Myst 3: Better than 1 and 2?

[Cyclotron]

I know a lot of people are pretty tired of discussing whether a certain 3rd game is better than the first or second... so moving right along, I'd like to engage you in a discussion of Myst 3.

I got M3 about a month ago... and although I have been kept occupied with other things recently, I just found time to fire it up with my new computer.

My Myst history: Played Myst on and off for some time, eventually beat it. Interested in it, so I got a book by the Millers called "The Book of Atrus." Although their editor should be shot, the book was quite interesting and came in handy when I re-explored Myst a few months later, and when I eventually bought Riven. I didn't have too much trouble with Riven, thought it was quite good, but the D'ni numbers really screwed with my head. Unfortuantely, my Riven experience was sullied by the poor video capabilities of my old computer.

Intial observations on Myst 3:

- Holy ****, it moves! I've heard about "realmyst" or whatever, but there it is in front of me: a 360 view. But is it just me, or is the resolution a bit worse than Riven? Besides, both the slideshow and the free movement can be confusing, and with the free movement there are many more places to look. Does anyone else find themselves going on full scan every step you take?

- A very Myst-like format. Starting from J'nanin, there are 3 ages accessed form it... familiar? Riven was fairly age-deficient. There seems to be much more codified objectives here than in Riven... seems to me like Myst3 tried to get back to the basics of the original Myst.

- The evil guy is from ST:V. Very cool.

- The puzzles... are they simpler? So far, I've solved J'nanin and... uh... well, the one you link to through the first fang on J'nanin. I just entered the Voltaic, after solving everything on the first fang age (damn, where's that name). Except for the mirrors on J'nanin, nothing seems to be a "running puzzle." Rather, you solve one puzzle, then the next, and so on...whereas in Riven, you had to multitask and juggle many puzzles at one time. In addition, a few puzzles seem very trial-and error to me, like the balancing puzzle.

- I love the environments, though... I put J'nanin up as my backround.

So... when it comes down to it, Myst 3 is a lot more like Myst 1 than Riven (so far). Good? Bad? What do you think?

No spoilers, please!

[connorkimbro]

I thought it was alot like myst 1, although a bit easier, overall. Very good though. I didn't play riven, so i can't compare to that.

[Sarxis]

Originally posted by connorkimbro
I thought it was alot like myst 1, although a bit easier, overall. Very good though. I didn't play riven, so i can't compare to that.

Riven kicks so much adventure butt, its unreal!

The graphics are definately best in Myst 3 (just played it again). But the puzzles are the most intuative and challenging in Riven. If you get the DVD version of Riven, the graphics are still wonderfully awe inspiring. And Riven is still more ominous and realistic in its environments.

Btw, if your resolution is worse in Myst3, make sure you are (can) run it in hardware mode: it will look MUCH better.

The difference too, between realMyst and Myst3 is that rM is fully 3d rendered, while Myst3 is a 'panned' image type deal.

fang = tusk


And I agree that Exile is more like Myst in its difficulty. But its ages are even more exotic than both Myst and Riven.

Hence, I love all three!

[Cyclotron]

By the way, the first age I finished... it's name is "Amateria."

Originally posted by Anunikoba
The graphics are definately best in Myst 3 (just played it again). But the puzzles are the most intuative and challenging in Riven. If you get the DVD version of Riven, the graphics are still wonderfully awe inspiring. And Riven is still more ominous and realistic in its environments.

I think that so far, Riven has given me the most challenging time. Those puzzles were murder sometimes... although at the end the puzzles were a bit anticlimactic, if you know what I mean.

Btw, if your resolution is worse in Myst3, make sure you are (can) run it in hardware mode: it will look MUCH better.

Hardware mode is... ? I installed it fully to my HD, I don't know if that makes a difference.

The difference too, between realMyst and Myst3 is that rM is fully 3d rendered, while Myst3 is a 'panned' image type deal.

I see. Which do you like better, graphics wise?

Fang, tusk, whatever... I own cats, not wild boars