So last week I went to the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins, Co. These folks make my favorite Colorado brew, and it was great to see the place and sample some very unique drinks. Pictures over at Flickr.
I know the Tour de France has been over for a while now, but I'm saddened to see that another American wins, and no one cares because his name isn't Lance. The man is a hero, and a great athlete, but gosh do I hate sports bandwagons. They show so very well how shallow and false people can be. Still, congrats to Landis. He won, and really that's more improtant to him than anything else. Edit: Aw crap. There goe sthe neighborhood.
I'm seeing a lot of poor reviews of Lady in the Water. With the one exception of Unbreakable, I've found all of Shyamalan's films to be pretty crummy hack jobs. I got so much flak when I first saw the Sixth Sense and didn't see what the big deal is. I've just never found the silly twists, whispered dialogue and general sluggishness of his movies to be enjoyable, and somehow I was labeled a cretin. Now the man makes a film in which he not only inserts himself, but creates a ridiculous story in which he whines about his enemies and puts himself on a pedestal, and no one is biting. If he thought pushing this script was hard enough, we'll see what happens to the next one...
And finally, after my little weekend news segment, here's another little idea of mine. Blog mini reviews. Two or three paragraphs on old games that you probably don't care about. Our inaugural game is Myst. Feel free to skip over silly discussion on one of the most talked about games ever. I won't feel offended...
Hey, its Myst! Everyone knows Myst. I bet you've even played it. I never did back in the day, due to crummy PC hardware and a general fear of the game thanks to its stigma as an interactive slideshow. Still, I suppose getting to it twelve years later is better than never, eh?
So what is there to say about an ancient, legendary game that sold millions? What the hell else could I add? Not much I suppose. What I do know is that the game is indeed something of a strange breed, what with all the pre-rendered slides, which often make navigation a bear. I also agree that the puzzles are indeed grounded in logic, but that doesn't mean some of them aren't ridiculous. This is because it is hard to see real world logic in a fantasy game. For example, we know that steam pressure can lift or lower an object, but who the hell expects to use this to manipulate a giant tree? Who listens closely for four sound effects and relates them to the cardinal directions? Why is a compass divided into 32 sectors of 11.25 degrees? Things like this are what make some of the puzzles a little more of a hassle than they should be, and its easy to see how people got frustrated back in the day. Unless you're really looking, you're probably going to miss out on a clue. Guess that's why there's a solutions button just in case. The aged graphics also lead to some hassles. I guess they looked damn good back in the day, but a lot of visual clues were difficult to spot thanks to the horrible lighting and lack of fine detail. Several buttons or trapdoors are nigh impossible to see in the dark crevices of the world, and simple little cues like power cables snaking from a lighthouse to other areas aren't readily visible. Overall, the puzzles themselves aren't terribly mind bending; its the hunting of doors/switches/doohickeys that becomes difficult thanks to the controls and graphics. But again, hint system works well there.
Ultimately, the strangest thing about Myst is how gripping it can be. No, it isn't high literature, but it manages to tell a simple, sound story without butchering the gamepaly, nor does it leave you confused by the end. There's something about exploring these empty, peaceful worlds and slowly piecing together the situation at hand, knowing you can do it all at your own pace with a few subtle (or not so subtle) nudges in the right direction. Myst was a decent little romp to spend a day with, and I'm somewhat eager to play some of its sequels. I don't believe it lives up to all the hype and praise it received for years, but it established an interesting spin on the adventure genre. We'll see if Riven manages to build upon it.
P.S. - Must insert obligatory artsy/deep analysis: All the Ages involved lots of water and/or islands. Symbolic of the player's solitary and isolated state, or did the creator's just run out of ideas?)
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