Myst Lands on the iTunes App Store like a 16-ton Weight!
Posted on 04 May 2009, at 2:00 pm, by Michael Anderson
OK, I’ll assume for a moment that everyone gets the Monty Python reference, and that everyone has at least passing familiarity with the classic computer game Myst. For those who don’t, let me give you a quick history lesson: in 1993 the game was released for the Mac, and was released a year later for the PC.
It is interesting to note that the Mac version was created as a HyperCard app – each age was its’ own HyperCard Stack, and each screen was a compressed fully-rendered image. In other words, while many game reviews now use an analogy for poor performance as ‘the game runs like a slideshow’, Myst actually WAS a slideshow!
The game was the top-selling PC game for several years, and is largely seen as being responsible for the rapid adoption of the CD-ROM for media storage … for which those of us who installed Microsoft Office Professional from 25 3.5″ floppies were thankful. This landmark classic game has now arrived for the iPhone on the iTunes App Store.
Therefore it could be easily assumed that my ‘heavyweight’ reference was linked to the appearance of such a major gaming classic on the iTunes App Store. That would be incorrect. The reference is related to the size – the game weighs in at ~730MB, and you are required to have at least 1.5GB free (!) in order to install Myst, with just over 750MB returned after installation.
Over the years Myst has gone through many iterations, including translations to the PSP and Nintendo DS handhelds, and has never lost any of its’ charm. It has also gone through many, many graphic and audio upgrades. Last year, just before we donated our old ‘040 Mac to our local church before moving, I used my original copy of Myst as a test of hte system. It had been many years since I played, and I was amazed at how antiquated it looked and felt compared to the DS version I had recently played.
The new version promises the best graphics yet for any version of the original Myst (don’t forget they made it all the way to Myst V and even attempted an online game for a while). Aside from that the game’s feature set boasts:
- All the original Ages & gameplay
- High quality images (better than original Myst)
- Full music & sound effects
- Original movies & animations
- Auto-save (when quitting or phone call)
- “Bookmark” system to save & restore progress
- Swipe to turn
- Auto-zoom in certain close-up areas
- Quick access to hint guide
The App Store has two ’special notes’:
- Myst for iPhone & iPod touch is a very large application – more like a movie than a song or album. Download times and syncing times can be longer – depending on your connection speed.
- Because of the way the iPhone & iPod touch install apps, you will need to have about 1.5 gig of free space to install Myst. Once it’s installed you can use the extra space again.
For a $5.99 game, this offers quite a bit of gaming. If you have never played, or haven’t played in years, it is definitely worth a shot – you can get a feel for the gameplay and gorgeous graphics and sound from the video below.
Source (and image) : TechTicker Blog, Video Courtesy of AppVee.com
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May 5th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Have you played it yet? 750mb….Youch. I liked Myst, but I don’t know if I like/liked it that much.
750mb and from what I’ve read, it is all still pictures, no motion or movies. Is there panning and zooming?
May 5th, 2009 at 6:23 am
I forgot to say Thanks again for the info and hit the notify button.
May 5th, 2009 at 7:52 am
When I wrote that I hadn’t decided whether or not to grab it … but of course my curiosity got the better of me!
It certainly is huge, and as advertised, my starting free space of 1.25GB on my 32GB iPod Touch wasn’t enough, so I had to clear other stuff. With 1.65GB free it installed great.
It is definitely old-school Myst with a new candy coating!
You are still looking at largely still images (in more recent updates there is subtle things like wind blowing stuff a bit and so on). But it looks as good as recent 1st person ‘point & click’ adventure games such as Keepsake and Scratches and others on the PC. They have done nice stuff with the audio as well.
Oops … getting into a review already
I will do a full review when I work through it, but so far I am pleased with it for $5.99 … even though it is my 5th copy! (ok, that is spread over 16 years – Mac in ‘93, PC in ~95 or so, DS and PSP at either end of ‘07). In fact, it is better for $6 than the DS or PSP versions which cost much more (especially since I had to get a UK release for the PSP which never hit the US!).