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Alot of gameplay here!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 98 / 100
Date: September 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Being a MYST fan, I almost didn't get this because of it going on-line as a type of MMORPG originally and I don't like those games.

But when I saw the this with both expansion packs, I couldn't resist (also had heard by then that the on-line was canceled because of little support). And what a value. There are many hours of gameplay here. It is also pretty hard, so have some patience because some of this hard to figure out.

The graphics are as always fantastic (especially the water. It looks awesome and I think they know it because there is water everywhere in this game). The scenery is more interactive than ever and there are alot of things moving here.

The sounds of the game are very good to, especially with some good headphones. I spent some time looking around checking everything out and I wasn't dissapointed.

You can also change your Avatar (this is a 1st or 3rd person game and you will need to use both) from clothes, to face, to sunglasses. And you will collect more items along the way which you can change in to.

Some of the puzzles were wierd, and they reminded alot of playing Riven which is one of the things I didn't really like as you had to go back and forth alot between ages. But there are many puzzles to solve and this is seamless, so you never know when you are playing Ages Beyond MYST or one of the expansion packs. There are also alot of books to read here (and you have to read them all or you will miss vital clues and answers for some of the puzzles), more than any of the other MYST games (maybe even more than the other 3 put together).

I had alot of fun, and if you are a MYST fan, this is an unbeatable deal.

Pleasantly Surprised, For the Most Part

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 63 / 64
Date: March 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Like quite a few other gamers, I was resistant to Uru despite being a hardcore MYST fan. The notion of a Multi-player on-line experience (as URU was originally intended to be) built around the MYST concept just didn't appeal to me. Plus, scuttlebutt about some of the more skill-oriented tasks in the game put me off. Well, I finally broke down and got the Complete Chronicles, and I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised. This isn't MYST; it's an adjunct to MYST and as such comes off very well, both in terms of atmosphere and gameplay.

To begin at the beginning, you start the game by designing an avatar--a physical representation of yourself in the game world. This is one of the things that I originally disdained as pointless, but setting up and dressing the avatar gave me an inordinate amount of pleasure. It was cool to be able to change clothes and paint your toenails, instead of having the avatar look the same all the way through, as in most 3rd person games.

That being said, Uru Complete Chronicles includes the original Ages Beyond Myst and both expansion packs that were later released when the on-line game tanked. In Uru, you're introduced to the conflict between the D'Ni Restoration Council, a group of people bent on exploiting the D'Ni culture, and Yeesha, the daughter of Atrus, who seems to have been dead quite a few years, but who has left messages for you in various places. Yeesha sets you a complicated task that involves traveling through several ages. This was by far the most enjoyable segment of the game for me. The puzzles were sensible with a large proportion of mechanical tasks. Even the skill tasks weren't as difficult as I had been led to believe. If you've played any console or arcade game that features jumping (super mario brothers comes to mind) you won't have any problem with this. The one irritation (which continues through the whole game) is that you can't save as you go; the game automatically saves your progress and if you fall off a cliff or something, you're reloaded back at a neutral starting point and have to make your way back. Although this makes sense as far as the game story goes, it means gameplay delays.

To D'Ni was the easiest segment. In it, you finally get to explore the underground city that's been referenced since MYST came out. Fans of the series will get a kick out of this; others may not care. For the most part, the entire game focuses on one particular task, which necessitates quite a bit of linking back and forth and running around. There's also LOTS of reading, some of it unnecessary to gameplay but still interesting. One minor problem with the Complete Chronicles at this point was that some of the To D'Ni stuff was accessible right from the beginning of Uru, so that by the time you got to the point in the game where it was relevant, you forgot it. At least you didn't have to go back through every place you'd ever been to see if anything had changed.

