by da1writer » Mar 11, 2005 @ 7:46pm
Sorry a few feel this games porting was lackluster but in my opinion I thought it was great. I'm also a big fan of Myst as well! I have Myst 1 (Playstation, PC, and now Pocket PC), Real Myst, Riven (PC and playstation), Myst 3 (PC and PS2), The Uru Complete Collection (3 in 1), all the myst soundtracks and Uru soundtrack, and the Myst Reader, and much more. So I try my best to get anything that deals with Myst. Anyway, Here's my review:
Overview-
After hearing Myst was coming to pocket pc, I became as giddy as a schoolgirl. But soon after it was released, I heard rumors that kept me kinda skeptical. Music was pulled out (maybe a little bit), voices as well, and the videos were replaced with flash cards and text. There's another thing that people were whispering about, It was in flash. I have nothing against flash but a few others do. I'll tell you, so far, this is the most perfect port I've seen for an adventure/puzzle game, I would go far into the deep region to say it is better than Atlantis Redux. Atlantis Redux was kinda perplexing when it came to the story and the game abruptly ends with a "to be continued". So Pocket Myst in my opinion is way better, especially versing the 120mb required for Atlantis Redux and Pocket Myst is only a little over 27mb! I'll replace my Atlantis Redux with Pocket Myst... there I go. Anyway, let's continue on to the rest of the review.
Gameplay-
Well, I see that the rumor of this game being flash was no lie. As soon as I pasted the game onto my storage card, it tells me right off the bat "requires flash to proceed with program". So you have to get that first before playing the game. In my opinion, flash is not that bad as to what some people are making it out to be. I kinda can't even tell that it's using it except when loading different worlds when you first get into one (it has this weird picture draw-in when you first enter into a world, it doesn't happen after that) and the videos seem to look a little strange (except the beginning scene and ending scenes). Everything has also been kept intact with no world pulled out the game for Pocket Pc's limited storage capacity (Which Atlantis Redux did and they murdered their story, I grabbed the pc version [Atlantis II] and I missed out on alot). Walking around Myst is just as easy as it was on the computer except now you can tap where ever you want to go. Flash makes the experience a little slow when loading up worlds but other wise it's an awesome journey thorugh the worlds of Myst. Now down to the sound and video.
Sound and Video-
Surprisingly the rumors were false on this account. Everything in the sound and video department are still intact as well and I'll elaborate on it. The music and sound effects are all still there and it's great to hear Atrus's voice again with very high quality sound. I personally use X50mixer to make my experience more surreal, 3d surround rocks (X50v users only)! Now the video is kinda a mix bag and I quickly overlooked it because they kept the opening video, which is still a classic to me and a personal favorite of mine. Most of the video used in certain scenes (the linking books especially) and the ending scenes are pretty descent but the videos in books with Atrus's sons look like they were done in low quality mpeg (really low). Again, I overlooked it when I saw the opening scene in perfect form, I love the scene when you go to the Myst Island! Flash also makes you have a better experience as walk through the vast locations of the worlds created in Myst. A quick tour will totally mesmerize you
Verdict-
Well, is it a worthy purchase? **** yeah! It's a great game to gain that classic nostalgia back into your life. Grab some headphones, turn up the x50mixer's 3d surround, bass, and treble and grab a good snack. Turn out the lights and lock your door, this game is going to be great experience once you step inside the immersive world... of Pocket Myst. I promise you, you will be reminded of how much you liked Myst ! Can't wait for the Riven Pocket PC Port... I'll definitely buy that as well!
Continuously watching everyone's suggetions and problems,
Not overlooking the ones talking smack,
Your NEW Morphgear Project Administrator,
Will always be able to answer them back...
*)... I might get this game and try it out aswell