Many of you will have played or at least heard of the original, revolutionary Myst, which was followed by the rather disappointing Myst II, which provided little more than improved graphics. By the time Myst III: Exile had arrived, the market had moved on and few actually cared.

            However, I myself missed the original release and, finding myself immersed in the gaming community within but a couple of years, the only draw Myst III: Exile had was the rather cool sounding title. But what’s in a name? “Never to judge a book by its cover” they say, well, in the case of Myst III: Exile, the impressively cool cover does the title justice.

            Without prior knowledge of the Myst franchise, Myst III: Exile played like nothing I’d ever experienced before, even with the commonly considered “cousins” of the Point and Click genre, RPGs, being my forte, I found my hours of levelling-up in Final Fantasy rather redundant. My first impressions ranged from an awe-fuelled “WOW” to a more modest “What the…?” Having bypassed the ill-fated CD-i and Mega-CD consoles, live actors within gameplay was both new and rather strange. The style of the gameplay also appeared very new, although Point and Click adventures date way back to Day of the Tentacle, it still took some time getting used to on a console, but does have its advantages – items become easier to locate and your view remains unhindered throughout.

Each of the six worlds featured in the game is linked through a series of books, each “guarded” by a set of puzzles. The worlds are varied by each containing their own eco-system – animals and plants are inherent to certain worlds, and more technological environments feature devices you can use to your advantage. In each world, every puzzle is connected in some way with the next and your progress is halted by each one. The title does require vast amounts of concentration and also intellect to play, but is also very rewarding.

            I had been told just before playing Myst III: Exile to expect pure strategic gameplay and wasn’t sure if I would enjoy a game without any combat, but the title doesn’t require it and the awe-inspiring graphics and mind-bending puzzles make up for the lack of mindless violence. The publishers have been nice enough to include a “guide” with the title, but even with the knowledge on my side some of the worlds took hours to work through. Most of the puzzles featured are mathematical which presents Myst III: Exile as a “brain-game” and renders the game practically impossible to play when under the influence…

            After playing Myst and Myst II it becomes apparent that the Myst franchise is no longer suited to the mass gaming market of today. The industry has changed and has not been kind to Point and Click adventures, but for those of you looking for either something a little different, or a hark back to what I’m told are the “glory days of gaming”, you’re probably looking in the right direction.

Katie Rodwell                                                                                                     Reviews Score Table Interpretation.

14/10/04

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