Path of the Shell was my least favourite section of this game. I'm sorry to say, it was so frustrating and incomprehensible that it about destroyed the game for me. On its own, I'd only rate it 2 stars. There was not enough information provided within the game to be able to solve certain sections. Plus, solutions often involved long arbitrary wait times that were impossible to predict; you needed to be told about them right out. And one of these would have been plenty. Also, POTS froze and crashed and acted weird. I had to enter the solution to one puzzle about 20 times before it actually did what it was supposed to do. All in all, a disappointing ending that left a bad taste in my mouth.

Uru Complete Chronicles lasted me well over a month and there is still opportunity to explore certain areas. Eventhough Path of the Shell didn't thrill me, I'd certainly play any more expansion packs that Cyan wanted to release. It's a great value and a good time for the money.

Don't meet the system requirements? Don't write a review

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 36 / 40
Date: October 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'm shocked and amazed at the number of people who are willing to write bad reviews about a game after admitting they don't meet the system requirements, and/or didn't pay attention to them when buying the game. This is akin to writing a review about a car, saying it was the worst model ever made and is a road hazard, even though you never actually took it for a test drive, because you didn't have the right key. In my mind this is completely unfair, and is a disservice to the people reading the reviews. It is also a disservice to the developer of the game, who in good faith put forth their best efforts to create a great game and be clear about what was needed to run it.

A word on system requirements:

1) They're listed on the game box. If you're not sure what they are prior to buying the game, ask the vendor. If your computer doesn't meet them, there's no reason to believe the game will install or run on your system. Also, if your computer barely meets the minimum requirements, there's no reason to believe the game will run smoothly, or have the highest quality graphics and sound. If you thought your system met the requirements and it turned out it didn't, you should upgrade your system or take the game back for a refund.

2) These requirements are usually very precise, and mean what they say. Windows 2000 does NOT mean Windows 2000 Server.

3) 'PC' requirements means desktop PC, not laptop. Unless the requirements specifically state that the game will run over the laptop equivalent of the desktop requirements, there is no reason to believe that it will. Developers generally don't test their products over laptops.

4) To Mac users that have flamed this game without playing it: The developer and publisher for this game have both publicly stated that they had every intention of porting this game to the Mac. The reason they couldn't is because one of the engine features had to be done by a 3rd party who assured them said feature would be Mac compatible. Turned out not to be true, when it was too late to do anything about it. Don't you think the developer feels at least as bad as you do about it? Do you think that showing a complete lack of understanding for a developer that has always tried to release games over your platform endears them to your cause?

Creating games nowadays is a costly venture. It would be nice if all PC games ran over all PC systems. But the truth is, the more components you support, the more it costs to make the game. So developers have to support the hardware that they think the most people will have, without compromising the quality of their game by doing so.

I am a fan of the Myst series games (including this one), and the company that created or inspired them. I know MANY people who have played this game (who met the system requirements), and about 99% of them were able to get this game to install and run with no real difficulty. The most technical thing any of them had to do was update their video drivers, which is really pretty easy. And if it's intimidating for you, you can contact the publisher for tech support and they'll help you with that.

As for the game itself, which I have actually installed and played all the way through. It is a break from previous Myst games in the sense that it is 3-D realtime, rather than pre-rendered 'still' shots. This can make the experience a lot more immersive, as it feels like you're 'in' the game. The movement is a lot different though, as it is no longer 'point and click', and takes some getting used to. The graphics are beautiful, the sound is incredible (I own the soundtrack, it's that good). The story falls in line with the rest of the series, and the puzzles can be figured out logically, with a lot of patience. The only thing in this game that really disappointed me was the interface, as it's this company's first real foray into the 3-D environment. It could have been smoother. So normally I would have given this game 4 stars out of 5, but feel I need to compensate with the exra star due to the amount of people that have completely flamed it and given it 1 star, without ever having played it. Not very sporting in my opinion.

