Rating: 
Summary: very worthy sequel
Review: ...The Pro's: Great game, good gameplay, beautiful graphics, 360 degree look feature adds so much depth and immersion, I had no trouble installing or playing (as long as it was in software mode), great puzzles, very logical and integrated, never boring, constant discovery, always surprising. ..The Cons: maybe a bit short,seemingly anticlimatic ending, acting and music were a bit goofy and over the top, overall design not as clever or daring as Myst (Baroque bedrooms and rockets?), Saavedro's murals were out of place with their comic book style- should have been "primitive" like those riven drawings!, Collector's edition isn't that special... Overall, the pro's definately outweigh the cons. I had a great time playing exile and would recommend it to any myst fan. It definately belongs in the series, and i think presto did a great job. I would even go so far as to say that it has the BEST gameplay out of all 3 of the Myst games. As far as how challenging the game is, I would say it is harder than myst, but easier than Riven. Definately worth the money and time.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent game, felt a little short
Review: Although Cyan did not create this game, it feels very much a part of the myst world. Everything is in the classic Myst/Riven style. The game felt shorter than the first 2, but looking back I think that was mainly because the new VR interface wasted less time. Be warned that the last world is very short.
Rating:
Summary: An Adventure Masterpiece
Review: Before I say any more, let me just lay down the line: this game is simply amazing. From an aesthetic standpoint, the visuals are stunning from beginning to end. There is hardly an inch of Exile which is not visually captivating. Overall, gameplay is great. Controls are very intuitive and easy to handle. Most puzzles are logical and solvable with one's own mind. However, there are a couple that can reduce you to frustrating trial and error. The panoramic technology provides complete 360o viewing from predefined hubs, which some hard-core gamers may look down their nose at, but this slide show technique allows the environments' beauty to remain entact, not reduced by the burdens of real-time rendering. Exile is not a game to be played. It is meant to be explored, to be experienced. The story is engaging, and the character acting is above par for most computer games. Both Rand Miller and Brad Dourif fit their roles like gloves, and the villain is detestable and tragic at the same time.Pros:
Good story and convincing characters (especially the villain).
Amazing visuals.
Great sounds and soundtrack.
Logical puzzles and solutions.
Focus on non-violent solutions to problems.
Family suitable. Cons:
Some frustrating puzzles.
Minor bugs in Mac 1.0 version
Can become a time-consuming obsession. In conclusion, this is a game almost anyone can enjoy. It is a great product appropriate for the whole family to enjoy, and it is a refreshing breath of air in an industry heavy with the smoke of machine gun fire and bomb explosions. Get this game, and enjoy the experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Exile
Review: Exile has not been release yet, but i have played both Myst and Riven, which Exile is based on. I think the original Myst was and is the greatest game I have ever played. Riven was, also, very interesting, although not on par with the original Myst. If Exile is anywhere close to the level of either Myst or Riven it will be a great game. I am giving Exile five stars in advance because both Myst and Riven deserved six stars. I am ordering Exile and will be playing it the very first day it is realeased.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Exile was wonderful, great puzzles and beautiful worlds. The graphics were great and the puzzles were hard but not too difficult.
Rating:
Summary: Great game, but buyer beware
Review: First, I'll say I really liked the game, and like many other fans, was VERY eager to get my hands on it. BUT (isn't there always a "BUT") after installing it, my system constantly crashed while trying to start the game. My problem, was three fold, so here are some things to think about before you buy. 1. Aparently, Myst3 in NOT compatible with hardware rendering by Voodoo 2 & 3 chipset video cards. (I have a Voodoo 3500) So to run the game in software mode, you must hold the "Ctrl" key while starting the game. (I was able to run the game well enough but, not to brag, I have a pretty good machine that made up for the lack of hardware acceleration) 2. The game has some kind of issue with the Kenwood 72X CD-Rom drives. Of witch I'm a (usually) proud owner. So running it from one of these drives isn't possible at least in my case. I was able to install from it but it won't run. If all you have is one of these drives, try installing the FULL program to your hard drive, (aprox 2GB needed) 3. The game MUST have the disk in the drive to run, even if you install to the hard drive. However, if you have multiple hard drives, or partitions, causing your CD-Rom drive letter to be HIGHER than H: (I-Z) it will not recognize that the CD is presant to verify the security key. Well, there you have it. For the record, my machine is a P3 800Mhz system with 256MB Ram. This seems to make up for the problem with the Voodoo cards. Over all I liked the game, and look forward to more installments (let's all keep our fingers crossed) there are some HARD parts so the collectors edition is a better buy in my opinion, since the Prima guide alone is $... so it's a wash to buy the regular game and then the guide, plus you get some great extras ("Making of" CD, soundtrack, and pewter statuetof a squee). I hope this was of help to some of you. Have fun!
