So I've gone back to playing some of my all-time favourite games and this is one of them. I had lost Riven about 2 years back so recently bought it again on E-bay for 5 dollars (bargain, methinx so!).

It is more puzzle/strategy than RPG but is totally unique in itself, there is no other genre that successfully pulled off what the makers of Riven did.
I must say this game is one of the best games ever. The great sense of mystery and haunting beauty of the Riven isles blows you away.

I never did complete Riven the first time round. IMHO the keys and puzzles to unlocking the isles are very well hidden and take alot of time and thought, but it didn't matter to me at the time. All I wanted to do was just explore these great places, the golden temples, mysterious shrines and beautiful sights while the awesome music played in the background adding a further sense of wonder to it all (I have actually gone and downloaded a few of the music tracks recently).

The great thing about Riven is that It's also very easy on the CPU. All it is in fact is a collection of CGI photos and quick-time movies. It was made about 5 years ago but (because of the nature of the game) still houses some spectacular graphics and movie sequences. I originally played it on my 133mhz Pentium 1 and it rolled along fine. After buying it again and playing it on a 2.3mhz system It runs great and even plays on my mate's pentium 1. Something I was actually able to do which I couldn't before was perform a full install (had to do this manually as Riven gives no option) so now I don't have to bother changing CD's -which is great :D .

For anyone who has not played this game I would recommend to go out and buy it. It is dirt cheap right now and a "must have" for any gamer. For those of you that have well do join me in my 'ode to riven' here and post your experiences and opinions on this thread. I will eventually play part three 'Myst: Exile' although I have not met anyone yet who has tried it so if you have, let me know what you thought. Thanks all!

[ 10-12-2003, 02:23 PM: Message edited by: SpiritWarrior ]

Riven was indeed a great game. Surpassed its predecessor in every way. Myst 3: Exil was decent. It was a little short for my taste, though. I beat it in 3 hours, or was it 4? Anyways it was a good game, but too short.

Exile too short eh? I thought the same of Myst..maybe this one (Riven) is the best.
I'm having trouble with something right now actually so maybe you can help me. Thing is I got farther than I am right now when I first had the game but I can't remember exactly how (it was over 3 years ago).

Spoiler!

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I have broken into Ghens lab and found the code for the golden spinning domes. I have opened two of them and in each there is a link book. The problem I'm having, (which I did not have at all the first time round) is that the link books are not functioning...they're just black. Do I need to do something before making them work? Or is this possibly a technical bug as I have heard some talk of people's computers not displaying the link books correctly (mine has, up till now).

[ 10-12-2003, 06:18 PM: Message edited by: SpiritWarrior ]

It's been too long since I've played the game, but you could look here. Hopefully it has the answers you need.