Worth playing if you can abide with the differences.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 21 / 21
Date: February 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you're thinking of buying Uru, one thing to bear in mind is that although Uru is linked to the Myst series, it's just not Myst-- it's an almost totally different game (which is why URU wasn't released as "Myst 4", and why "Myst 4: Revelation" wasn't called "Myst 5")...what Uru is is something very different:

Uru was originally released as a "massively multiplayer" online adventure game, but the online service has since ceased. So now Uru exists as a 'stand-alone' application for use with a single P.C. and this leaves us with something very unique-- an adventure-game by the makers of Myst, designed in the style of Myst, but based in a first-person/third-person-perspective, quake-style, 3D environment...

...this isn't such a bad thing if you're expecting it, however if you're expecting Uru to be just like Riven, Exile or Revelation, you're probably going to be disappointed...

...for instance, it's 3D environments render in 'real-time' with standard 3D textures, which just can't compare to the breathtaking pre-rendered graphics that make the regular Myst series so visually stunning; and instead of the usual Myst interface, you steer an on-screen character around Uru's environment using a combination of mouse and keyboard, as you would in an online multiplayer or 3D action game (although if you're anything like me you'll end up playing most of the game in the optional 1st-person perspective).

It's not all bad however-- if you approach it with the right set of expectations it's actually very worth playing. What we have (since the demise of Uru's online component) is Rand & Robyn Miller's answer to Quake (but without the guns) which is, in itself, pretty exceptional...

...it features the same quality of environment as the average 'proprietary QuakeII engine'-based 3D action game, but on a smaller scale and with generally more invention and variety in the design of the levels. On the downside, the interface is clunky and the control system clumsy. For example, the left & right turn-rate could be a whole lot faster, and when in 'third-person view' the hotspots are only clickable when in direct proximity to the character.

Uru does take some getting used to, and can be disappointing if you don't know what to expect --I went from lamenting the fact that they ever even tried to make a game based in a 'real-time' 3D environment, to wishing they'd just used the QuakeII engine to eliminate the existent control-scheme issues; and I'm now quite interested in seeing what might be achievable for Myst with the new generation of proprietary game engines.

Ultimately, Uru is just not as good as the other regular Myst titles, and I wouldn't purchase Uru before purchasing Revelation, but having said that, Uru is worth playing, if you can abide with the differences.

Game play abundance

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 19
Date: January 05, 2005
Author: Amazon User

My Myst Uru: Complete Chronicles (CC) experience is unusual...

At the beginning of 2004, played Uru: Ages beyond Myst (Uru Prime), later played the To D'ni expansion pack, finally played the Path of the Shell (PotS) expansion pack. This trilogy was played on a 1 GHz, 512 MB RAM Windows ME PC.

That was a mistake.

Age loads were annoyingly slow, jump puzzles were arduous, game play was occasionally sloppy and Uru Prime, its 1.2 patch, To D'ni & PotS wouldn't install properly on my new computer.

Decided to replay Uru after upgrading to a 3.8 GHz, 2 GB RAM Windows XP Professional PC.

CC and upgraded hardware made a huge difference...

The above problems evaporated. With its images & sounds set on 'Ultra', CC became a vastly enhanced gaming experience. Images became real, three-dimensional. Sounds were varied and rich, you could feel their intricate textures.

Discovered only one gotcha, CC plays best on an 800 x 600 pixels setting. If your resolution is set too high, say 1600 x 1200 pixels, images are incorrectly rendered.

For others, there's another hardware gotcha,

"NOTICE: This game contains technology intended to prevent copying that may conflict with some disc and virtual drives."

If you have a single drive DVD computer, it's understandable: you'll opt for a DVD-RW.

If so, CC's anti piracy software may stop a DVD-RW installation dead in its tracks. Even if CC does install, it may not play properly.

So please consider this alternate...

A dual drive DVD computer is about $100 more than a single drive computer. In your dual drive computer, you have two DVDs:

A DVD and a DVD-RW.

This gives you the best of both worlds.

