Recommendations for Myst-haters?

Okay, I know it's not popular, but I am a Myst anti-fan. I have nothing against beautiful graphics, but I do have something against first-person adventures that are devoid of people (and thus dialog) and that focus on mechanical puzzles. Give me a third-person inventory-based adventure where I have to question lots of people and I am a happy girl. Happy, happy girl.

Here's the question: what recent games (meaning, still on the shelves) do you think would appeal to one such as me? I installed an old game yesterday -- Shivers -- with great excitement, then realized it was very Myst-like and became instantly frustrated. Especially for newer games, I don't want to go through this. I have so little time to allow for game-playing as it is.

I look forward to your suggestion, oh wise fellow gamers! Thank you.

Alix

Hi Alix....

Right off the top of my head....Syberia and The Longest Journey. Sorry I don't know more, but I'm one of those Myst lovers...

~Dee

Alix,

I too prefer 3rd person games, so don't feel bad. (I have played and enjoyed some 1st person games too, but Myst is not one of them).

Right now I'm playing "Largo Winch - Empire Under Threat". If you don't mind keyboard controls and some action (turn based combat, so no fast reflexes needed) you might like this one. It only been released in Europe, so you'd have to order it online. (try softwarefirst.com)

Law & Order is actualy 1st person, but there are lots of inventory items to collect , and lots of people to question, in both the police investigation part of the game, and later in the trial part. If you're a fan of the show, you'll probably like this one.

If you can find Mystery of the Druids on sale anywhere, you might like that. It's a 3rd person mystery game. It got mixed reviews, but I know a number of folks here enjoyed it.

A recent release that many of us have had fun with is "Eye of the Kracken". It's a 3rd person 'cartoon' adventure set on board a ship. Made by a small independent company. You can check it out here: Eye of the Kracken!

Good luck!
Louis

Besides Syberia and TLJ there is Watchmaker.

Maybe Largo Winch or Eye of the Kraken.

If you don't mind a game that's a little bit older, there's Nightlong.

I will check out these recommendations, thank you.

While I enjoy third person games, I have a feeling that it's not the "first-person-ness" that bothers me in other games. I think it's the lack of other people and stuff to mess with that alienates me. So, even if it is first-person, I will give it a go if it has the right other elements.

Are there any games in the following list that you would suggest I remove, based on my preferences? (or because they are bad?)

- Alfred Hitchcock: The Final Cut
- Dracula Resurrection
- Dracula The Last Sanctuary
- The Last Express
- Discworld Noir
- Ripley

If you're looking for conversations with people, the Alfred Hitchcok game definitely has it. As well as 'The Watchmaker' (which other people mentioned.)

'Jazz and Faust' is a 'conversational' type game (you play it twice, once as Jazz and once as Faust.)

Both Dracula games would probably work for you also. I think the Ripley game would fit into your category also.

Other games you might consider are the 'Gabriel Knight' series (the last was 'Gabriel Knight3.'

A couple of others you might consider are 'Arthur's Knights - Tales of Chivalry' and the follow-on, 'Arthur's Knights II - The Secret of Merlin.' The only problem is both games are very similar except that one takes place in the winter and the other in (what looks like) the summer. There are a few minor differences but the makers for the most part used the same locations.

The Cameron Files and Sanitarium I think would also be good choices.

These are just my opinions, other people may have different ideas.

Good luck.

Robert

Robert, thank you for reviewing my list.

Games I have enjoyed in the past include the Gabriel Knight series, Grim Fandango, Tex Murphy games (started with Meanstreets), Laura Bow series, Monkey Island series, Blade Runner, and lots of old games. I did most of my adventure gaming between 1981-1995. I haven't been able to play many adventures in the last 7 years, which has put me out of the loop.

You guys are great!

Maybe you should delete Morpheus. Great game, good story, but Myst-like in the sense that it's essentially an empty world. No real interaction with people, just ghosts and visions.

Betje

ALix,

I am a die hard 3rd person fan. Based on that list you made, the game I think you will enjoy the most is Discworld Noir. It is a fnatastic game. For recent games as others have mentioned you r best bet is The Longest Journey and Syberia. There is also the latest Monkey island which I think you will enjoy. Eye of the Kracken and Passages are 2 independent games wich you should also consider. Broken Sowrd while quite old is excellent. Sanitarium is also very good but it is more of a dark plot.

Hi,
I agree with Betje. You should probably take Morpheus off your list. I am playing Morpheus right now (an older game, I was lucky to find it), and I love it, but it's a pretty lonely game, with no live people interaction.

Lonely games are fine with me, as are games with more people to interact with. I do tend to like moody, atmospheric games, and game visuals are very important to me. I flit between first and third person games. Third person games tell more of a story (often), but with first person games, you feel you are really in the game. I do love Myst with a devoted passion, but I do realize that some people would rather watch paint dry than play the game.

