Myst V: End of Ages (Limited Edition)

The Good
There have been many attempts to bank on the success of the Myst Series, but none of the so-called "clones" have been able to match their success nor have they achieved their huge fan base. All of the games in the Myst Series told an engrossing story of fantasy that took me far away from everyday life - into worlds full of beauty and imagination.

I tended to like the ones made by Cyan most. So, when I learned that Myst V was being made by them, I followed it with keen interest. I read every preview, every developer interview, looked at every new screenshot; and, as the release date grew closer, my excitement increased. I knew that my thirst for more Myst wouldn't be quenched just by the game alone. It was for this reason that I pre-ordered the Limited Edition as soon as it was advertised on Ubisoft's web site.

As for the game .. well .. read my full review of it on the End of Ages page here on Moby. In this review, I'll cover my opinions of the US Limited Edition extras. At the time of my pre-order and when it was finally released, there was only a $10 difference in price between the game alone and this special package. Was it worth the extra ten bucks? Read on.

The Soundtrack CD contains an all original score composed and directed by the very talented, award-winning musician Tim Larkin, who was the Lead Sound Designer for Riven, and composed and produced the music from realMyst as well as for Uru: Ages Beyond, along with Robyn Miller.

The soundtrack is over 49 minutes in length and contains 17 tracks. (See the Trivia section for the full list.) While each of the songs is slightly different, they all have the same musical quality, tone and style so they blend well together in the game. They are harmonious, haunting tunes somewhat reminiscent of oriental music (some call it Masai sound) I have heard on commercial cds - digitally mastered with horns (a trumpet played by Tim Larkin himself), violins, drums and cymbals, plus background voices. My favorite, and the longest, track is entitled "Finale" and runs a full 6:05 minutes long. So beautiful .. it literally gave me chills. Bravo, Tim!

The Making the game DVD is a commercially produced video by GameTap that runs for approximately 25 minutes. Similar in content to "behind the scenes" features for movies, it provides a look into the series and its makers as a sort of "teaser" for Myst 5. It is divided into Chapters and begins with the introduction of the creators and their background. Then it proceeds to spend a few minutes on each Myst game, in chronological order, with footage on the success of each one, conceptual graphics, technology used and interviews. Intertwined in the chapters you'll visit the Cyan offices and work rooms, which I found interesting. The new technology used in Myst 5 is handled last, showing them actually working with the equipment during a "face" motion capture session, a process by which the faces are "seamlessly mapped into the gameplay."

The quality of the video is excellent, as is the sound and music. Very nicely done. If it was indeed intended to whet my appetite for the upcoming Myst 5 game, it succeeded in that goal. (I watched it before getting very far in the game.) While I liked having an inside look, there was much left out (about the last game) and many topics of conversation seemed repetitive. It handles the history of the games well but isn't the definitive, all-encompassing chronology that I had hoped for.

The Prima Strategy Guide enclosed in the box is a miniature version of what is available in stores. The walkthrough is written in a narrative, journal-like form. After the walkthrough is a section containing the full text of all of Yeesha's Journals. Following that is the Quick Reference guide containing info on the controls and then a more concise solution to each Age is provided.

What follows next is my favorite part of the Strategy Guide .. The Myst Mythos .. the Myst Chronology beginning with Rand Miller's books and the stories of all of the games is described here. Mentioned is his latest novel in the works: Myst: The Book of Marrim. Falling in between Riven and Exile, it is the story of a person whose life is changed forever when Atrus and Catherine link to her world. (I've obviously been out of the loop because this is the first time I've heard about Rand's books. Looks like I'll be making more purchases!)

Finally the Guide ends with a "Behind the Scenes of Cyan and Myst V" section including photos of the main creators, interviews with them, quotes about each "From the Fans" plus a chronology of the Bahro Etchings. The entire Strategy Guide is well-written and provided more than enough information to satisfy my need for "more Myst".

The Bad
I was disappointed with only 3 things contained in this Limited Edition:
1. The numbered lithograph print is not signed. True, it didn't advertise to be "signed and numbered" .. only numbered.

1. The information "miniature" Strategy Guide is difficult to see because it is so small. I needed a magnifier to read some of the text and to decipher the pictures of the solutions.

2. The Soundtrack, while good, is not really good to listen to outside of the game. I played it on my CD player a week or more after finishing End of Ages and found it to be a bit monotonous.
   
   The Bottom Line
   In answer to my question, WAS IT WORTH THE EXTRA PRICE? My answer is a definitive YES.

Everything contained inside the box was well worth the extra $10 .. especially since the Strategy Guide alone is selling for double that price.

If you are a Myst fan, this edition is a MUST. If you have never played the Myst games before, what is contained in this package will show and tell you what you have missed (and will probably entice you to play them all).