Riven: The Sequel to Myst - PC/Mac
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Product information
Publication Date | September 25, 1998 |
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Computer Platform | PC/Mac |
ASIN | B00000JL6V |
Release date | September 25, 1998 |
Customer Reviews |
3.3 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #86,156 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games) #198 in Mac-compatible Games #2,906 in PC-compatible Games |
Product Dimensions | 5.3 x 5 x 1.1 inches; 2.2 Pounds |
Type of item | CD-ROM |
Rated | Everyone |
Item model number | 18221 |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | Yes |
Item Weight | 2.2 pounds |
Manufacturer | Ubi Soft |
Date First Available | October 24, 1999 |
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Product Description
Product Description
Enter a deceptively beautiful world torn apart by age-old conflicts, where secrets lie hidden at every turn, and nothing is as it seems. You must search, you must explore, you must learn the truth.
Amazon.com
Prepare to enter a world "torn asunder" by timeless, unresolved conflicts--a world of incomparable beauty, intrigue, and betrayal. Prepare to go to Riven. Journey through vast, awe-inspiring landscapes, where clouds sit nestled in a deep blue sky and the rolling sea waters shimmer from bright morning sunlight. But be forewarned: nothing is quite as it seems. Reclusive beings and mysterious creatures populate the land. Deep, dark secrets lay hidden at every turn. Your utmost powers of observation and reason are required to complete a most elusive task. You must let Riven become your world. Only then may the truth be discovered and a world be saved. Riven stands as a story for all time, a story that evokes a sense of awe, wonder, and profound purpose. Prepare to go to Riven --a world unlike any you've ever known.
From the Manufacturer
The most anticipated sequel ever comes to the PC. Join Atrus in his search for Catherine in Riven: The Sequel to Myst. It features all-new locations, bigger environments, deeper character interaction, and amazingly real textures and graphics.
Review
Myst, at more than 3.5 million units sold, is the world's most popular PC entertainment title, and after four years is still riding the top of the charts. This fact remains, despite a significant number of players who never get past the game's first tough puzzle: the rotating lighthouse.
For whatever reasons that Myst was such a success, Riven has a lot of the same. You'll see the same click/move/slide-show interface, along with similar mechanical and navigational puzzles and the now familiar wander and wonder gameplay. Riven's markedly improved graphics and sound further enhance the ambiance and make Riven even more immersive than its predecessor. The puzzles and problems are more cohesive, and there is more of a storyline, but in the end, Riven is only an evolutionary improvement over Myst.
You begin where Myst left off. Atrus (played once again by Rand Miller), the father of the two feuding sons in Myst, has another task for you: Rescue his wife from the evil clutches of Atrus's father Gehn, then permanently imprison Gehn in one of those "trap" books from Myst.
Your quest takes place in Riven, a fanciful world created by Gehn in the tradition of his ancestors - by simply imagining it and writing about it. Riven (from the ancient English word "rive," which means "to rip apart") is a collection of small islands connected with catwalks, aerial trams, and a minisubmarine. You will expend much of your effort just figuring out how to get around. In many instances you'll find a switch in an obscure location, then take a circuitous route to the gate it opens.
Unlike Myst, these islands have human inhabitants, although you'll be hard-pressed to actually see any. There are plenty of spherical, earthen huts and occasional fleeting human encounters, but there is no interaction or dialogue. The oblique storyline is played out in the islands' objects and the implications you can draw from them, such as a disturbing kid's toy, a Wizard of Oz-like throne, and a frog trap. And if these are too obtuse you can always arduously pore through the voluminous journals you'll acquire.
Riven's two major puzzles require solving several miniproblems that in turn require close observation of Riven's denizens, colors, and unique numbering system. Gathering those elements becomes routine but just as you get comfortable with the concept there is a clever extra challenge tossed in - a missing color, a broken device, an obtusely revealed animal. Much of Riven's prerelease PR emphasized the environment as a source of clues and puzzle solutions. It is, but not to the large extent and subtle degree you may expect.
