live action is in synch no matter how fast or slow your system is.

Cyan destroyed not only Myst 5 but the whole concept of the D'ni when they made Uru. It destroyed Cyan itself as well. I weep for the loss of an otherwise wonderful series.

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I can't believe after buying the Limited Edition which came with the Prima strategy guide I still can't get the slate drawings to work. You have to have them absolutely perfect or you'll spend hours redrawing them. This is the most frustrating game I've ever played. I finished all the other Myst games in a few days. And enjoyed them mostly. I've spent 3 days and numerous game guide sites trying to figure out how to draw a symbol in Todelmer good enough to move along. If it wasn't for the startegy guide I would have assumed I was on the wrong path. I was able to get the first few slate drawings to work only after multiple tries. Never did see the difference from one that worked and ones that didn't. Any one want to buy this before I throw it the trash? I wouldn't even take your money. It's that bad. Also emailed Help at Ubi and they were absolutely no help. But of course, what did I expect.