Riven: The Sequel to Myst

The Good
Riven is the highly anticipated sequal to the award-winning game Myst.

In the game you are transported to the world of Riven to rescue Catherine, Atrus's wife from the first game. But as you land in the world, you find yourself trapped in a cage, with your book on the other side of the bars. A strangely dressed man appears, and is killed in front of your eyes, as an unseen assailant drags his lifeless body away. The bars of your cage open, and your quest starts...

Thus begins your stay in the IMMENSE world of Riven. And when I say immense, I mean IMMENSE. The game is huge. I wish I had a DVD-ROM in my computer, because the game comes on 5 - count 'em - 5 CD's. Riven's world consists of 5 islands, therefore you have 1 Island per CD. This is one of those few games (along with multimedia intensive games such as the Later parts of the Wing Commander series or Phantasmagoria) that seems like it would be better if it were on DVD. No disk swapping! :)

The graphics are in one word - breathtaking. If you thought the quality of graphics in Myst were incredible, it seems that Cyan outdid themselves this time. Beautiful locations take you throughout the world. And if you like rollercoasters, then you'll love the modes of transportation between the islands. The sensation of traveling between the islands is eerie. Cyan's work on this part alone is worth checking it out. Each locale, each picture has significance, just like in Myst.

The sound, again, is incredible. Each sound has a purpose (like Myst), and the background music (which I found out can actually be purchased as a soundtrack), is fantastic.

There is a lot more interaction with people in this game, unlike the original. The world is alive. You meet people, you talk with them (sorta) and you learn informaton. The is this one part where you see someone, but they end up runnign away from you. So what do you do? Obviously you follow them. But it's this type of interaction that makes the game feel, not like a game, but alive.

The Bad
The conrtol, the control, the control. The contol problems that plagued the original are apparent here as well. It's not quite as bad, but the problems are still there, especially with going up and down stairs.

The Bottom Line
If you absolutely hated Myst, then don't bother with Riven. It's more of the game, and you'll have absolutely no fun.

But if you enjoyed Myst (like I did), then by all means play Riven. You'll love it.