A real review, no spoilers, no biased complaints.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 24
Date: September 20, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First off, this game DOES run on Windows XP home, it does work with the newest version of Direct X, and it most certainly works on ATI Radeon cards, as I am playing it on a laptop, with a Mobility Radeon 9700. So all the complaints and gripes your reading about, are unwarrented. I honestly would have to suggest that some people, do spyware and virus scans before they blame a game. It also helps to KNOW YOUR HARDWARE!

If the game doesn't meet at least the recommended specs, usually, your in for a rough time. Pentium 4, 2.8ghz, with the above videocard and 512ram. Game runs just fine. The specs say nothing about Mobility cards being supported, so even still, I didn't get lucky. This game was designed to run on a massive ammount of machines, from the low end, to the high end.

Anyway, on to the actual game review.

Uru, is more of an experience, then a game. Based mainly on using your brain to solve puzzles that range from easy...all the way to brain-seering insane, if you have a working mind, and you want to use it, instead of blowing crap up for hours, maybe a trip to Uru is what you could use.

The game opens with you designing your avatar, which is your 3D counterpart in the game world. Not the most fleshed out or best character design tool of all time, but it works. You can tell however, that the developers were not trying to suck in the new generation, as the clothing choices and such, reflect a more modest and mature audience. No matrix style flapping trenchcoats, or insane anime models here. Simple, effective, and it works quite well.

After your done creating you avatar, you wind up in a desert. From here on in, what you learn, and discover, is entirely up to you. Of course, many will instantly be stuck on what to do, and refer to a walkthrough. DO NOT USE A WALKTHROUGH. I did for a bit, and had I actually considered and thought for a bit, I could have gotten past some of the parts on my own. The parts I did do myself, were rewarding to no end.

For example, not knowing what was going on, I managed to locate a spinning wall in a rock/cavern place, and I noted that, for a split second, I saw a room. I waited, and then walked through that wall. I was inside a small room, and again, I waited, and walked into a huge room, with gears and switches and all the great stuff to be found through-out the entire game. After 3 hours of messing around and tinkering, I got the "age" powered up.

When I finally found what you could call an elevator, and rode it up...the sight I saw, made the purchase of this game instantly worth it. I will not ruin the surprise for anyone either. Words simply can't describe what you'll see in this game. Some of the most breathtaking and inventive worlds ever concived...though, I'd expect nothing less from a Myst title.

On the topic of graphics, I'll say it now. Beautiful. Sometimes constricted as to where you can go, but ultimately a very surreal feel. If your anything like me, you'll study everything, and really take in the views. On viewing, this Myst game, is completely 3D. Which means, you can move in real time, thus making these insanely gorgeous visuals, really come to life.

Gameplay wise, as I mentioned above, it's all about the puzzles. Some are bizzarely easy, while others, are very hard, and will take you hours to figure out. Well worth the time to figure it all out without a guide though, as the instant reward of solving an insanely hard puzzle, is like nothing else. There is however, some minor action bits here and there. For that puzzle I needed to solve, I had to run back and forth a few times. Still, nothing that tricky, and no where near the stuff you'd be asked to do in say, Prince of Persia. I have yet to explore "The Path of the Shell", but I heard it features some really annoying moments with platform gaming....and time based puzzles that make little sense. I can't say if this is true, but for now, Uru is very enjoyable.

One other thing to mention is, the atmosphere. Yes, it's a computer game, but that didn't stop Cyan from really sucking you into these worlds. For one, you get to keep a journal in game, which is a very nice feature. I often write in it, and in a style like, it wasn't a game. After a while, I forgot about the journal, and when I re-discovered my notes, I thought I was reading somthing from a scene in the game. Basically, this game will surround you in a mysterious world, that might cue you to write like your there. I feel like I've really been there.

You will also discover other writing throughout the game, journals written by other indivduals, and some of these, run for page after page. One journal, will take you close to an hour to read through, and then another 40 minutes, for the next volume of it...and it all reads like someone wrote it, aka, it's real.

