Series is still going strong, and is just as good as its predecessors. (Actual: 8.25)
A very important feature of the Myst games are the visuals. The games rely on visual beauty to result in the player's complete immersion. This game fares no differently. Everything is pre-rendered (well, the environments) but is done with a much better 3D engine, and there are some things that actually happen in front of you. For the most part, everything is integrated seamlessly and you will enjoy the experience thoroughly. The real problem is the integration of live action with CGI. Don't get me wrong, the acting is actually done pretty good, especially with a fairly impressive performance done by the girl who plays Yeesha. The integration hasn't quite perfected yet though, and so when there are people on the screen, they stand out as being obviously having been inserted there like in the olden days of Green Screens and bad insertion. Now this isn't detrimental, but it definately can take from the striking beauty of the game sometimes. Speaking of which, the game really is nothing short of breathtaking. Each environment is detailed and full of life. It all feels so real. The fact that it looks so good helps it along quite a bit as well.
Another important feature that involves immersion is sound. The Myst games have generally excelled in this as well. Here is no exception. The acting (here I specifically refer to the voice acting) is done wonderfully (though I still believe Myst 3 is the best so far). I kind of miss the original Sirrus and Achenar styles from Myst 1, but the new ones still do them justice. The sound effects are of course done wonderfully. With how important the sound effects are, it is good that they are all done well here. The music is also set at a good volume and fits into the game far better than the other games have managed. That's quite an accomplishment. Great score, great voices and great effects.
Of course there is also the most important feature to consider, and that is the gameplay. The controls take a slight step forward by allowing you to freely look around, but you still click to move and interact. You can also move the cursor while the screen stays still, and when your cursor pans to the edge of the screen then your view will change accordingly. This is extremely clunky and annoying, and you will likely only use this 'still-screen' function when interacting with puzzles. When moving and looking, I NEVER used this version and stuck with free look. Another slight problem is the rather large hand that is the cursor in comparison with the surroundings. Oftentimes, when interacting with precision puzzles, this makes this complicated and can get frustrating. One last complaint is that there is no option to inverse the mouse when doing free look. For those of us that play FPS and use inverted mouse (which is a lot of us by the way), this will be extremely disorienting throughout the game. Still, with all the complaints, the game controls just fine when you use it right.
The story in this game, is very good as well. We had the story of Crime in part 1, Revenge in part 2, Righting Wrongs in part 3, and here we have Redemption. Like Exile, this game's story is very touching in the end, and has you feeling anger and sorrow for those you would not have thought you could. The only thing about the good story here is that the twists are pretty easy to figure out as you go along. The storytelling is well done though, and you will find that this game excels just as its predecessors.
Enough babbling though...what about the darned puzzles? This game has 4 ages to travel to, but really only 3 of them serve as real puzzle areas (the intro place is mostly easy and not nearly as long as the others). You have one that is nature based, which was the bane of my existence. The puzzles were solveable with the given clues, but some required precision that I for some reason could not master (get to the point of Mangree calls, and you will understand). This is Haven. You have another that is mostly logic and science, which was right up my alley and I enjoyed this very much. The puzzles there were also well done and stuck to the theme. This is Spire. Lastly you have a combination of these in Serenia along with some new approaches (the best puzzles are in Serenia). Having a couple of timed puzzles was a nice new approach, but ended up causing more frustration than necessary. Other than that, the puzzles are done well, creative, and can be solved as long as you pay attention to what is going on in the game. It is extremely helpful that the game let's you take screenshots of any clue you find and view it in-game. The best new feature in the game in my opinion, and I am very glad for it. There is also an in-game hint system for those of you who get stuck, which I fortunately never had to use.
Overall, this game take everything that was good in the others, puts it together and adds in some nice user-friendly features (the hint system, the screenshot system) to create a very good adventure game that can only be expected from something carrying the Myst game. It is just unfortunate that this game does not include a neat making of video to watch upon completion, and as the past games, there is no reason to play this again except for story, since you will know all the answers to the puzzles, though at least the game is a reasonable length of time.
Either way, this is an adventure game worth playing, and if you have the patience for puzzle-centered adventure games, you are in for a treat. Enjoy.
Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 9/10
Sound: 9/10
Value: 6/10
OVERALL: 8.5/10.0 (8.25/10.0)