Rating: 
Summary: SAD TO SEE IT END
Review: Ok in the beginning I was upset that my graphics card wasn't up to snuff to play Uru, so I upgraded and voila I played the game and liked it a lot! Yes, running and jumping to complete puzzles was at first annoying, but the graphics were so unbelievable that I ignored what I didn't like. I then registered to join the "Prologue" of Uru Live and went online about 6 weeks ago. There were lag/server issues that were extremely annoying, but I had a great time meeting other players and co playing with them in some of the ages. The game took on a much more significant role in my gaming because the ages were no longer ghost towns with me as the single player, but were communities. The Avatars, personal physical representations of the players, were so lifelike that I could recognize some of my "buddies"(those that I chose to communicate with and/or solve puzzles with) by just their appearances. Although I did find it interesting that everyone, including myself, made our Avatars slim and youthful. I only met one gray haired person and no one appeared to be in the least bit in need of Slim Fast. HMMM.....I know it sounds that I should "get a life" and for some players I would think this to myself because of the seriousness and in-depth attitude some placed upon the whole URU/Myst/Riven genre, however, it was still fun. Here's where the fun ends unfortunately. As of either today or tomorrow, Uru players have been informed that the live version has been "put to bed". Apparently they were unable to financially support this effort because of a lack of paying subscribers. For myself and all other players that I've spoken to it's very disappointing. Free expansion packs are said to be on the way to assuage our disappointment, however, nothing can replace the online community gaming that all will miss. So if you're planning on buying URU for the opportunity to play "live", forget it and just enjoy the single player version.
Rating: 
Summary: GREATEAT GAME I HAVE PLAYED IN A WHILE
Review: Now I was never a big Myst fan, in fact I only played Myst 1 only for a few hrs before giving up, but this is the best game that I have seen or played in a long while. Stunning Graphics and gameplay. Although I have to warn you that it can be fustration at times to solve these puzzles you need to look around online for tips. I would buy this again if I had the chance.
Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS NOT AN ONLINE GAME - ADS WERE BS
Review: BEWARE! This game has been advertised almost completely as an online game, and yet when the game went onsale the online component was not yet implemented. But the promise that it soon would be remained. NOW the makers of this game confess that it was all bs. This game will NEVER have an online component. They decided to get subscriptions FIRST, before even providing the service, and because they did not get enough have cancelled the online version. Can you IMAGINE a movie company making you pay for your movie ticket FIRST, then telling you the movie did not exist, and then only if they sell enough going ahead and actually making the movie?????? This is VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY bad business!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I have all the hardware to run Uru and it runs just fine. However, my complaint isn't with that, it's with the change in format. I don't even have a problem with them rendering on the fly, but why did they have to do it so badly? I mean, seriously, I have anisotropic filtering and 4x anti-aliasing on, and it still looks worse than Exile. It's not "jaggies", it's just the harsh lines that they rendered it in. Fire up Exile and look at how beautiful everything is and how well-rendered, and then compare it to Uru. I don't know, maybe I just expected too much, but I'm just disappointed and think they sacrificed graphic quality to satisfy the requirements for online gaming (that is, rendering on the fly). You expect some harsh lines in a first-person shooter like Unreal II (which I think is prettier, gore and all, than Uru), but when you're gonna be staring at the same thing for a few hours trying to figure out a puzzle, at least give us some eye-candy to look at. And what happened to freakin' HUMAN actors?! Is there any game that doesn't use awful-looking CGI characters, anymore? Again, check out Unreal II for some amazing looking characters, and rendered on the fly. Oh, well, I forked out the fifty bucks, I might as well get a walk-through and plow through it. Man, I'm bummed.
Rating:
Summary: MAJOR disappointment, and NO live game...
Review: First of all, I had no problems getting the game to run on my system. That would be the good news I suppose. Unfortunately, the game itself is a major disappointment. Sure the graphics are nice, but the game really has none of the mystery and awe of the previous Myst games and the puzzles are VERY lacking. In Uru, the puzzles often make no sense. There is very little story, if any, and what we are basically stuck with is a hunt for (inconsequential) items. Obviously, the whole point of this game was a jumping off point for the Live game, in which new stories and ages would be introduced, therefore, what we have in the Prime game amounts to about half a game at best. And now the punch line - It has just been announced that the plug is being pulled on the Live game. Yes, that's right. No continuing adventures on-line, no new ages, no new stories. What you have in Uru is IT. And, what you get in Uru is not worth it. It was a bold experiment (the on-line game), but it has failed, so be warned before you buy - NO LIVE GAME.
