Due to the lack of anything even remotely playable lately I decided to replay Myst Revelation even though it has almost no replay value. Much to my amazement, I enjoyed it even more than I did first time through because I wasn't in a rush and took the time to appreciate the nuances. I played when it first came out so now all I could remember a vague notion of how to progess.

I must give my deepest thanks to the all the people who developed Revelation. With the direction the computer gaming industry is moving in lately I could honestly say that IMO you may have made the best PC game mankind will ever make. There is nothing like it, especially the way the puzzles are woven into the game. The detail and atmosphere were amazing and the story was compelling.

The only way I think a better game could be made is to take a top notch story, the same production standards as Revelation, the same synergy between the "puzzles" and the storyline, the same character development and add a non-linear storyline and more direct communication with NPCs. Good luck with that one. That is not where the money is and due to demographics it will probably be less and less so unless the over 30 demographic starts hungering for something more than endless pointless killing and collecting.

Also, Spire was the first environment where I felt discovery and science (or pseudoscience) was woven into the game in a convincing way.

Revelation has earned the top spot on my current Hall of Fame with:

The Balders Gate Series
Planescape Torment
UFO: Enemy Unknown
NWN: HofU
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Myst and Riven might have been on my list but I played Myst when it came out and partly in the Anniversary Edition and though it was ground breaking at the time it just doesn't make my list. Riven I never played and it just won't run on my current system so I can't rate it.

Myst End of Ages could have been up there if they spent 3 more years on it. The talent and creativity was there ... the execution, story, gameplay, puzzle integration, character development and ending were not.

Sirandar

Don't know what system you have, but Riven is not to be missed, if possible. It is just a slide show with some cut scenes, but IMO the story is the best of all the Myst series, and it has a VERY high replay value. I've been playing it since 1997 and it is still great.

I agree, Riven might actually be my favorite of Myst, Riven , and Exile. It's just fabulous....I'm not sure if having the feeling something is going to pop out at you at any moment, might be a reason why is was so riveting. Have not finished the others yet, though. :P

I agree with the above two posts. You shouldn't deny yourself the pleasure of playing Riven.

I had some trouble getting it to work on my system too because it relies on some outdated quicktime files, but I remember there being a fairly simple fix for that. I wish I remembered what it was, but you can probably find it if you check out the Tech Help forum and maybe post a new thread if you can't find it. Good luck.

Riven can be ran on just about any computer out in the world, you just have to have the right Quicktime files as explained in this article. Had to search around for that link, I wish I hadn't forgotten it.

But if you're a neo-luddite like me, you can go to the Riven discussion boards and post a plea to Heimdall_G, who has endless stores of patience to accompany his tech expertise. I've never seen anything like it.

What MystNovice said about the QuickTime problems, I've had the same problems as well and it has an easy fix! IF your playing the 5 CD verison you install Riven then when it comes time to install Quicktime it will ask you if you want to intall QuickTime the recommended way or the advanced way. Choose the advanced way and follow the on-screen instructions. If you have the Myst Anniversary DVD Edition then you should have no trouble at all! (Not sure though) I've played Riven and completed the whole game and its very fun. The puzzles are implemented into game very well. I'm about half way done with Revelation and it has wonderful gameplay and puzzles. (It's my favorite Myst game)