Uru - Ages Before Myst

  Demo available form various sites such as www.uru/ubi.com/us

                      Reviewed by Sue

Uru needs at least Direct X 8.1 and an Internet connection to
play. The program works out the best settings for your computer.
The first thing you have to do is create a character and decide on
his or her gender. Once you click 'Play' the installed program
updates and decompresses the sounds.

This is fun. The first screen shows an outline of your character's
body which you then dress from available costumes in paper doll
fashion. You can even add glasses and change your hair and eye
colour.  Then it's off to Uru.

Confusingly my figure on the screen remained a black cutout shape.
Never mind. I started to explore. Unlike previous games in the
Myst series, Uru uses a third person perspective scrolling
display. The atmosphere is great. The scene I found myself in made
me think me of the Australian outback but evidently it's New
Mexico.

My poor PC struggled to keep up with the graphics as I started
walking across the landscape. I was happier when I found a 'run'
key! I met a man called Zandi who was sitting under the awning of
a caravan. He told 'she' had left a message in the cleft. Follow
it, he said, (then something else I didn't catch) then enter the
tree. Nearby I found a chasm leading into the ground.  There were
rope and plank bridges that were far too flimsy to take my weight.
Luckily I didn't kill myself when I fell. I found hidden rooms,
one of which had a note from Atrus to someone called Yeesha who
was his daughter. This talked about someone or something called
D'ni but made little sense. I also found several plates that I
could push, including one on a tree that grew in the depths of the
chasm. Pressing most of them caused them to light up - not the one
on the tree though. And there's one I haven't managed to reach. I
also haven't got a windmill working so there are still things to
do.

I crashed it twice but as it's a demo that's understandable. The
graphics are stupendous. The atmosphere is much better, I think,
than previous Myst games. I found the first one very empty. I
liked the way you can interact with some objects. I walked into a
pile of logs and they rolled away. Moans? The game appears to be
pixel perfect, and my slow machine probably doesn't help with
this.

Yes, I'm impressed, though I'd probably prefer to upgrade my PC
before playing the full game. Incidentally, there's an option
while you're playing the full game to play online with Uru Live.
This will give you new puzzles to solve and the opportunity to
interact with other real adventurers. You can keep a personal
journal and notes on your journey to share with others. You can
create a D'ni neighborhood.

Here's the official info on Uru from their site which will explain
more about the D'ni:

      From Cyan Worlds, the makers of Myst and Riven, Uru: Ages
      Beyond Myst is the next chapter of the Myst franchise and
      the most immersive and ambitious Myst experience ever
      created.  The single-player game will be bigger, better, and
      more innovative than any of the previous Myst adventures.
      Players can move at their own pace, spending hours
      discovering visually stunning, real-time 3D worlds, solving
      a large variety of mind- challenging puzzles, and following
      an epic storyline. Players can continue to discover new
      areas of D'ni by connecting to Uru Live, the online service
      of Uru. There, players will be part of an ever-expanding
      world that brings more areas to explore and more mysteries
      to solve.

      Experience a new freedom of movement, a first for the Myst
      franchise: Explore each unique age in real-time 3D, moving
      your character effortlessly through the world without
      pointing and clicking.

      Create a realistic character: Choosing from a wide variety
      of facial and clothing features, you will be able to create
      a male or female avatar that you will use to explore the
      world. The range of character options allows you to appear
      the way you look, or the way you want to look.

      Explore the mysterious and graphically intense world of Uru:
      Whether it's the single-player adventure or sharing the
      experience online with other players, Uru's work-of-art
      style graphics will immerse and captivate you like never
      before.

      Follow an epic storyline: At the request of Yeesha, the
      eccentric daughter of Atrus, you'll journey through a
      variety of different ages, and discover the lost
      civilization of the D'ni people. As the story unfolds,
      you'll be drawn deeper into the D'niT civilization, and if
      you choose to continue online, the journey expands even
      further.

      The adventure continues online: With Uru Live, the online
      service of Uru, you can explore new ages and areas of the
      D'ni civilization, unravel new mysteries, participate in the
      ongoing story, and adventure in a world that continually
      changes and expands. Exciting new content will be downloaded
      regularly, providing an adventure experience that is fresh
      and ever- changing.

      The Story of Uru:

      The story of the D'ni civilization began when they
      established their underground empire on Earth some 10,000
      years ago.  While living beneath the Earth's surface, the
      D'ni practiced what they called the "Art of Writing," which
      enabled them to create links to incredible, alternate worlds
      of fantastic variety called "Ages," to which they could
      travel through "Linking Books."

      The D'ni people thrived for thousands of years, but later
      met with a great catastrophe that all but ended their
      civilization. Their vast cavern was left uninhabited, and
      their Linking Books and Ages seemed lost forever.

      Then, in the late 1980s, a few humans from the surface
      discovered that cavern. One of these humans was Elias Zandi.
      He devoted the rest of his life to exploring and,
      eventually, restoring that ancient city in the D'ni cavern,
      preparing to one day reveal their discovery to those who
      were suddenly feeling irresistibly drawn to the cavern.

      When he passed away in 1996, his legacy was divided between
      a foundation that he set up and his only son, Jeff Zandi.
      The foundation came to be known as the DRC (D'ni Restoration
      Council).  As their name implies, they took on the task of
      physically restoring the ruins of the D'ni cavern. If you
      choose to visit the cavern at some point, you're sure to run
      into them.

      Jeff Zandi, on the other hand, was interested in learning
      why the D'ni civilization fell in the first place. He
      continued studying the teachings of Yeesha, by far the most
      talented of all the D'ni writers, and daughter of Atrus and
      Catherine. After years of learning, the younger Zandi is
      finally comfortable bringing others to an uru (a D'ni word
      meaning "large gathering" or "grand community").

      On your way to the cavern, if you decide to join us, it
      might be a good idea for you to learn some of the great
      teachings of Yeesha.  Experience the adventure of a
      lifetime, Uru: Ages Beyond Myst.










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