Rating:
Summary: Check Your Video Card Before Buying
Review: The specs that appear on Amazon require: "Video Card: 32 MB NVIDIA GeForce 1, 2, 3, 4, or FX; ATI Radeon 7000-9800 or better." I don't know what they mean by "or better" if you don't have one of those specified video cards the game will not run. It took us one week of chasing down their support team to get that simple answer. And, if you think unraveling Myst, Exile, and Riven are tough, wait until you need to get hold of UbiSoft Tech Support. They put you through days of trying to find them, contact them, send them files (which they never receive...or claim to not receive) and in the end when you don't give up and go away quietly, they tell you what they knew all along. "You must have one of the specified video cards. So go buy one and leave us alone." It's almost like playing one of their games except that their website and the techs that man it entirely lack the charm and interesting nature of the previous game worlds. Entirely. Some people will say you should run out and buy the right video card without complaint. That's okay. A geek's solution is always that everyone else is a dummy for not sharing his narrow priorities. The truth is that UbiSoft should have designed a product to meet the requirements of the market and not require the market to meet their product's requirements. They know they blew it and they are trying to weather the storm. Well, they might and they might not. I can only tell you one thing for certain. They lost one family of steady and previously devoted customers by this strategy. And you know what? That's all right too because I don't really think they had anything more to show us.
If you don't take my experience to heart. I can still help you. Check Ebay. There will be at least one copy for sale and probably a whole lot more...
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed Myst Fan
Review: Having played all the previous Myst games, I had to get this one despite some occasional harsh reviews. Well now that I have played it (or at least partially played it; I don't think I'll bother to finish it), I agree with the critics. The player control are hideous. Trying to control the character while pushing items (stupid!) is an exercise in frustration. I loved the previous titles puzzles which required thinking; not struggling with movement controls to push objects or jump. This would have been better if they had just used the well-accepted standard first-person-shooter WASD control scheme. I got so peeved I threw it in a drawer where it may stay forever. Some of the puzzles are ridiculous. I loved the other Myst puzzles (especially Riven) but some of these are stupid. Fireflies sticking to your body!? Trying to make a bridge with a stool with these player controls!? Dumb and frustration. If you liked the other titles in the series, go ahead and get it, however, be warned; you will probably hate it.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it!
Review: I loved this game. Graphics, story, gameplay - everything! I didn't have any control issues and followed the story just fine. I've played all the games and have read all the books and that certainly helped. Very Myst like to me. I have an Athlon 2100xp with an ATI 9600XT video and it works like a charm.
Rating:
Summary: don't buy before checking compatibility!
Review: Never got to play the game, as it doesn't support 90% of the video cards out there. Their site "helpfully" recommends that you buy one of the TWO OR THREE cards supported, and by the way, you'll have to kick in an extra $50 for a new 400-Watt power supply. Tech support? You can't even send them an e-mail even after registering the product. Guess you have to fork over your credit card before they're willing to have a person type back at you. Hunt around long enough on their site and you'll find a list of everything not supported (and the pathetically short list of what is). IMHO these lists should be in bold print on the front cover of the retail package. My opinion: Blatant consumer fraud. A real shame, as I really liked Myst and Exile (riven was just ok). $50 plus tax down the tubes.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, fun, captivating...
Review: As an avid Myst fan (and Mac user) since the first game came out in 1993, I have awaited Uru somewhat impatiently. Having finished Uru Prime (aka the single player game), and now wandering around the Live version, I am thrilled with what the game has provided, and what it promises to continue to provide as more worlds are added. In response to many concerns by folks, I have this to say... 1) Regarding video cards and load speeds-- as many others have said, know what your computer's capabilities are before you buy the game. I agree with other posters who emphasis that video card requirements (not to mention processor speeds and RAM) are not new to the world of gaming-- especially high quality graphic games. Know your computer's specs. Not every computer is going to be able to play this game. However, PC's are inexensive to upgrade and build. If yours is outdated with Uru, it's going to be outdated with several games coming down the pipe-- think about the upgrade, or have a new computer built for you so you can customize it. Mine was $500 total. Find a computer geek-- most are happy to help since they enjoy building the machines anyway! 2) In response to the issues with having 3rd person "avatars". The option is built into the game to play it in the traditional Myst-like 1st person mode, or in 3rd person. I enjoyed having the option, and found that both were extremely helpful during different puzzles. Simply press F1, and the viewpoint changes. 3) The jumping and need to carry things without being able to carry them is irksome, and was probably my largest complaint about the game. I will give credit to those who find this as a real fault-- because it did seem fairly pointless. 4) Fellow Mac users-- the reality is that unless you have a higher-level G4 or the new G5, this would not work on your computer at all. It's only been extremely recently that Apple realized that video card upgrades might be a good idea. Don't blame Cyan for this-- this is an Apple problem, and hopefully one that will get fixed as time goes on. They didn't create it for the Mac because the Mac specs at the time of production would not have met any standards for the game. It sucks, I know-- but is no reason to give the game a single star. So far Uru Live has been a bit buggy, but fun nevertheless. The city is beautiful-- both in color and in design. I look forward to what Cyan has in store for us! See you around the Cavern (Kestra on all shards)
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