Yeesha passes nicely as a petulant and slightly-too-bright ten year old girl, while the brothers themselves embody their traits (and I wish to spoil as little as possible) rather well, aside from occasionally going over the top. It's become somewhat passé over the last few years to bring in actual live actors and record them to place in front of pre-rendered backgrounds, but that just aids in giving Myst IV a rather distinctive look. For most people, that bit will just be some particularly nice voice acting. He also chips in some voice acting, and while I could tell "Whoa, that's Peter Gabriel," that's because I could tell Peter Gabriel reading his shopping list from anyone else. There's also a contributed song by Peter Gabriel here, and it blends very well with the rest of the soundtrack (It's not as jarring or weirdly inserted as his contribution to Uru seemed). That drove me to really look around for a ladder, and what did I find in the basement? Yeesha practicing the flute. Early on, I kept hearing flute fade in and out of the background music, growing louder and quieter as I passed over certain spots. Three-dimensional sound positioning works well here too. Everything sounds like you'd expect water splashing, ambient noises, the sound of your "fingers" touching things (more on that later) are all pretty perfect, and there's a LOT of them. I want to say a few things about sound effects in particular. Jack Wall (composer for Myst III as well as for Unreal II, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, and the seriously underrated Mark of Kri) has composed music full of the sweeping wonder and ominous undertones that the assorted Ages deserve. Speaking of the audio, by the way, it's dead on. Mind you, the pendant also gives you voiceovers for all the diaries in the game, which is handy too if you're an audio-oriented sort of person. You can hear the sounds of a location in the past and the strong thoughts of those who dwelled there, which not only gives you a unique way of getting clues for certain puzzles, but also gives an insight into the characters you can't get from diaries and letters. However, aside from actual NPC interaction, there's also a pendant you collect early on that allows you to "get in touch with strong memories" at certain locations. well, you're still playing a Myst title, so don't expect a The Longest Journey, unfortunately. Revelations is certainly the most story-based Myst so far, so if you're fond of plot in your adventure games. It doesn't really go as planned, and after a good hard whack on the head, you're left to explore on your own, to root through the prison Ages, Atrus' home Age of Tomahna and, eventually and armed with knowledge, you make it to the endgame Age, which I will not spoil except to say, Holy crap, that's pretty. Accordingly, Atrus sends for the guy who helped release him from his son's grasp in the first place: you. It's time to see if the brothers are ready to come out and rejoin the family. His wife Catherine and their daughter, Yeesha, aren't getting any younger. It's been twenty years since he managed to trap his backstabbing sons Sirrus and Achenar in a pair of prison books, and he's thinking that maybe it's time to forgive and forget. Atrus, the quietly brooding (the term that keeps poking my brain is "DaVinci-esqe") inventor and writer of magical Linking books, has invited you back over to his place to discuss family issues with you. Myst IV: Revelations might as well be a direct sequel to the very first Myst game. ( Halo is getting there, but I don't want to digress any more than I already have.) Myst may be the only game series you can tell people there are novels about without getting a "Why?" in reply. The original Myst was wildly, brain-bendingly popular, selling roughly 70 gazillion copies, making it into many people's "Favorite Game" lists, and just as many people's "Most Hated Title" list. First person perspective, pre-rendered graphics, a focus heavily on puzzles and away from NPC interaction. Myst, for better or for worse, has pretty well defined what adventure games are all about nowadays. The rest of you will probably want some explaining, so here goes. Myst IV hasn't suddenly become a mutant-blasting first person shooter, and Atrus' family disputes are unsolvable by plasma rifle fire. Not a Myst fan? Nothing here is going to change your mind. You, third row, waving the "Puzzles Suck" sign. It's also got a camera and scrapbook feature that'll make grabbing data far easier. Nothing that'll stop you from finishing the game, mind you, and some excellent cluing in the form of the pendant. You just want to know what this one's like, right? Mostly Riven-style puzzles with a lot of footwork, some flaws that'll slow you down in puzzle design. You, over there, with the 'Stoneship Age' t-shirt. In a way, this game is everything Myst has been leading up to and promising for years.įirst things first.
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