October 30, 2005 - First, a note to the reader: this is mostly a critique of the Myst 5 technology and game design and not of the story, puzzles, or adventure aspects.
If you've played every Myst game released (as I have) then you're fairly familiar with the evolution of the game over the years. I'm speaking of the game engine driving the story and the player's interaction with the world.
Myst 5 has taken the bold move of going completely 3D. NPCs are now modeled, animated computer characters (whereas in past Myst games they were live actors.) The world environment was, in past games, constructed in high-end computer modeling software and prerendered out into a series of very highly detailed locations that you would move betweeen. In Myst 5, the environment has the same detail level of a traditional 3D game and has no pre-rendered elements.
As a result, we get some good things and some bad things. The good is that, while moving from location to location, the viewer always gets a smooth animation as they travel across the environment. The bad is that the environment itself is not *nearly* as detailed as it has been in past Myst games.
In fact, the environments are pretty bland. In my opinion, that was one of the things that (used to) really set the Myst games apart. Then there are the NPCs...clunky, chunky, ugly models whose lips don't even move in sync with their dialog. This is a far cry from the increasingly well-acted NPCs of Myst 3 & 4.
Of course, being a truly real-time 3D game Myst 5 has the potential to offer up a huge advantage over previous games: it could potentially let the play wander wherever they wished -- view the world from any vantage point in any direction that they so desired. But, amazingly, it doesn't do that. Instead, it sets a series of artificial navigation points just like all the previous Myst games have had -- letting you move from location to location but not giving you the complete freedom to roam around the world at will.
In my opinion, this game brings the worst aspects of both systems. Constrained movement system of traditional, pre-rendered Myst games; sub-par, low-detail graphics of real-time 3D games. I'm totally baffled why they would have made these two decisions in parallel.
For me, nearly all of the "Myst feel" is absent from this game. Perhaps the developers are searching for a new, different audience.
To sum up: if you have been a fan of the previous 3 or 4 Myst games, be prepared for a sharp change in interface and "look-and-feel" in this game. If you are new to the series, you may like the combination of adventure/puzzle that the game offers (despite the weak graphics.)
If you were not a fan of previous Myst games but are looking for something interesting in this genre, I wish I could recommend Myst 5 to you. But the fact of the matter is it's the same type of game wrapped up in low-quality, shoddy box.

Reader's Ratings for Myst V: End of Ages (PC)
Rating Description
out of 10 click here for ratings guideGet Ratings Information
1.0 Presentation
After a brief movie making a brief attempt to catch the reader up to current events, your in the game with only some ugly icons to help guide you.
0 Graphics
Low-poly, low-texture, low-detail. Modern FPSs look much, much sharper than this game (and let you explore the world at your will instead of confining you to 3 spots per room.)
3.0 Sound
Decent sound, nothing to write home about. Wasn't so bad that it got my attention.
2.0 Gameplay
Same Myst gameplay, I suppose. Except that a big part of the old gameplay was exploring those beautiful environments, which in Myst 5 are just ugly, empty rooms.
0 Lasting Appeal
Only a masochist could make it through the whole game even once.
1.0 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)
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