Myst V: End of Ages
Posted January 18, 2006
Many years ago, I recall cranking up my brand new 133 MHz Pentium Packard Bell every day for about a month to try and complete the most immersive adventure/puzzle game on the market by the name of Myst. The wonderful tale of mystical power has inspired four sequels, the final being Myst V: End of Ages. Myst V takes the gamer back for a final journey through the decaying, doomed world in an attempt to leave the world and finish the story. The presentation of the game seems to be geared toward people who are well versed in the Myst series. Those who picked up this title without playing the first four will be undoubtedly bewildered by the storyline. 
At the opening of the game, the protagonist, Atrus, weaves his sorrowful tale of his life in the Myst universe. This sets the tone for a somber, serious beginning to your journey. Shortly, you are introduced to a couple people to help further the odyssey; Atrus's daughter Yeesha and the mysterious Escher. These two people will teach you about the choices that need to be made by the end of the quest, at great length.
Gameplay:
The movement system is the first thing to notice when entering the Myst world. While it seems limiting in a predetermined fashion, movement can be performed in most directions. The arrow cursor controlled by the mouse dictates the directions open for travel with a lighted pointer. When clicked, the right mouse button will enter a free-range motion view. If the classic Myst control system doesn't suit your fancy, an advanced control system combining the mouse and keyboard can be chosen. This allows for complete free range of motion and is better suited for FPS gamers. The latter can increase the pacing of the game, but it may also make you miss important plot details due to the lack of point to point direction.
A sliding drop down menu in the top right hand corner of the screen controls the created and found journals, the save system, and the options menu. The personal journal can be used for writing personal info for later puzzle use. The other journal is spread all over the first level and can be put together for better understanding of Yeesha. The save system is implemented by clicking the camera icon and storing the save inside your personal journal. It's a unique form of taking pictures of symbols as well.
The puzzles within the game range from the blatantly obvious to outrageously tough. Many times, you have to remember something experienced at the outset of the game to continue along. The puzzles introduce a new addition to the Myst repertoire in the form of a slate. The slate is an object that can be picked up and used to freehand draw symbols upon. These symbols are required to pass through certain areas, but they are usually easy to find and create. When the slate is dropped, an impish creature called a Bathro will pick it up and perform its magical duties depending on the symbol on the slate.
Slates can also be used to teleport around to the four different Ages in the game. The ages include various areas such as frozen tundra, grassy countryside, beachfront property, or the far reaches of space. The ages can be entered in any order depending on your creativity in the first stage of the game. By traveling around in the "rest area", you can find ways to open up all the worlds without completing a single Age. Providing this type of freedom can allow the player to skip around from puzzle to puzzle in separate worlds in case they get stumped at any juncture.
Identical to the previous renditions, the game doesn't include any multiplayer features. The nature of the game doesn't inspire any multiplayer modes. The game does have multiple endings, but it's not required that you repeat the entire tale to experience the three other versions. Just reload a saved game file to test out the other outcomes.
Graphics:
Stunning. Ravishing. Sensational. The game designers have put forth the most detailed, beautiful depiction of the Myst universe. The level design is truly breathtaking when visiting each of the four worlds for the first time. The weather effects created by the slate drawings are also finely perfected and implemented effectively. Bump mapping and lighting effects are used to the extreme in many areas. The character animations, while rare, are accurate and lifelike to an eerie degree. The only negative side to these DirectX 9 enhanced graphics is that you will need a high powered rig to run it at the best resolution. My 9800 pro had trouble keeping up at 1600 by 1200. Users with a lower end system may experience choppy gameplay and may be annoyed by the performance. Fortunately, the slow pacing of the game doesn't require any split second decisions; hence choppy graphics aren't much of an issue.
Audio:
The amount of music in the game is quite low for a Myst title. I miss the ambiance created by the moving melodies from the other titles. The majority of the game is filled with the ambient noises coming from the surrounding environment. The outdoor nature of the levels in the game result in an almost peaceful silence throughout the journey. The voice-overs are quite believable, although sparse throughout the game. Overall, the nature of the sound quality is decent but seemingly incomplete. This game is presented in 5.1 surround sound, but it's not really useful in terms of needing to hear directional objects.
Conclusion:
Myst V: End of Ages is the finality of a long winding journey through an enigmatic world of puzzlement. Depending on how savvy a person is at solving brain twisters, the playtime for this title can range from anywhere from 10 to 30 hours. It's an utterly linear game, but the amount of time spent finding solutions can really rack up. The average adventure gamer will be completely lost, so I can only recommend this title to people with Myst experience. Is the final conclusion worth all of the effort? Not in my opinion, but others may enjoy the peaceful outcome. Also, I recommend looking to pick up this game at the $20 mark as the retail price has fallen to $29.99 very quickly since release due to lack of interest in the series.
