There are very experiences in this world that are completely original. In terms of adventure PC gaming, however, "Myst" is utterly without equal and (if you are the right kind of person) will quickly become one of the most endearing experiences of all your entertainment pastimes.
Before "Myst", computer gaming usually was in the form of either first-person shooters ("Wolfenstein"), adventures aimed more towards children ("Kings Quest"), and the tons and tons of shareware/pong/simulator games that flooded the market in the early-to-mid 1990s. In "Myst", though, gamers are simple dropped into an environment where little to no information is given to them, thus requiring much exploring and a logical mind to determine not only the overall point of the game, but also how all the levers and puzzles work in conjunction with each other.
For a basic plot summary, you ("the Stranger") suddenly appear in a universe where a man named Atrus can pen books that actually spring to life. However, many of his worlds are dying/unstable and you must determine the cause. Is it Atrus himself who has gone mad and imprisoned his sons in his own prison books, or are the sons locked away for good reason? The "Stranger" must explore a series of five islands and piece together the mystery one puzzle and logical deduction at a time.
This Myst series is not for everyone, by any means. If you are a bit lacking in patience and want a lot of action, this is not the game for you. It can get a bit tedious at times and one has to resist (especially nowadays when walk-throughs are available with a few mouse clicks) the urge to look up hints all the time (as that truly destroys the beauty of the experience), so if you want to be blasting baddies or wreaking war/havoc, look elsewhere are the risk of severe disappointment.
For those who really appreciate this kind of "thinking-person's" game, "Myst" is unrivaled (and I have tried MANY of its subsequent clones) in the industry because of its riveting storyline. A lot of other games have tried to duplicate the "puzzling" style of "Myst", but only "Myst" has been able to successfully capture the emotion of compelling characters that never seem to get old.
Overall, I consider "Myst" to be one of my all-time favorite PC games because of its groundbreaking intuitive style. In hindsight, at least two of its sequels surpass this original, but "Myst" is always special because it set the groundwork for the master series. If you want your brain/wits to be more involved in a PC game than your trigger finger, then I strongly recommend "Myst" if you haven't tried it to this point. If you can let yourself become immersed in its worlds, you will get hooked!
Before "Myst", computer gaming usually was in the form of either first-person shooters ("Wolfenstein"), adventures aimed more towards children ("Kings Quest"), and the tons and tons of shareware/pong/simulator games that flooded the market in the early-to-mid 1990s. In "Myst", though, gamers are simple dropped into an environment where little to no information is given to them, thus requiring much exploring and a logical mind to determine not only the overall point of the game, but also how all the levers and puzzles work in conjunction with each other.
For a basic plot summary, you ("the Stranger") suddenly appear in a universe where a man named Atrus can pen books that actually spring to life. However, many of his worlds are dying/unstable and you must determine the cause. Is it Atrus himself who has gone mad and imprisoned his sons in his own prison books, or are the sons locked away for good reason? The "Stranger" must explore a series of five islands and piece together the mystery one puzzle and logical deduction at a time.
This Myst series is not for everyone, by any means. If you are a bit lacking in patience and want a lot of action, this is not the game for you. It can get a bit tedious at times and one has to resist (especially nowadays when walk-throughs are available with a few mouse clicks) the urge to look up hints all the time (as that truly destroys the beauty of the experience), so if you want to be blasting baddies or wreaking war/havoc, look elsewhere are the risk of severe disappointment.
For those who really appreciate this kind of "thinking-person's" game, "Myst" is unrivaled (and I have tried MANY of its subsequent clones) in the industry because of its riveting storyline. A lot of other games have tried to duplicate the "puzzling" style of "Myst", but only "Myst" has been able to successfully capture the emotion of compelling characters that never seem to get old.
Overall, I consider "Myst" to be one of my all-time favorite PC games because of its groundbreaking intuitive style. In hindsight, at least two of its sequels surpass this original, but "Myst" is always special because it set the groundwork for the master series. If you want your brain/wits to be more involved in a PC game than your trigger finger, then I strongly recommend "Myst" if you haven't tried it to this point. If you can let yourself become immersed in its worlds, you will get hooked!