Myst Online: Uru Live

The Good
Note: This review is being written after 5 weeks of gameplay. I will update this review if my opinions change, and if I continue to play.

If you read my review of URU: Ages Beyond Myst, you know that I really disliked that game. I didn't bother playing the expansions because I had gotten rid of URU within one week of finishing it.

So you're probably wondering why I even tried this one. In essence, curiosity got the best of me. I wanted to see D'ni! I wondered what it would be like to solve puzzles in conjunction with other players. So, what the heck, I plopped down my money for a 3 month GameTap subscription and dove in.

As a required step, you must play the entire Ages Beyond Myst game. Although I didn't relish the idea of replaying it, I am glad to say that it was easier for me the second time around. (Yes .. I'm getting better at jumping!) What once was the "ending" in the original, single-player game is now the "beginning" of the multiplayer game and leads you into the future.

Gameplay is virtually identical to the original - keyboard for actions and mouse for panning and puzzle working. The interface has been changed to adapt to the multiplay and includes the KI communicator/journal that was introduced in the original and used in the expansions. Progress within the game is automatically saved so everything will be the same when you go back in.

The cavern city of Ae'gura (once inhabited by the D'ni) has the look and feel of a real underground location with its dim interior and rock formations. The graphics cannot be considered new, however, since they are a duplicate of what was released in the expansions about 3 years ago.

But .. add in hundreds of explorers from around the world and the city comes alive with activity. Meeting new people, "partying" in the Bevin neighborhoods, chatting back and forth .. all of that interaction was completely new, and exciting, for me .. and still is. The game brings together adventure gamers from all walks of life .. all ages .. different nationalities and personalities. I have made many new friends and getting to know them has been just part of the fun. The "community" is growing and expanding rapidly with many new players joining in every day.

We adventure game players have grown accustomed to playing our games alone, without cooperation from others. Now, with this game, we can find others to help us .. in the same room! Joining friends and exploring Ages together is extremely fun and satisfying .. and different than anything I've experienced before in an adventure game. Puzzles in some of the new Ages require multiple players in order to solve them. This interactivity gets everyone involved and makes for an entertaining experience for all. It's this type of cooperative effort that keeps me coming back for more. (Am I hooked? Possibly!)

The Bad
Even with the wonderful things I like about this game, there are so many others that need improvement. Listing from the most important to the least, in my opinion, are ..

1. Waiting for New Content
   - Once per month is simply not often enough for avid, energetic and anxious players (like myself). New gameplay portions released with updates can be finished fairly quickly .. then we must wait. Patience is wearing thin for us who have caught up with all updates. If this slow pace continues, I'm not sure the developers will keep their current customers (including me). I realize there are design issues to contend with for older Ages and areas so they can be included into this new version. However, Cyan should have anticipated this and had more of them ready. (One saving grace .. GameTap's library of games is immense so our monthly fees are justified.)
2. Bugs
   - Each time an update is released, bugs in the content and in gameplay occur requiring -another- update within a few days. (Are they not testing these?) Some are still present from the initial offering back in Feb 2007.
3. Minimum System Requirements - Not Enough
   The amount of RAM listed in the "minimum" system requirements, for instance, is enough to play the game .. but with so many irregularities that some players may be turned off immediately. Long screen loads, game hang-ups, lags in movement (especially within crowded areas) .. I experienced all of these, some of which required a complete system reboot. (512MB of RAM is simply too little. I upgraded to 2 GigaBytes today on my Pentium 4 2.80Ghz system and noticed a pronounced difference "linking" through the books.)
4. Download and Installation
   - It took me approximately 2 hours to retrieve the game through GameTap using a very fast high-speed internet connection.

**The Bottom Line**
Myst Online: URU Live is an experiment in adventure gaming and, as such, is experiencing growing pains as any new venture would. I applaud Cyan's efforts for delving into virgin territory. As the company spreads its wings and more of the game's mysteries are exposed, I'll be there grasping every straw they give out .. at least for several more months. Is it fun? YES. Only time will tell if it will continue to be .. we can only hope.