Have fun.

Alix, thank you for starting this thread.

It will certainly be helpful to have a sense of which games are a little too much like Myst for my tastes the next time I go hunting for games. Like you, I'm particularly fond of an adventure game with dialogue and conversatonal paths.

I loaded up Zork Grand Inquisitor recently and thought, Oh dear, but the game has won me over with rather good voice acting, and its brand of humour. There's even a dig at Myst in there.

I'm interested in a number of games and I was wondering if other Gameboomers would consider the following similar to Myst:

Schizm (soon to be renamed, I think)
The Crystal Key
Amber: Journeys Beyond
The Atlantis series 1 - 3
Lightbringer/Cydonia
Traitor's Gate

Schizm (soon to be renamed, I think)
The Crystal Key
Amber: Journeys Beyond
The Atlantis series 1 - 3

Hi Feardust...

The above games are all Myst-like, meaning they are first person, point and clicks with little or no character interaction. <img border="0" alt="[winky]" title="" src="graemlins/winky.gif" />

~Dee

Oh, thank you, MacDee. I'd read reports that Amber was rather creepy, and had thought that of the lot, that would be least Myst-like, but I suppose there are other ways of creating that kind of atmosphere other than conversation.

Probably not the best choice. Disappointing if you're expecting something of Hitchcock's calibre. But I thought it was an OK if short game. It's 3rd person.

Probably not as much interaction with others as you'd like. But more than others. I preferred Dracula Resurrection because I didn't have that ridiculous-looking giant bat eating me the way I did in the second game. Also, Dracula Sanctuary is full of sewers and I'm really not that fond of English sewers.

Lots of interaction. Real time clock. Strange save system that some people have trouble with, at least at first (instead of going back to a previous save, you turn back the clock)

Most people love it. Great humor.

A good old-fashioned 3rd person inventory-based adventure. Has trouble with the latest video cards. People have varying degrees of luck playing it in Windows. I think it doesn't like my SBLive. It runs on a computer with an AWE 64 ISA sound card.

I thought Faust was great, but the plot structure is unusual. I'd hesitate to recommend it to you. Mephisto is a fun character though.

You should play Sanitarium. The movement system is unusual - you move your character by clicking on him and dragging him the direction you want him to go. But you'll get used to that. There are a lot of interesting levels in the game.

Possibly more Myst-like than you'd want. You do talk to people, but most of the time you are investigating alone.

If you can get it to run you're almost sure to enjoy it. It can be played in Windows 98 on some computers, but is often more stable in DOS. Ran fine with my SBLive.

I refuse to play The Quivering because of its limited save system. Check
http://www.quandaryland.com/2001/Quivering.htm
if you want a description of this nuisance.

Egypt II is a first person game, but possibly one you'd like. If you like the Dracula games, you'll probably like Egypt II.

I thought Morpheus was fascinating - the way the psychological problems of the dreamers were reflected in their dreamworlds, which you visit. But it is a game where you spend most of your time alone.

Check Quandary's review of it and see if the gameplay sounds like something you'd enjoy.
http://www.quandaryland.com/1996/elkmoon.htm

If you want games with interaction, avoid Schizm. You are alone on a deserted world.

You are essentially alone in Crystal Key - except for the people who want to lock you in prison or kill you every so often.

You're pretty much alone in the game, since your friend is unconscious.

The Atlantis games do have some interaction.
Atlantis 1 has quite a bit. Unfortunately most people just want to kill you or lock you up and the game is full of timed sequences.

Atlantis 2 - there are a very few people that you talk to. For the most part you are alone and unmolested.

Atlantis 3 - More interaction with people than the second game and less death than the first. Atlantis 3 had some fun characters in it - especially the psychopomp. My major problem with it was that it ran so slow on my computer. Not everyone has this problem.

You're definitely alone in Lightbringer. It's more a puzzle game than an adventure, though you do do some exploring.

You have to avoid the guards in this one. You're a thief and have to do the job alone.

All these games you've listed are first person, feardust. Maybe you already knew that.

Hi Jenny100. Yes, I knew most of them were first person adventures, but I'm not as bothered by that as long as the dialogue is good. I forgot to add these to the list though:

The Journeyman Project series
Starship Titanic

Feardust,

Amber was spookie, you are exploring an old, dark house to start. Another 1st person, creepy game is Dark Fall . You are exploring a spooky old train station.

Rhem is like Riven in a lot a ways. I can't tell you much about it. I'm still in the beginning, but there are good reviews of both these games at Quandary

~Dee

Sorry Alix, didn't mean to hijack your thread. <img border="0" alt="" title="" src="graemlins/pacify.gif" />

Dee, feel free to hijack my thread. Even if you are a Myst-lover !

