Yes, yes, yes I know Riven is like 5 years old but I haven’t played it in a few years and finally got back into playing the game.
I never played the original Myst so I really didn’t understand the premise of the game or what was required so I had a horrible time with Riven. I finally lowered myself to a few on-line guides for hints. Now that I have completed Riven I went out and purchased MYST III – Exile and have started a new adventure. This time I am taking copious notes, drawing maps, carefully reading the journals, and noting every detail. I’m still trying to work out the numbering scheme, it is still eluding me and the puzzle with rotating viewers is still frustrating me but so far I really enjoy the game.
Have any Dopers completed Exile and if so how many hours (days, weeks) did it take? Any other thoughts are welcome!
I started to play Myst years ago. I’d be sitting there at night playing and I’d get the feeling that someone was creeping up behind me. It completely scared me and freaked me out. (Don’t know why). I finally traded it for Spyro the Dragon (PS) which I completely adore.
Did Riven have that same creepy, spooky atmosphere that Myst had?
I loved Exile (I even have the soundtrack in my truck), but I found it much easier than Riven. It took me around 25-30 hours to complete. The atmosphere is a little different from Myst. In Myst, you were wandering around with the creeping feeling that there could be a psycho lurking around. In Exile, you know he’s out there. He’s even left these lovely little messages…
I think Exile is the best of the three. The puzzles are much more localized and make more sense. I envy you, Opengrave. You’re in for a real treat! I don’t remember how long it took me, but it didn’t take as long as Riven.
Exile is unique in that there are several ways to “win”. One thing you’ll enjoy, when you finish, is tracking back and playing it a different way to see alternate endings. Enjoy!
The graphics and animations in Exile are excellent, but best of all is the actor playing Saavedro, the great (and creepy) Brad Dourif. (check him out in LOTR later this year)
So much a better actor than Rand Miller, who has played Atrus in all the other games, and who we know is being dramatic and deep because his raspy whisper has even longer pauses in between sentences. sigh
Anyhoo, I still had to cheat in a couple of places (SPOILER most notably in that plant/animal level because I didn’t realise how much there was to explore END SPOILER)
I did exactly this with Myst, and really liked Riven, but rather than moving on to Exile. I’ve started on Dreamcatcher’s Schism. A similar concept, but from two points of view. You switch back and forth at will, but have to do so strategically, as one character finds things you need to advance the other.
I say “apparently”, because I am unable to figure it out and have gotten myself stuck.
Oof. For me, Saavedro was the worst part of Exile. I couldn’t stand his acting, I cringed (and not in a good way) every time he gave one of his over-the-top speeches. And his overall look just screamed “I am from 20th century earth and I have dressed up in a bad halloween costume.” I thought Gehn from Riven was far, far better.
Exile had a major plot hole that didn’t make sense to me. Still, it was fun. I don’t remember how long it took me to solve, and I got hung up in the plant world when there was a side-path that was damn near invisible. None of the actual puzzles was very hard, though. Two or three of them were a bit annoying in that there was no good logic to them. You just have to do things a certain way because that’s the way the game designers wrote it, but within the diagesis your character must be thinking “Well, that was a total crapshoot, wasn’t it?”
I felt a different sort of creepiness in the games. In Myst, you felt alone, but there were relics that reminded you that there had been people there at one time. In Riven, you weren’t the only person around, but it was still big enough for you to feel that way at times. Plus, Gehn was looming somewhere.
I didn’t play more than a couple hours of Exile. But it had its own kind of creepiness. I felt hunted. It was creepy but cool.
It completely scared me and freaked me out. (Don’t know why). I finally traded it for Spyro the Dragon (PS) which I completely adore. 