The MEGA STATISTICAL REVIEW SYSTEM is based on a 100 point
scale. There are five categories on which the subject is judged upon. These
categories are:
Mechanic: How the game works mechanically. This could also be named “gameplay.”
The best way that I can describe this is with an example. Compare Sega’s NFL
’97 to Madden 1997. Madden works better because of the mechanics, how the game
plays. Getting plays to happen is simple and understandable in Madden, while passing
is a fucking geometry experiment in NFL ’97. Compare Croc to Super Mario 64. In
Croc, the combat system is lackluster and physics are a bit off. In Mario 64,
everything works almost perfectly. Stuff like that
Presentation: How the game is presented to the player. This
could be as simple as an awful menu system or more complex, like a confusing
camera, a boring and mandatory tutorial, or something of the like.
Control: How the game controls. It’s as simple as that. Some
games will pass this section with flying colors, and others will fail with a
distinct lack of flying colors.
Design: How the inner workings of the game are designed.
This means level design, character design, difficulty, and others that could
fall into this category.
Atmosphere: Story, audio, and visuals primarily.
The scale starts at fifty points. Each category can gain or
lose up to ten points. The lowest that a category may receive is a -10, highest
is +10. A completely neutral category is scored at 0.
Along with these five categories, I will assign “extra
credit.” These extra credits can have whatever point value I assign to them. If
a game really blows me away in some aspect, or if it exceeds in an aspect that
is not measurable within the five categories (Very rarely should this particular
instance occur), it will receive some extra credit. Extra credit may also be
taken away if it blows me away in the opposite sense.
Does that make sense? No? Hopefully I can explain this to
you with my review of MYST for the 3DS, a bargain port of a PC adventure
classic. Upon original release, MYST was praised for photo-realistic graphics
and being very immersive. Adding a 3D element to a game known primarily for
being immersive is a smart idea. How was it pulled off?
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| Amazon |
CURRENT POINT TOTAL:
50 Points, as nothing has been added or subtracted yet.
Mechanic: In MYST, the main character (which is you) wakes
up on a deserted island called MYST. You must solve a number of complex puzzles
to figure out the mystery of the island, provide justice to the few who are
trapped there, and, most importantly, find your way off. The whole game is based upon solving these
puzzles. In order to get to the levels of the game, called “Ages,” one must
first solve puzzles linking parts of the island to where the portals to these
“Ages” are contained. This may sound confusing, but that’s because it is! A few
of the starting puzzles make sense (The mechanical and channelwood ages) but
the rest require the player to use absurd logic (or excellent hearing in one
case) in order to piece together the clues to get to the actual levels of the
game. Puzzles will be covered more in the “design” category. The mechanics of
MYST work well enough, however, and this gets a positive six, for a score of
very good.
Score: +6
CURRENT POINT TOTAL:
56 points
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| Wikipedia |
Presentation: In this 3DS adaptation of MYST, the
presentation has changed somewhat from the original releases. Very little text ends up being used, outside
of the books in the library and the few loose pages found throughout the game.
The menu and saving systems are intuitive enough, and shouldn’t confuse anyone.
One positive addition comes in the form of new abilities to help the player
throughout the game. When I originally played this, I had to take notes so that
I could remember puzzle clues. Most of these came in the form of crude
drawings, and they weren’t terribly accurate, especially when it came to audio
based puzzles. This version allows the player to take notes in the game itself,
via an onscreen typewriter, though I’ve come to realize that it’s a little
difficult to use. Instead of having to draw out notes, the player may now take
screenshots of what needs to be remembered. This helps out in the parts where
clues from library books need to be used to solve puzzles, and in one certain puzzle
involving a harpsichord. These would be immensely helpful if they worked well.
They don’t. Only one picture can be saved at a time, and the typewriter can
only save three lines at a time. In my first play through the mechanical age
(arguably the simplest one), I had to stretch my resources out. If this port
included a bank of pictures, or even just a notepad that one could scribble on
using the touch screen, it would be incredibly helpful. Honestly, even with
these additions, a pen and notepad is still a better alternative. The maps of
the island and all of the ages are accessible as well. The additions are minor,
but they are at least somewhat helpful. For effort, I suppose it receives a
positive 2 for a score of slightly above average.
Score: +2
CURRENT POINT TOTAL:
58 points
Control: This is a point-and-click style of game. The DS is
a great platform for these types of games, because of the touch screen on the
bottom. That concept is fairly simple, and any decent designer should hopefully
understand this. What I’m about to tell you will shock you.
MYST for 3DS does not utilize the touch screen in actual
gameplay.
The touch screen’s only uses are for saving, taking
screenshots, and utilizing the typewriter mentioned in the previous section.
This is one of the only point-and-click games available at the moment on 3DS,
and it picks the circle pad over the incredibly more accurate touch screen.
That baffles me. Yes, in order to play this game, the player utilizes the
circle pad and the A button. This leads to incredible inaccuracy. On top of
that, there’s a problem with collision detection in some cases! I don’t know
how a company can fuck up the control on a point-and-click game, but Maximum
Games did it. Congratulations. Are you
happy with yourselves?
This gets a score of negative 8 for a score of awful.
Score: -8
CURRENT POINT TOTAL:
50 points
Design: Some of the puzzles in the actual ages are pretty
good. Some are nonsensical in nature, however, and those tend to stick out
more. Do not play this game in public, as many of the puzzles are audio based. These
puzzles are generally challenging and rewarding, and it feels great when you
solve one for the most part. Keep a guide handy just in case, as some of them
are really unfairly difficult. There’s little to say on something positive like
this, but they’re pretty good. Therefore, this earns a score of positive 4, for
pretty good.
Score: +4
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| Amazon |
CURRENT POINT TOTAL:
54 points
Atmosphere: MYST was praised at release for having great
atmospheric qualities. The photorealistic graphics, lifelike sounds, and
ominous music led MYST to be considered a work of art by many. In 2000, it was
recreated in the form of RealMYST, which was rendered in real time, unlike in
the original, in which all screens were pre-rendered. This version is a little
strange, as it takes the images from RealMYST and pre-renders them like in the
original. It plays like the original game, but with upscaled graphics. However,
these graphics are heavily compressed. The whole game looks like it’s played
through tiny jpeg images blown up to unnatural sizes. The sound is still pretty
good, however. The story has not been changed in any way, and it remains one of
my favorite video game stories of all time. MYST uses no direct human interaction
until the very end, all communication done via scattered letters and messages
left behind, books, and portals in books. The final aspect is the 3D
integration. An immersive experience such as this would be enhanced
greatly
with the use of 3D. But this port uses absolutely no 3D integration.
None.
This may as well be a DS game. In fact, there is already a
DS game. You can find this DS game for around ten dollars fewer on Amazon, and
the promotional images seem to show that it uses the touch screen for
navigation! Nobody else seems to like that port either, but if you really want
to play MYST on your 3DS, you’ll get an arguably better experience with the DS
version. You can also find this for 5 dollars on the iPhone along with the
sequel, and at the very least, you won’t have to deal with the crushing
disappointment that comes from realizing that there is no 3D integration.
The game’s original atmosphere is great, but the failed
porting and lost potential makes this incredibly terrible. It gets a negative
8.
Score: -8
CURRENT POINT TOTAL:
46 points
Extra Credits:
Missed Potential: -10 points. This could have been great.
Instead, the laziness on the developer’s part in porting this game makes it
feel even worse.
FINAL POINT TOTAL: 36
points out of 100
Do not purchase this.