So what can I say? Uru is an awe inspiring experience...that apparently, was supposed to have an online part to it, but it seems that was abandoned. All in all, a must have, and if your a Myst fan, you have ZERO excuse not to own this game.

The Gathered Will Tell...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 19
Date: July 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have been an avid fan of the Myst series for years now and have enjoyed every title. When I originally purchased Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, it took some time to get used to the surprising changes which Cyan had incorporated: real time 3d graphics, a custom avatar viewable from a third person perspective, newer more dymamic puzzle solving, and for a brief time, during the prologue of Uru Live, interaction with other players.

It was worth the adjustement though, in every possible way.

The story of Uru is massive and far more expansive than previous installments, and the real time 3d rendering makes the experience seem more alive... one can explore more freely, see and do more..

Complete Chronicles represents the full Uru experience. It includes Ages Beyond Myst, To D'ni, and The Path of the Shell. Ages and Path of the Shell are substantial and challenging adventures, while To D'ni provides more information on the D'ni culture than any other source to date.

As a single purchase, I personally think that Complete Chronicles is almost impossible to beat for the experience and the value.

Some people have criticized Uru for the minimum system requirements. You certainly will have to pay attention to them, as they are literally the very minimum with which you can expect to experience Uru. Others have complained about the third person view, but this is strictly optional and Uru can be played in first person just as the previous Myst titles. The perspectives can be altered with the push of a single key.

If you are looking for a great value and a wonderful adventure, Uru is the game and Complete Chronicles is the way to get it.

Excellent game.... and you'll need a jacket

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: September 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Stunning! I very much enjoyed Myst but was not as wild about Riven. Uru, sigh, wonderful. When I walked into the neon mushroom cavern where it was snowing I wanted to put a jacket on my personal avatar, and I did! It really takes YOU into the game. I am female and over 21 so I may be in the minority in my deep appreciation for Uru and Cyan games but they are the best.
Make your avatar personal (my blond one with violet eyes looks like me and makes me feel really in the game) step in and adventure around. Some risk taking in the puzzles almost stopped me but "fear not the starry abyss", you will know what I mean when you get there. And by all means, get there!

Lots of Game for the buck! Fantastic Exploration!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: August 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Uru changed all my perceptions of what a PC game can be. HUGE in scope. Challenging beyond the norm. If exploration is your thing (as it is mine) then this is the game for you. This game is made up of the original Uru: Ages Beyond Myst and its subsequent expansion packs for less than the cost of the original game. There are many Ages to explore as well as the underground city of Ae'gura which will simply take your breath away. The detail is astounding and the music is simply beautiful. Many of the puzzles are brain-busters but ultimately rewarding when solved. Learn who you are at the same time as solving the riddle of the D'ni and their time under the Earth. I cannot recommend this game strongly enough. You will not be disappointed.

-Professor Askew (in the Cavern)-

Immersion.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: March 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've been a Myst fan for some time, and am always immersed by their captivating worlds. But Uru... Uru is something different. The previous games, while providing an "introduction" to Atrus in the beginning did their part to draw one in... but it is always rather sketchy. Plus, they happen in the past, so one must suspend one's disbelief to an extent. That's to be expected with games.

But in Uru, a present-day adventure, where the first world explored is our own, in a very fine portrayal of the Arizona desert, there's so much more. Over and over in the game we are faced with reasons for why we are here, and one can't help but be drawn in by it. As the game progresses, you will find yourself really caring about your quest, and the other characters, never seen but revealed through their journals and personal belongings, become known and very realistic human beings. The ages are beautiful, the freedom of 3D is welcome, yes, but the true strong point of this game is its ability to give the player a reason to play, an identity, which even spills out into real life if we're not careful.

I didn't realize the full power of Uru while playing it, only now, I tend to be disappointed by games I play, and I realize it's because they don't give me the same sense of identity, of immersion in and integration with the stories they portray. Uru has a haunting power and lingering effect on the emotions all its own.

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