Alida (Mac)

Rating:
Summary: Yearning for another Myst? Buy Alida!
Review: Alida is the next best thing to the Myst series. If you love Myst, Riven, and Myst III Exile and are (like me) soooo disappointed that Ubisoft has decided not to release the new versions on MAC, then buy Alida.

Some people complain about lack of graceful writing and sophisticated story line - I think Alida has improved on a few things about the Myst series:

1. I think Alida has just the right level of written clues. In Myst, I find the pages and pages of diaries you have to read to find a few clues mind-numbing.
2. Speed and performance of the game are great - absolutely no technical problems, hang ups, or need to download patches!
3. There is no tedious maze to nagigate in Alida.

Support independents who write such great games for the MAC! Alida is a tremendous accomplishment.

Rating:
Summary: few choices on Mac - too bad this one isn't better
Review: If you enjoy Myst-type games, Alida is not bad.

The artwork is good (though surprisingly, the game requires you to set yoour display to 800x600!) There are lots of well-drawn and intriguing gadgets to play with. The soundtrack is good too, though I would have expected a lot better in a game based on a rock band. The puzzles are interesting, about the same level of difficulty as the Myst trilogy, though they feel a little stale. Some of the puzzles require annoying back and forth travelling to solve (but that was true of the Myst trilogy as well).

Unfortunately, the writing is poor. Unlike the beautiful language found in the Myst worlds, Alida's intro, dialog, and journal entries seem like they were written by a 10th grader.

The game scenario is also full of holes. No, I take that back... it's just plain dumb: a billion-dollar rock-band theme park filled with narrow stone tunnels, archaic, rusting gadgets, single-person transportation devices? Where you just happen to stumble across levitation and teleportation devices, based on unknown "quantum principles?"

OK, enough complaining. The game is worth buying and playing, especially if you own a Mac (where your choices are limited). The art is good, the music is good, the puzzles are good, and the game is generally fun. Just don't expect to be blown away.

Rating:
Summary: few choices on Mac - too bad this one isn't better
Review: If you enjoy Myst-type games, Alida is not bad.

The artwork is good (though surprisingly, the game requires you to set yoour display to 800x600!) There are lots of well-drawn and intriguing gadgets to play with. The soundtrack is good too, though I would have expected a lot better in a game based on a rock band. The puzzles are interesting, about the same level of difficulty as the Myst trilogy, though they feel a little stale. Some of the puzzles require annoying back and forth travelling to solve (but that was true of the Myst trilogy as well).

Unfortunately, the writing is poor. Unlike the beautiful language found in the Myst worlds, Alida's intro, dialog, and journal entries seem like they were written by a 10th grader.

The game scenario is also full of holes. No, I take that back... it's just plain dumb: a billion-dollar rock-band theme park filled with narrow stone tunnels, archaic, rusting gadgets, single-person transportation devices? Where you just happen to stumble across levitation and teleportation devices, based on unknown "quantum principles?"

OK, enough complaining. The game is worth buying and playing, especially if you own a Mac (where your choices are limited). The art is good, the music is good, the puzzles are good, and the game is generally fun. Just don't expect to be blown away.