I played Amber and I liked it. Didn't love it, but it was fine. I like spooky games as long as there is plenty of stuff to explore and discover. I'm still having a hard time pinning down what puts me off in the classic Myst style....

Alix

Blackstone Chronicles, Phantasmagoria & Phantasmagoria 2 Puzzle of the Flesh, Noir-A shadowy Thriller, Faust and definitely Sanitarium if you can find it

Thank you Alix. (I think )

If you like spooky games with lot of exploring, play Dark Fall. The only thing Myst-like about it is being a 1st person point and click. It has ambiance, a great story, 3 floors of rooms to explore and should be played at night with the volume up. Great game, will scare the pants off of you. <img border="0" alt="[winky]" title="" src="graemlins/winky.gif" />

BTW....I just loved Syberia, but I couldn't take all the dialogue in TLJ.....waaaay too much... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="tongue.gif" />

BTW again.....loved your website, you are very funny...

~Dee

Thank you, Alix, for being so generous as to share this thread. I thought that it would be handy to have the responses/answers in the same thread for future reference.

ALik: I would definitely call darkfall a myst clone with a spooky atmoshpere.

One of the games you asked about was the Quivering. Avoid it at all costs. it is the worst adventure game ever made. Nothing even comes close to being as bad as this game.

Mszv: I disagree with this statement. first person games have ZERO immersiveness no matter what genre it is. Take a first person game that does have plot and character interaction like Nancy drew. I do not feel like I am playing Nancy at all. This game screams to be third person. if it was then I would feel so much more into the character. As it stands now it could be anyone character I was playing.

Alix,
I think you should give Shivers another try, did you get into the museum? Once in there, there are tons of places to explore and things to discover,
you just have to get past the maze and get inside.
I am also a Myst hater, but Shivers is one of my all-time favorites, If you got inside the museum and started looking around and it didnt get better for you, then its not a game you'll like, but you have to get in there first. IMHO

I used to be a Myst hater until I bought Riven cheap (cheap as one of the CDs was damaged so I had to buy another copy to play it.) My gaming tastes have changed over time (and will change like perhaps getting into RPGs.)

Some good suggestions for you here Alix. As an aside there are some great games aimed at children. I much enjoyed one of the "Spy Fox" games. Plenty of interaction. Something perhaps to play along with children or even to play oneself as light relief.

Happy hunting for games you enjoy,

Regards, Peter.

Right Zanthia - I should have said, with first person games I usually feel I'm right in the game. I haven't played Nancy Drew, but, from what you said it sounds like a natural third person game to me.

I'm not exactly sure what it is about Myst, some people love it (like me), others can't stand it. Myst is quite slow, with relatively little interaction of any kind. I'm not sure why I like it, maybe because I like the Myst Universe so much. Gameplay is limited in Myst, and for some reason, that really works for me. Of all the games I played it's the one where I really feel I've been there. Maybe it's because it took me so long to finish the game, I know every slide.

Helen -- I'll stick with Shivers a little longer and see if I warm up to it.

Zanthia -- I will put "Quivering" under my DO NOT BUY list...have to carry that around in case I spot a "bargain" and don't remember that the game sucked.

Peter -- thank you for your ideas about checking out children's games. As far as the Myst-style, I don't anticipate my tastes changing much...while I made the move to graphical adventures (from text adventures) in the late 80s, with some resistance, I don't feel this is similar. There is something alienating about the Myst style that goes beyond unfamiliar to me. I keep working at it, but I get unbelievably cranky with these games. I may be a dinosaur of an adventurer who will have to give it up at some point!

mszv -- I am glad that Myst works for you. Variety is good, it keeps more of us happy!

Last night I was playing The Messenger and omigod, it was so tedious. Who thought up that inventory system? Ever feel like you are getting through a game for the sake of completeness, and then your realize that you are an adult with more important things to do? We'll see if I still finish it just for the sake of being able to say I did.

I will go back to Shivers this weekend. Thank you for the encouragement!

Rusty Gamer Alix

You might change your mind if you read what Just Adventure has to say about it in "The 10 Best Adventure Games That (Almost) No One Has Ever Played".

Of course there's no accounting for tastes.
[whispering]
I like it.
[\whispering]

Betje

Betje, you made me laugh!

It's okay to like The Quivering. I'm glad you told me that you did. There are games that have been panned by others that I loved. I remember a games that came out a decade or so ago called KGB...either no one liked it or no one played it...and I just wanted MORE ! Go figure.

Here's my dirty little secret: despite my dislike for combat and action games, I really enjoyed No One Lives Forever. Okay, I cheated my way through it, but, y'know, I'm okay with that. I had fun! (And yeah, it's first-person, but exciting first-person with great voice acting!)

Quivering now is moved to my "mixed reviews" list, along with Mystery of the Druids.

