Myst V: End of Ages
| Myst V: End of Ages | |
|---|---|
Box art for Myst V: End of Ages
|
|
| Developer(s) | Cyan Worlds |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Composer(s) | Tim Larkin |
| Series | Myst |
| Engine |
Plasma 2.1 Open Dynamics Engine (ODE) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X |
| Release date(s) |
(Steam) (PC only)
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 79.1% |
| Metacritic | 80% |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| CVG | 8.7 |
| Eurogamer | 60 |
| GameSpot | 7.9 |
| GameZone | 8.4 |
| IGN | 8.8 |
Myst V: End of Ages is a 2005 adventure video game, the fifth installment in the Myst series. The game was developed by Cyan Worlds, published by Ubisoft, and released for Macintosh and Windows PC platforms on September 20, 2005. As in previous games in the series, End of Ages's gameplay consists of navigating worlds known as "Ages" via the use of special books and items which act as portals. On each Age, the player solves puzzles and discovers story clues hidden in the Ages or written down in diaries and journals. The player's actions in the game decide the fate of the ancient D'ni civilization.
In a departure from previous titles in the Myst series, End of Ages replaces pre-rendered environments with worlds rendered in real-time 3D graphics, allowing players to freely navigate the Ages. The faces of actors were digitally mapped onto three-dimensional character models to preserve realism. Cyan paid attention to making the game more accessible to new players by the addition of multiple methods of navigation and an in-game camera. Myst creator Rand Miller decided to give players the ability to decide the fates of the game's characters as a gift to Myst fans.
End of Ages was positively received upon release. Despite complaints such as lessened interactivity compared to previous games and poorer graphics, publications including Macworld, Computer Gaming World, and The Washington Post judged the game a fitting end to the series. After End of Ages's release, Cyan abruptly announced the end of software development and the layoff of most of its staff, but was able to rehire much of the development team a few weeks later. Including End of Ages's sales, the Myst franchise had sold more than 12 million copies by November 2007.
Myst V: End of Ages is an adventure game taking place in the first person. Players travel across several worlds known as "Ages", solving puzzles and gathering story clues by reading books or observing the environment. End of Ages offers players three navigation modes to explore. The first, "Classic mode", uses the same controls used in Myst and Riven; Ages are divided into locations of interest, or nodes, and the player's view is fixed at every node. Players advance to other nodes by clicking on portions of the screen. The "Classic Plus" mode uses the control scheme of Myst III: Exile and Myst IV: Revelation; movement is still node-based but players can rotate their view 360 degrees in any direction. The final navigation mode, known as "Free Look" or "Advanced" mode, allows players to navigate and observe the Ages freely like Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. The WASD keyboard keys are used for walking forward, backward, and sideways, while the mouse changes the player's point of view.
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