Techtite Game Reviews ---

Ages Beyond Myst

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2003 being the tenth anniversary of the release of Myst, it's only fitting that its next installment is released the same year. However, who would've expected such a sequel to not only be 3D accelerated, though offer full fluid freedom of movement, and ingenious puzzles to boot...? Fans of Myst should be thrilled, and they're not the only ones. Even the most agnostic of PC gamers should give this game a look.

You begin the story by choosing every possible aspect of your character; hair, face, "age," shirt, pants, shoes, gender, and even optional gloves. This character then finds him or herself in the middle of the desert, with no recollection of how they got there. A friendly stranger offers helpful hints, in what is basically this game's "tutorial level." Your first stop should be the crevasse nearby; the one with the strange ruins inside...

Within the crevasse is a holographic message from a woman you've never met before (and who, as Myst fans already know, is the daughter of the lead characters in the first three Myst games). She tells tales of an an ancient civilization, which will be long forgotten if you don't help her make sure they are not forgotten, by exploring their former worlds and learning all you can. Along the way, you must search for seven magical symbols, "activating" them in any order you wish, in order to proceed through the story. Along the way, feel free to tinker with whatever other items you might find, which are often linked to the cloth symbols somehow. These items are often puzzles of some sort because, as you'd expect, activating all those magic symbols won't be easy. Good luck.

From this tutorial world you are sent to your "Rhelto," which is the hub of all Uru exploration. This is a cool aspect of the game, for several reasons. One, the book you carry with you allows you to go to this realm at any time in your journey, so if you get lost or stuck, getting un-stuck is just a mouse click away. Second, any time you seem to be close to "death," your book magically teleports you back here, so you are never penalized for exploration. Best of all, missing "pages" from your Rhelto book are hidden in various places; the game rewards your quest for these pages by adding elements to your own realm. Soon, what began as a mere hut on an island in mid-air, will have a whole life of its own, with trees, a waterfall, and whatever other else you find. Don't like the addition? Just click on the page, and it goes away. You're totally in control here. By game's end, you can even control the weather.

Why did I love this game so...? Because it is a salute to the intellectually-vast gaming days of old; the days when "search for red key to open red door" was not the most "intelligent" puzzle in modern games. Intelligent puzzles is not just a concept forgotten by action games; many adventure games have forgotten this as well. From the old text adventures by Infocom to the golden days of Sierra games, there is an era of gaming here that is, much like the land of Uru, long abandoned and forgotten. If you long for intelligent puzzles as much as an archeologist seeks an ancient mystery, this is the game for you.

The real hurdle with any adventure game is in its definitive puzzle; the most challenging puzzle of the game. If such a puzzle is really cool, it might be referred to for years to come, like the infamous "Babel Fish Puzzle" of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. If it's too ludicrous, it will be seen with disdain, for just as many years to come (a "puzzle" in 1992's Darkseed comes to mind, where a "hidden" key was actually a mere dot on the floor that you had to sweep your mouse over to find!). It's an art form of sorts, to make puzzles less of the latter, and more of the former.

Which brings me to my favorite puzzle in this game. At one point, you must attract a batch of firefly-like critters, for reasons I won't spoil for you here. These fireflies have been programmed with a whole slew of behaviors, that make them react to just about every single element in the nearby world: steam, water, rain, and so on. The trick is in discerning what attracts them, and also what repels them, and make sure your path is clear of any repellants. This is one of the longest puzzles of the game --one that actually spans two "worlds"-- and for adventure gamers it's a real treat. I totally loved this puzzle.

Clearly, Uru's puzzles are far more elaborate than Myst's were, ten years back. The same can be said of every element of this game. While Myst had you tinkering with a machine or two, one Uru world is essentially one entire, big machine. While the original game had static screens of elaborate buildings, this game has humongous buildings that can't even be seen within one screen; buildings which can only be enjoyed by looking at them from top to bottom (by holding the right mouse key). The makers of Uru take advantage of the game's expanded axis of vision, so be sure to look all around you (a free hint: some puzzles even require it).

With such graphic power comes a caveat. Simply put, with great graphic power comes the need for a powerful machine to play it in. I didn't have any problems myself, though I must admit, my system specs are quite impressive (by 2003 standards, anyway): Pentium 4 2.53 GHz, 512 MB memory, with a powerful Nvidia Geforce FX 5900 Ultra, 256 MB Vram. Is this game slower on lower specs...? I cannot say. All I know is that people with older systems have had a share of complaints, so be forewarned. Then again, consider what this means; no longer are Myst games confined to a 2D video interface that was first conceived ten years ago. With a 3D engine under its belt, Uru has room to expand.

Such expansions are even more likely than you think. The makers of Uru realize that one of the hardest problems with adventure games these days is the lack of replay value; once you solved all puzzles there is nothing left to solve. Uru tries to correct this adventure game flaw with an optional online service called Uru Live. This service not only allows you to enter the worlds of Uru with other players --solving each complex puzzle, as a team-- but it also offers new worlds to download. Nothing is known yet as to how many worlds will be made, although your Rhelto's "book shelf" (the place where you jump to all worlds; one book for each realm) can house a full 36 volumes; only 8 being part of the single-player game. Although Uru Live's complete set of features could not be fully tested as of this review's writing, the concept sounds fascinating.

Editor's Note: As of 2/5/2004, it was officially announced that Uru Live will be abandoned, due to not enough subscribers to the service to meet expenses. The single player game is still top notch, however, and expansions that were slated for Uru Live are allegedly to be made into "expansion packs," so the game's rating here still stands.

Not that all is well in paradise. Simply put; you cannot carry anything. This is actually quite odd, when at least one puzzle almost demands it. Yet your character must perform a sort of "kick the can" routine instead, pushing items with their feet. While this can be shrugged off as merely being the rules of the game --"Myst Soccer," anyone...?-- it detracts from the realism elsewhere. Why wouldn't I simply pick something up, and drop it where I needed it? Kicking things around that I'd otherwise pick up isn't very realistic; the only time I felt "unrealism" in this entire game.

Kicking cans notwithstanding, Uru is still the irrefutable adventure game of the year. I know this isn't saying much, in an admittedly very slow year of adventure gaming, but even if the long-anticipated sequels to The Longest Journey or Syberia had gone gold in 2003, they'd have serious competition here. With full freedom of movement, an impressive 3D engine, and very imaginative puzzles, Uru is proof that the Myst universe is back in action. If that isn't "great" news to you; give this latest Myst game a look. You just may change your mind.

	Final Rating : Deep Impact. It may not be exactly like the original Myst game was, but that's what makes it so cool. In many ways; it's better.
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Ages Beyond Myst

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