Alix

THE LAST EXPRESS!!!
I think most of the games you listed you will consider Myst-like (espcially if you found shivers myst-like). However, last express isn't like myst, it isn't like old adventure games, it's like nothing else. It is completely unique and brilliant. You must try it

I think this is a great thread for the Myst-ophobes as well as the Myst-ophiles(myself). I'm getting another perspective on some games that I've yet to play.

Taf4 - Cool! I just won the Last Express in auction (last night). I have been wanting the game for quite a while, but haven't seen it locally. Woo-hoo! (chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga!)

Alix

Alix, you asked about the Journeyman Project-s.- # 3, Legacy of Time is absolutely fascinating, has dozens of people to interact with, lots & lots of conversations, one of the most amusing, sarcastic funny, (some say annoying, I say hilarious) little side kicks in Gamedom, wonderful graphics, terrific story, and one of the most excellent endings of any game. It's kind of a combo of 1st & 3rd, it has a marvelous game engine.
The first is quite old, tho still a good story. The second, Buried in Time, is when you first find your little friend (Arthur) another great Time Travel story, but is still 1st person point & click.
You just CAN'T go wrong with Legacy of Time.

Hi all

I don't see Might and Magic mentioned here at all.
If you want lots of conversation with people than Might & Magic 6,7,8 and 9 games are for you.
Your charaters are at the bottom of the screen but they shake their head if you aren't suppose to do something.
There are plenty of places to explore and plenty of stuff to find or quests to do.

Morrowind is another game with plenty of quests and conversation and this one...you can switch from 1st person to 3rd by pressing the tab key.

Oh, Alix, sorry I almost hijacked your thread!

Life is short, you should only play what you want.

Guess you won't be playing Rhem anytime soon!

Granny,

Journeyman Project sounds like a good trilogy, but I might only be able to play the third, based on my computer setup. I have a laptop that runs Windows 98 and a Windows 2000 desktop with no dual boot set up. So, if a game can't work with Windows 98, I'm sorta out of luck, as I don't have enough control over the hardware (namely, the soundcard) to run DOS games. I think the older Journeyman Projects are Windows 3.X? Do you know if they run in 98?

Alix

This is an older game but think you'll like The Ward. Once you get to penal colony lots of people talking. One game was hurrying through the puzzles so could see the next cut scene.

Might like Jazz & Faust but lousy acting. Had gotten Journeyman Triology and it ran fine on my Win'98 computer. Only problem someone mis-labeled one of the disks so had one of them twice so just returned it.

Alix,I bought the Journeyman Trilogy and have been able to play all 3 on Win98.

Helen - Thanks for recommending that I stick with Shivers a little longer. It was a good game, after all.

Colpet - Thanks for the info on the Journeyman Trilogy!

Acornia - I have The Ward in my closet (unplayed). I'll dig it out and give it a go sometime soon. I've heard mixed reviews about it, so I didn't put it at the top of my list, but I will check it out.

I appreciate everyone's input!

Alix

--------------------
Recently played: Shivers, The Messenger.
Waiting for delivery: The Last Express, The Longest Journey, Riddle of Master Lu, and The Black Dahlia.

Alix,
You didnt finish it ALREADY did you?

Helen -- Yes, I finished it, BUT...I did cheat at some parts. I cheat more on games where I am not as comfortable with the interface. You'd think that someone who has played adventure games for over 20 years (omigod, I'm old! ) wouldn't cheat, but there ya go.

The funny part is that I refuse to cheat in my "real life" to the point that drives friends crazy, so they just laugh about my alter ego that comes out when I play adventure games. But most of it is practicality now, based on the amount of time I can allow for a game, and my obsessive nature.

I should post this on a "guilty confessions" thread. Perhaps the worst part is that I feel no shame!

Alix

Alix,
Dosent really matter if you cheat in the games, as long as its fun for you, I was just so surprised that you would have finished so soon,
I bought this game when it first came out and there were no such things as walkthrus at the time, had to figure most of it out on my own,( I was able to get SOME hints here and there from other players on the prodigy game board )and I know it took me at least 2 months or more to finish it,and if you would have finished it that quickly without cheating It would have to be because you were either some kind of a genius, or that i must be really stupid.

Ah, you just had to know where to FIND walkthroughs. Before the web, the main place was USENET. I wrote one for Darkseed in 1991 that was published in GameBytes, an electronic publication distributed by email. I am SO glad the web came to be the wonderful thing it is today...but perhaps I could use less access to hints.

Cheaters like me are very industrious, I guess! You are much more noble.

Alix

Well, I didnt have internet until 1993, and you only had limited use,( unless of course you wanted to pay a small fortune.) I think I got 10 hours a month at the time, never heard of a walkthru,let alone know what it was, so I just used to go to the prodigy gameboard and would get lucky here and there and get some hints and tips from other people who were just as desparate as I was.