Rating: 
Summary: Best game in the MYST series!
Review: URU brings outstanding graphics, amazing storyline and entertaining puzzles to the Myst series, by far surpassing its predecessor games.Granted, the game requires a strong video card-but with the right system, URU's graphics are fluid and photorealistic with reasonable loading times. Nothing is static in URU. Tree's sway in the wind, creatures roam the environments, water moves, things break, weather and time change. The water effects are especially astounding! It's hard to believe that URU is in real-time 3D. The visual effects will blow you away. URU introduces another member of Atrus' family, Yeesha, to modern-day explorers. Yeesha was able to alter the D'ni art of "Age writing" which allowed her civilization to create portals to other worlds and universes. Yeesha has an agenda for restoration of D'ni...but not everyone is in agreement with her on how the restoration should take place. She's left holographic messages for players and sends them on a journey to learn about the ways of the D'ni...
Rating: 
Summary: Useless
Review: My review may change, but so far I have not even been able to use this game. Despite having a brand new computer, updated sound and video drivers, exhausting UbiSoft's VERY limited free technical help, and having Microsoft evaluate my computer as having 4x the lowest requirements to use this software, I am still unable to run it. It continues to crash to the desktop. I have been a HUGE Myst fan for YEARS, but this is enough to turn me off completely. I'm calling in a computer whiz friend of mine, but if that doesn't work, I'm sending it back. Until they get the bugs worked out, save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Over the top
Review: I cannot run this game on a fairly new and very expensive laptop computer (HP OmniBook 6100), because the video card apparently doesn't fulfill the system requirements. I'm not a gaming person, so what UBI wrote about the requirement doesn't make sense to me, and my card wasn't listed in their list of non-supported devices. It crashed anyway. It seems that UBI has overdone it this time; apparently the super-duper 3D environment requires a super-duper graphics environment that 'normal' people like me don't have. I was a very big fan of Myst etc., and am very, very, very disappointed that I'm excluded from it from now on. I just hope I can get back my $50... My advice: don't buy this game, unless you tried it first.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Graphics, but...
Review: First of all, I'd like to say that the graphics and sound are fantastic. Unfortunately, the rest of the game distracts from the nice music and pretty pictures. The gameplay is awkward at best (Hint: use 1st person, not 3rd like they suggest...) and the puzzles are illogical (don't even think about asking me about the firefly problem...). There were always answers to the puzzles in the game, but it was very difficult to find the right questions. Also, dropping 100 feet on to stone apparently doesn't do anything to your knees. Please, please bring back Myst III - Exile.
Rating:
Summary: **Check the System Requirements**
Review: Make sure you check the system requirements BEFORE you purchase this game. While Myst, Riven, and Exile will work with a Pentium II/Windows 98/etc., Uru requires Windows XP/Me/2000/98SE, 800 MHz Pentium III or AMD Athlon, 256 MB RAM, etc. Again, MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS before YOU PURCHASE THIS GAME!! I am sure it is as great as the other Myst games; unfortunately, I won't be able to find out until I can afford to update/buy a new computer!
Rating:
Summary: The new, neverending story... for the Explorer in you!
Review: The first thing you must understand about "Uru: Ages Beyond Myst" is that it is NOT Myst IV. Uru is really more of a "spin-off" than a sequel. Let me explain... While the first three Myst adventures (Myst, Riven, and Exile) actually take place over a hundred years ago and you play the part of a mysterious and helpful stranger, Uru takes place in present day and you actually (in essence) play yourself. Strangely compelled to the New Mexico desert to a "cleft" in the ground at the base of a dead volcano, you (among others) discover the remnants of the ancient D'ni civilization. A group of archaeologists, the DRC (D'ni Restoration Council), have begun the process of exploring and rebuilding the remnants of this ancient civilization. You are now part of this rebuilding due to the "interference" of one Prof. Jeff Zandi... and the DRC isn't very excited about all the new explorers running around. Then there are the ancient holographic messages left by Yeesha, the daughter of Atrus. (Yes, THAT Atrus.) It seems that Yeesha has foreseen the rebuilding of the D'ni civilization as well -- even though she is gone and has been for some time. She has her own vision for the future of D'ni... but it is definitely not the same vision that the DRC has... Then there are the mysterious linking books - the books that link to new worlds, other realities... the Ages of the D'ni.. Uru is, in a way, two games. Uru can be played as a single, offline game that has much the same feel and entertainment value as the previous installments of the Myst franchise - only larger and more breathtaking in scope. This time the entire game is in real time, immersive 3D and allows for complete freedom of movement and the ability to explore pretty much everywhere. The game prompts you to create a character that represents you (hair, clothing, skin tone, build, etc.) allowing you to play the game in third-person mode, something new for the Myst series; but if you prefer first person point-of view like the other Myst games, you may choose that option as well. The second part of the game is "Uru: Live" -- an online subscription based continuation of the Uru adventure. What does this offer? 1) Interaction with actual players from all over the world. You will actually meet their "avatars" at certain locations within the game and may choose to explore and solve puzzles together. You will be able to voice chat, create buddy lists, have actual virtual gatherings, share pictures, and more. 2) New, exclusive content. There are areas right now that you may explore as part of "Uru:Live" that are not available in the offline single player version. 3) Continually added content. New worlds to explore as more mysterious D'ni linking books are discovered and as the underground city of Ae'gura is opened and approved for exploration by the DRC. 4) A continuing story. What is this new quest that you will undertake for the mysterious Yeesha after completing the single player version of Uru? How will Yeesha's plans for the rebuilding of D'ni clash with the DRC's goals? Who (or what) are the mysterious Bahro and what is their agenda? I have barely scratched the surface. It's a difficult game to describe. If you want a first person shooter, don't buy this game. If you want action, don't buy this game. If you want a compelling story, mind-bending puzzles, and a jaw-dropping exploration experience -- buy this game.