There are no technological breakthroughs but plenty of high-quality production values. The QuickTime animations - doors opening, levers moving, drawbridges dropping - are larger and blend well with the backgrounds, but that's principally a reflection of improvements in that display method. The sound effects are perfect and worth the price of high-end speakers, but there is no support of newer 3D audio technology. The graphics are superbly, even fanatically, detailed but that's more an aesthetic decision than a technical achievement.
For a game that has low-tech system demands, it consumes an inordinate amount of hard drive space - 140MB. Plus, if you play it for an extended period of time, you may encounter audio lapses. I missed a critical end-game aural clue, but after rebooting, and replaying that scene, it played just fine. Riven ships on five discs, but you can start saved games with only one of them and must click slowly through four animations before you can load a game [editor's note: This is not the only way to restore games - but it is the only intuitive way].
With a walk-through in hand, Riven took only about four hours. Without it, I'd still be at it, doing a lot of wandering, mapping, and recording of my observations. And just like Myst, that's what Riven is all about: exploring a new world full of unique beings, organic machines, and family intrigue. There is no inventory, no need to combine mysterious potions, and no board game puzzles with little connection to Riven's world. Rather, it's a leisurely paced, all-encompassing, mentally challenging experience. If you enjoyed Myst, you'll thoroughly enjoy Riven. -- Jeff Sengstack
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc. -- GameSpot Review
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the quality and immersion of the video game. They mention that it's an enjoyable and engaging game with great puzzles. However, some customers have mixed opinions on compatibility.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the quality of the video game software great, amazing, enjoyable, and engaging. They also say it's beautifully produced, sumptuous in its scenery, and works as designed. Some mention it'll make a good buy.
"...it in 1998 and many times afterward; Hands down the most immersive, enjoyable and engaging game...." Read more
"...I used to play DECADES AGO. Fun. Makes you think." Read more
"Riven is a beautifully produced game, sumptuous in its scenery and with puzzles that are intellectually demanding...." Read more
"Great game, love it." Read more
Customers find the puzzles in the game to be great and the strategy to be like real-life exploration. They also describe the game as the most immersive, enjoyable, and engaging.
"Played it in 1998 and many times afterward; Hands down the most immersive, enjoyable and engaging game...." Read more
"...produced game, sumptuous in its scenery and with puzzles that are intellectually demanding...." Read more
"...The graphics and sounds are still amazing and immersive." Read more
"An excellent puzzle game really made me think." Read more
Customers are mixed about the compatibility of the video game software. Some mention that it works perfectly, while others say that it didn't work on their computers.
"...have my own laptop and couldn't wait to get MYST - however, it won't work on newer MACs...." Read more
"...Arrived as expected and works perfectly." Read more
"...we tried several different computers and this simply did not work with any New windows program...." Read more
"...in 1997, program shipped to me was many years old and unable to run on my computers. It was written for Windows 95/98 or Mac OS 7.5 or higher...." Read more
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Generates a supreme sense of accomplishment; music was perfect; video was staggering for its time.
The moment the player realizes one has freed and saved the woman is truly unforgettable, augmented by the change in music.
Puzzle strategy is like real-life exploration, which is the supreme point.
However, none of the reviews I read or system requirements I saw said that RIVEN wouldn't work on OSX. It doesn't. If anyone knows a secret about using RIVEN on 10.5
please let me know. I'm sure I'm not the only person hoping for a little magic!
1 Star means the product and/or provider were awful and it is recommended you pass this totally
2 Stars mean either the product or the provider failed
3 Stars mean the product was exactly as advertised, arrived as expected (regardless of how long it took), and the supplier provided as was expected. This rating is usually where other people give 5 stars.
4 Stars means that the product or supplier was superior in some way, (fast shipping, product better than expected, supplier went out of their way to care for it)
5 Stars means that BOTH the product AND the supplier preformed in a superior manor in some way. (You will not see very many of these at all)
Arrived as expected and works perfectly.