At the opening of the game, the protagonist, Atrus, weaves his sorrowful tale of his life in the Myst universe. This sets the tone for a somber, serious beginning to your journey. Shortly, you are introduced to a couple people to help further the odyssey; Atrus's daughter Yeesha and the mysterious Escher. These two people will teach you about the choices that need to be made by the end of the quest, at great length.
Gameplay:
The movement system is the first thing to notice when entering the Myst world. While it seems limiting in a predetermined fashion, movement can be performed in most directions. The arrow cursor controlled by the mouse dictates the directions open for travel with a lighted pointer. When clicked, the right mouse button will enter a free-range motion view. If the classic Myst control system doesn't suit your fancy, an advanced control system combining the mouse and keyboard can be chosen. This allows for complete free range of motion and is better suited for FPS gamers. The latter can increase the pacing of the game, but it may also make you miss important plot details due to the lack of point to point direction.
A sliding drop down menu in the top right hand corner of the screen controls the created and found journals, the save system, and the options menu. The personal journal can be used for writing personal info for later puzzle use. The other journal is spread all over the first level and can be put together for better understanding of Yeesha. The save system is implemented by clicking the camera icon and storing the save inside your personal journal. It's a unique form of taking pictures of symbols as well.
The puzzles within the game range from the blatantly obvious to outrageously tough. Many times, you have to remember something experienced at the outset of the game to continue along. The puzzles introduce a new addition to the Myst repertoire in the form of a slate. The slate is an object that can be picked up and used to freehand draw symbols upon. These symbols are required to pass through certain areas, but they are usually easy to find and create. When the slate is dropped, an impish creature called a Bathro will pick it up and perform its magical duties depending on the symbol on the slate.
Slates can also be used to teleport around to the four different Ages in the game. The ages include various areas such as frozen tundra, grassy countryside, beachfront property, or the far reaches of space. The ages can be entered in any order depending on your creativity in the first stage of the game. By traveling around in the "rest area", you can find ways to open up all the worlds without completing a single Age. Providing this type of freedom can allow the player to skip around from puzzle to puzzle in separate worlds in case they get stumped at any juncture.
Identical to the previous renditions, the game doesn't include any multiplayer features. The nature of the game doesn't inspire any multiplayer modes. The game does have multiple endings, but it's not required that you repeat the entire tale to experience the three other versions. Just reload a saved game file to test out the other outcomes.
Graphics:
Stunning. Ravishing. Sensational. The game designers have put forth the most detailed, beautiful depiction of the Myst universe. The level design is truly breathtaking when visiting each of the four worlds for the first time. The weather effects created by the slate drawings are also finely perfected and implemented effectively. Bump mapping and lighting effects are used to the extreme in many areas. The character animations, while rare, are accurate and lifelike to an eerie degree. The only negative side to these DirectX 9 enhanced graphics is that you will need a high powered rig to run it at the best resolution. My 9800 pro had trouble keeping up at 1600 by 1200. Users with a lower end system may experience choppy gameplay and may be annoyed by the performance. Fortunately, the slow pacing of the game doesn't require any split second decisions; hence choppy graphics aren't much of an issue.
Audio:
The amount of music in the game is quite low for a Myst title. I miss the ambiance created by the moving melodies from the other titles. The majority of the game is filled with the ambient noises coming from the surrounding environment. The outdoor nature of the levels in the game result in an almost peaceful silence throughout the journey. The voice-overs are quite believable, although sparse throughout the game. Overall, the nature of the sound quality is decent but seemingly incomplete. This game is presented in 5.1 surround sound, but it's not really useful in terms of needing to hear directional objects.
Conclusion:
Myst V: End of Ages is the finality of a long winding journey through an enigmatic world of puzzlement. Depending on how savvy a person is at solving brain twisters, the playtime for this title can range from anywhere from 10 to 30 hours. It's an utterly linear game, but the amount of time spent finding solutions can really rack up. The average adventure gamer will be completely lost, so I can only recommend this title to people with Myst experience. Is the final conclusion worth all of the effort? Not in my opinion, but others may enjoy the peaceful outcome. Also, I recommend looking to pick up this game at the $20 mark as the retail price has fallen to $29.99 very quickly since release due to lack of interest in the series.