Rating:
Summary: So disappointed!!
Review: I am so disappointed. I asked for and received this game as a gift but I do not have the system requirements to make it work. I would have to spend about $400.00 to upgade my windows 98, my video card and my sound card. It is not worth it to me. I cannot even get it started to see if I would like it. This game will not play under windows 98 as Amazon says it will. I guess you need atleast windows 98se or 2000. Be very carefull before ordering and make sure you have ALL of the system requirements.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: For those who are complaining about the interface and the controls, they really are not that bad! It was a little odd at first, but being totally customizable, it takes only a few minutes to get used to the interface. The game itself is amazing! The graphics and the music blend perfectly into another Myst world. I have played every Myst game since the original, and this, as the others, just got better than the last. The people who are playing the demo only and not buying the game based on that, have no idea what you are missing.. Yes it starts a little odd, but it does get better I promise! The 3d environments are STUNNING.. a couple of times in the game, I audibly gasped at the beauty I saw before me. Being an avid puzzle solver, this game did not let me down. (though I will admit to using the hints on the website once)... AMAZING... if I could give it more than 5 stars I would.. One word however, the system requirements are sort of steap, so check before you buy.. Even if you have to purchase a couple of other things to make this (and just about any other game due to come out in the next year), play on your system.. it's well worth the upgrade!
Rating: 
Summary: Great game, marred by a few issues
Review: For the past several months, I've been lucky enough to beta-test this graphically stunning and intellectually challenging game. Yes, there's no doubt that the controls take some getting used to (but you can re-configure them all in-game), and the idea of seeing yourself takes some getting used to, as well. The online launch is proceeding, albeit very slowly and deliberately in stages to ensure that everything works properly. The game, while not a direct sequel to the Myst series (it's more of a parallel storyline), is a stunning foray into adventure gaming and a ground-breaking one as well. To my knowledge, there have been no "Massively Multiplayer" adventure games. Imagine a game that requires you to work together with three or more players to solve logic puzzles to unlock access to other worlds. That's something you can look forward to. "Uru Prime" (the single-player portion) is utterly gorgeous, and tells a tale of a culture's pride before their fall. The story also exposes a much darker side to the D'ni culture that hasn't been seen before (if you've played any of the previous games), including slave-trade, extermination of other races, and corruption within the supposedly "utopia" of the D'ni Guild system (which was hinted at, in the books). The single-player storyline perfectly sets up the online portion, while allowing a decently satisfying gaming experience for those who decide to not explore deeper, and participate in the online portion, dubbed "Uru Live". The biggest portion that attracts me about the online portion is the sheer storyline potential for it. With so many of the other MMORPGs out there, the story is a sketchy framework wrapped around the gameplay. So much of the gameplay in those games seems too repetitious to me. In Uru, the gameplay serves the storyline, not the other way 'round. The game's creator, Rand Miller (who created "Myst" and "Riven" with his brother Robyn), envisions the online portion much like episodic TV. He even calls each new story installment as "episodes" The announcement recently that has made waves is that there will be a multi-lateral approach to "Uru Live" episodes; you'll receive in-game mail, get to read posts on a message board, and you'll also run across other players in-game. The biggest difference is that these players will actually be acting out the story, to help further it. In fact, I ran into one of these last night, in my first foray into "Uru Live". Was interesting, to say the least. The other big thing that has got my attention versus other MMOGs, is that the sheer evolution of the environments. The new worlds will become available at an estimated one every other month, and there will be smaller changes to the online game environment weekly, according to the game's designer. No RPG, this: there's no levelling-up, no killing, and no dying. No experience points, no buying better armor/weapons, and no PvP killing. It's all about the story, about using yer "noggin" and working with your fellow explorers to solve the puzzles.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't work right - don't waste your money
Review: I could not get this to run at all on my Windows 2000 system - even with Uru updates and the latest graphics card drivers. It just crashes.
On my HP tablet running XP - it will run, but only after installing the Uru updates and then soooo slow. Even when there is NOTHING happening on the screen, except for a static view, the mouse crawls across the screen so slowly that the game is literally unusable. It also has an annoying hysteresis so that it overshoots where you are aiming at. What are these guys playing at? This software just isn't ready for prime time!
I've given this 1 star because this is the lowest score I can give it. It doesn't really even deserve this.
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