Reviewer:  Steven Hopper

Review for Uru: Ages Beyond Myst

Ten years ago, the original Myst wowed gamers by providing them with one of the best adventure games of all time.  The game’s blend of beautiful graphics and use of full-motion video compelled gamers to update their computers with sound cards and CD-ROM drives, and served as one of the front-runners of the multimedia revolution of the early nineties.  Not to mention the fact that until only a few years ago, Myst was the best-selling game of all time.  Now Cyan, the developers of the original Myst are back with Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, the latest (fourth) entry in the Myst franchise.  Uru takes the series to new ground, allowing the gamer to see the world in 3D, from either a first-person or third-person perspective.  Plus, this entry has been billed as the first online entry in the series, although this has yet to be fulfilled.  However, as it stands, Uru is still a fantastic adventure game with some excellent graphics and great puzzles, easily one of the best adventure games of the year.

Uru starts you out on an excavation site in the middle of the desert.  Your character discovers an entryway to the lost D’ni civilization, led there by Yeesha, the daughter of Atrus (from previous Myst titles).  It is then up to you to discover the secrets and unlock the mysteries of the deep world of the D’ni.

You begin the game by customizing your avatar, something that hasn’t been done in previous Myst titles.  You can change your character’s face, hair, clothing and a few other things.  This is somewhat limited compared to other games, not really allowing you to change very much.  After this process, you are set to explore the world of Myst.

Uru is the first game in the Myst series to give you full control of your character.  You can see the entire world as you explore, either through a third or first person view.  Your character is much easier to control with the first person view, however, as the third person mode has a few camera problems that can make controlling your avatar cumbersome.

The puzzles in Uru are presented much in the same vein as those in previous entries in the series.  The focus is put primarily on exploration, and the best way to solve puzzles is by weighing the possibilities of the situation and checking out every possible approach.  These puzzles range in difficulty from simple to extremely tough.

Uru is a pretty short adventure game, clocking in at about ten to fifteen hours.  However, the proposed massively multiplayer aspects will increase the gameplay indefinitely.  Uru: Live, which is now going through testing phases, will allow players to continue through their quest in the world of the D’ni, explore new areas (known as “Ages” in the game), unravel a continuing storyline and choose between two sides revealed in the single-player game.  I wasn’t able to check out Uru: Live, so I can’t really speak out of more than speculation (let alone include much of a review on the service).  However, from what I’ve seen, the MMO aspects of Uru sound pretty fascinating on paper.

The graphics in Uru are incredible.  The world of the D’ni is huge and beautifully rendered.  The different stages in the game look amazing, with brilliant design, amazing lighting effects and great looking textures.  The character models are also well rendered and look and move very naturally.

The sound effects are also excellent.  The music is atmospheric and adds to ambience of the game (although the Peter Gabriel song feels a little juxtaposed in the game, and doesn’t really add much).  The sounds are really good, and the voice acting is also done extremely well.

Uru is a great adventure game that any fan of the Myst series should enjoy.  While the single-player game is a bit short and shouldn’t take a seasoned adventure gamer very long at all to complete, the promise of online play (with a monthly fee, of course) will extend this game beyond it’s initial quest.

Gameplay: 9.2
Uru’s deep story and great puzzles easily make it one of the best adventure games of the year.  The fully 3D gameplay is a first for the series, and the proposed multiplayer aspects sound very promising.  The third-person view falls prey to some camera issues, but these can be taken care of by switching the view to first-person.

Graphics: 9.5
Simply amazing.  The environments are beautifully designed and the special lighting effects are great.  The character models are also impressive and well animated.

Sound: 9.5
The music adds a great atmospheric quality to the game and the voice acting is very well done.  No real problems at all on the sound end.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 9.0
Uru takes Myst to new ground by making the world in full 3D and allowing the player to explore all they want.  The multiplayer aspects, while not ready at press time, look extremely promising.

Overall: 9.3
Uru is a fantastic adventure game that fans of the Myst series or any adventure gamer should enjoy.