Rating: 
Summary: Fabulous
Review: I'm not a gamer but after Myst and now Riven, I'm hooked!! Great game! Requires powers of observation, jotting down notes, and even some "nudges" along the way. Loved it!
Rating:
Summary: riveting
Review: Without a doubt, this is the best computer game I have ever played. The plot is complex and absorbing, the virtual world of Riven is so fantastically crafted and exquisitely detailed that it is almost hard to believe. Do yourself a favor and skip the hint books--process is the whole point of this game. Take the time to be intrigued by this strange and beautiful place. Pick up clues, keep your eyes open, and watch the puzzle pieces slowly begin to connect. These days, when there is so much violence in computer games, Riven is refreshing and striking in its artistry. Getting through it is a real mental achievement. As a sequel, Riven is much better than Myst...and that's saying something.
Rating:
Summary: The Gateway to the Mioety Age (Riven)
Review: If you like Myst, you'll like Riven. One of the most interesting areas is the Stone Pillar Gateway Room. This room is the gateway to the Mioety Age. If you put all of the animals in the correct order (you push them down to ground), there will be a bookcase right in front of you which will take you to the gateway of the Mioety Age (or in other words, Pod World). You won't be staying in Pod World for a long time. That's good, because you'll be trapped in a jail cell the whole time you're in Pod World (to be correct, you'll be outside for about one minute and then you'll get shot in the neck by a dart and then taken to the jail cell).
Rating:
Summary: A thinking game
Review: I can't recommend this game enough. You walk away smarter.If you like a game with a lot of action forget it. If you like to feel like you accomplished something, this is the game for you. It's predecessor Myst was excellent preparation for the type of game this is. There is no "Action" per se, just clues and objects to work through. You don't get killed, you don't get points. You do however get an appreciation for how intricate details can be interlinked. Imagine that you end up in a land, where you have to put together the pieces to figure out what happened. This is both Myst and Riven. If you play Myst first, it will help you understand what this is all about. I recommend it highly. It will give you a sense of what you are looking for and why. Myst was a land where you realized that two brothers had done something and were trapped in books for their efforts. Their father and mother also were elsewhere and looking for one another and had left clues in this same area. Your assignment is to piece together, what happened and use your gut feel on how to act in regards to that. There are in fact 4 possible endings to Myst. In my opinion and from what I have seen at home, unless you have a very analytical child, this will not hold their interest. This is an adult game and not from the perspective that you are protecting the child. I honestly think this would be an excellent assignment for a child to hone their thought processes on. However the lack of action and need for real thinking most children will think of as work, not fun. Put on your thinking caps and dive in. I'm waiting for the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Riven
Review: Riven was quite an adventure. Suround sound speakers will bring chills to your spine. I started it with a 166mhz pentium and had freeze problems. Then with a 900mhz computer no problems at all. Great Game
Rating:
Summary: myst and riven
Review: I've played both games more than once, myst as well as riven. I think they are still one of the best games ever in the adventure genre. No violence but still thrilling, very good sound and grafic design, and you're almost meditating while playing the game. Go and get them, I can't wait to get MystIII - Exile and it looks llike I'm going to have to get a new CPU and grafic card to play the sequel in 2001
Rating:
Summary: Wow! Wow wow wow wow!
Review: Myst set the stage for dozens and dozens of adventure games, and with such an act to follow Cyan had a difficult time topping themselves. But amazingly, they did... Riven picks up exactly where the Myst left off. You are in the chanber with Atrius and he sends you to Riven to try and trap his father and rescue his wife and the people of the land. Unfortunately the moment you arrive in Riven you have your trap book taken from you and embark on an island hopping trip to try and recover it and confront Gehn once and for all. The thing that makes Riven so beautiful is that there are living creatures around you now. You can walk around one corner and see a frightened group of villagers runing away from you and hiding, you can catch a child peeking out at you from around a corner, bugs crawl on the walls, and large sea mammals bask on rocks at the beach. Turn the lights off, crank the speakers up, and play riven... you'll find yourself lost in the world of puzzles, of frightened natives, politics... and everything else. Myst was groundbreaking because it was so unique, and Riven is likewise because its ALIVE. Probably the most alive game I've ever played.
Rating:
Summary: Imaginative and sophisticated, better than Myst
Review: At the time I was engrossed in this game, I had a horribly flawed computer, and with constantly having to switch among five CDs and pray that the game wouldn't crash, it wasn't the pleasant experience that it should have been. I heartily recommend Riven even if you have never played Myst. The puzzles are easier, but still challenging, and the story has more depth and complexity. Your goal is to unravel the secrets of a island community which appears to be dominated by someone using high technology to appear as a god to the natives. Anthropologists will especially enjoy this. The lavishly rendered environment is the star of this game, and just exploring the nooks and crannies of rain forests, dark grottoes, and buildings is enjoyable. Don't despair if your progress comes to a screeching halt; for example, if you're in the forest, and looking at an animal carving, remember that the answer is right under your nose! (that's my only cryptic hint for you.) I much preferred how the puzzles in Riven were generally based on the natural features and creatures of the islands, or related to the native culture, rather than the abstract exercises which dominated Myst.
Rating:
Summary: A must play!
Review: Wow this is a great game. Even better than Myst. The graphics are better and also the story. The only down side to Riven is that you have to keep putting in CD.
Rating:
Summary: A quest for the mind.
Review: When you first play Riven, you know your in for an experience unlike any other. Sound that moves with your location; music that calmly plays or alerts you, where ever you are. And puzzles that will haunt you until you finish the game. Riven is not a game for people who just like to have action on the screen, it's for people who like taking time and figuring out puzzles. Given some puzzles can be odd and down right hard, but if you look what is given to you, you'll soon realize it's easier than it is letting on. Besides the puzzles, the amount of things you can do in the game are just breathtaking, with many options for you to fool with and gain access to a new path, or block one completly. The pre-rendered graphics are greatly enhanced this time around, with amazing 3D visuals and a plethora of movies. It feels so life like and natural, you'd swear you were their. From the cone trees of Myst, to the lush forests of Riven, it's a big step in computer gaming. So basically, if your a puzzle fan, get this, it maybe your hardest conquest yet.
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