Ubi Soft Entertainment today announced the release of Myst III: Exile, the newest graphical adventure/puzzle game to have the Myst name. Today’s the official release date for this new installment, developed by Presto Studios. The game ships nationwide on hybrid CD-ROM format compatible with both Macs and various flavors of Windows.
Myst III: Exile once again pulls you into the world of Atrus, writer of Ages, who you must help recover a linking book stolen by Saavedro (played by motion picture actor Brad Dourif). Saavedro wants to exact revenge against Atrus and his family for sins committed against Saavedro’s world of Narayan by Atrus’ sons (Sirrus and Achenar, who you may remember from the first two games). To that end, Saavedro has cleverly modified Atrus’ own worlds, subtly changing puzzles and modifying environments to suit his own agenda.
As you chase Saavedro in search of the linking book for an important new Age Atrus has created for the now-recovering civilization of the D’ni, you’ll travel across five different Ages, or worlds, solving the brain-busting puzzles that Saavedro leaves in his wake. Each age has a unique theme and challenging puzzles. The game also features a branching story ending that puts you in control of what happens. Also, if you’re not familiar with the previous games, you shouldn’t be too intimidated — you’re presented with enough information and materials to make sense of your surroundings and what’s going on to know what to do.
Myst, and its sequel, Riven, both used beautifully rendered images that were presented in a “slideshow” style format, and Myst III: Exile brings that gameplay to the next level — each frame features complete 360 degree panoramic views, with dynamic elements like rippling water, sun glare, and other features that help to bring the environment to life.
Myst and Riven were both created by Cyan, which is now focusing its attention elsewhere. As a result, Myst III: Exile was developed by San Diego, Calif.-based Presto Studios. Presto is a company long known to Mac users — they’re the developers of The Journeyman Project series and other games.
If you’re interested in seeing more and you have QuickTime installed, you might want to stop by the Apple Web site and check out the Myst III: Exile trailer. Make sure to visit the official Myst III: Exile Web site at the link above, as well.