Product Reviews

The original Myst's main attraction was its lush pre-rendered graphics, which really gave Mac owners something to gloat about. Now in its fifth incarnation and ditching pre-rendered graphics for a 3D engine, a lot of this attraction has disappeared. In fact, the game doesn't look as impressive at all, especially when you compare it to the amazing graphics of new games such as F.E.A.R and Call of Duty 2.

All that leaves us with are the puzzles, which haven't made any significant leaps forward since the original game. The biggest problem is that it isn't clear which objects can be interacted with and which are

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background decoration. This might be 'classic Myst' to some people, but we don't see the point of purposely making everything so difficult. For example, it took us ages to find the door handle to get us out of the first room.

Once you get used to how the game works (by clicking on everything in the vain hope you can use it), there's a lot on offer. The puzzles, as with previous versions, are tough and require logical thinking. As an added complication, some puzzles require you to enlist the help of other in-game characters. Throw in the four lands you travel between, and there's lots to accomplish and hours of gameplay to get through. The plot, which ties up the whole series of games, is an involving enough cliched riff on the standard fantasy magical theme, although it will probably make more sense to people who have played all five games.

This is ultimately what Myst V is all about. If you're a fan of the original games, you'll be a fan of this one. If you've never picked up Myst before, however, there's nothing particularly new on offer to make you want to. It makes us wish LucasArts would start making point-and-click adventure games again, and show everyone how it's done properly.