Rating:
Summary: Surpassed my wildest expectations!
Review: For years I have escaped into the magical worlds of Myst and Riven. Riven was my favourite of the two due to its cultural history, lush rainforests and creatures like the beetle and sunners. So when Myst III: Exile came out I looked at the screenshots with anticipation. I ordered the Collectors Edition to get the added strategy guide, soundtrack CD, pewter squee, and making-of feature. Even though the price was rather high, everything was top-notch quality even though it was produced by a new company (UbiSoft/Presto instead of Cyan). The new Ages of Exile were seamless continuations in the Myst story and the game stayed true to the characters, visuals, puzzles and even the music. My favourite age was Edanna, the world of plants that takes place inside a tree in the middle of the ocean. The music in this age is ethereal. There are two new creatures: a phoenix-like bird called a grossamery and a small furry rodent called a squee, that you interact with and are crucial to solving some puzzles. There are three training ages: Amateria, Voltaic, and Edanna, Atrus's new home in Tomhana, the hub world of J'nanin, and the villan Saavedro's homeworld of Narayan to explore. Each of the worlds has a unique visual style and theme. Amateria was the most beautiful of the mechanical ages, with Japanese pagodas and paper lanterns, and menacing storm clouds that touch the ocean, sending forth the occasional bolt of lightning that lights up the water and sky. Thunder ripples menacingly, and the sunset is gorgeous. Voltaic was my least favourite, being very mechanical and alien. The 360-degree free look system (this is the same company that produced Journeyman Project 3) really brought the worlds to life. Instead of clicking through a series of slideshows, the player can look in any direction. The sounds are direction-sensitive as well. Also, when characters are talking to you or animations are playing you can still look in any direction. The puzzles were hard (yes, I cheated my way through yet again) and I resorted to the strategy guide after the first two minutes. For me the fun is in exploring and appreciating the beauty of the worlds...if I'm sitting frustrated for hours trying to solve a puzzle, that dampens the fun I'm having. One new feature is that after you correctly solve a part of the puzzle or do something correctly, you immediately see the results of your work. Of the extras included with the Collectors Edition, the soundtrack was my favourite. It can be purchased separately as well. The music closely followed the musical legacy of Rand Miller's scores for Myst and Riven--the main themes from both are seamlessly interwoven into the new themes. The score to Exile is heavy on world music, featuring dijeridus, flute, percussion, as well as whalesongs, squeaky gates, and windchimes. There are choirs and boy soprano soloists singing in the D'ni and Narayan langauges. This soundtrack is as mystical, magical, and involving as any of John Williams's or Danny Elfman's scores. It is a worthy investment for fans of Myst and Riven, for anyone who loves to explore and solve puzzles, or for fans of Tolkien as well. This is the best adventure game I've played in the last few years.
Rating:
Summary: The evolution of the Myst series
Review: Having played the original Myst and Riven, I have watched the technological advancements with awe. Exile has spectacular scenery and the added feature of 360 panning really brought you into the game. The music was enchanting as always. I found the puzzles in many places a bit overwhelming. While I was able to move through the Myst\Riven puzzles with a little thought and persistance, alot of Exile's puzzles were very complicated to me. There was alot more things to explore in Riven with the puzzles being an added bonus. In Exile, its all about the puzzles. I found this a little daunting. Overall, serious gameplayers will find this game a challenge but its not for weekend warriors.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful but Too Easy
Review: I am a huge fan of the world of the D'Ni. Read the books, played the games, blah blah blah. I had high hopes and expectations for Exile. The graphics were beautiful, even on my 400 mHz G3 PowerBook. The VR landscapes rotated smoothly and the video was good except for the well-documented audio sync problem. Good stuff. My only problem (and the reason for the low rating) is the fact that I finished the game in only a few days of not-very-intense playing. Riven took two or three times as long. Granted that some of the difference may be because navigation is easier in Exile than it was in Riven, so it didn't take as long to look around. But overall the puzzles seemed easier or just less complex. In any case, if you are a fan, the game is worth it just for the background - it fills in some holes in the overall story of Atrus. We finally know what his sons were up to.
Rating:
Summary: Careful with Windows XP
Review: I didn't carefully review the system requirements before ordering this game. I run Windows XP (home edition), and at first I thought I was not going to be able to get it to work at all. The game seemed to install OK, but it would not run after the installation. However, I was able to get it up and running by downloading the patch (available at ubisoft), and by adjusting the compatibilty after right-clicking on the executable file.
If the above tinkering makes no sense to you, it might be better to not order this edition. But it *was* actually easy to do, following instructions available online.
The game speaks for itself. It's another Myst! And that is good.
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