Review by Jen
Myst. You either love it or you hate it. It has the unique distinction of not only being the best-selling computer game of all time but also both the best-loved and the most-loathed. No matter what camp you fall into, one thing is for certain: no other game has gotten more people hooked on adventure gaming than Myst.
Seeking to capitalize on the previous success of Myst now that it’s fallen off the bestseller charts, Mindscape has released an updated version called Myst Masterpiece. The enhanced version is the same game with the same puzzles, but the graphics are now 24-bit, the music has been remastered, new sound effects have been added, and the game now installs and plays very easily in Win95/98. In addition, there is a new online hint systemif you get stuck, you simply click on the bottom of the screen. Three levels of hints are available, from gentle nudge to outright spoiler. I know I would have welcomed a feature like this the first time I played! Oh, and I almost forgot, the swellest new addition is a map of each world. I always get disoriented very easily in slide-show style games, and the maps are great!
I was surprised at the level of story there was in Myst. All of the loathers have been getting to me, I guess, because I remembered it as a series of puzzles that lead to a conclusion, but it actually has a pretty strong fantasy plot. Replaying it brought back a lot of fond gaming memories. I actually remembered quite a bit with regard to the puzzle solutions (I guess because I strained my brain so hard the first time around that it all got hardwired), and so I found it not so fun the second time through (but it went fast!). Thus, I would recommend buying this new version only if you haven’t played Myst before or if you played it years ago in Win 3.1 and now want to try it again on your more up-to-date system. However, if either of these two are the casego for it!
A final thought: you know how there are red and blue Pokemon games and now they’re coming out with a yellow Pikachu version? They should have added some yellow Pikachu pages to Myst. We and about a hundred million other parents will most likely be buying that yellow Pikachu Pokemon, even though no doubt it’s the same damn thing as the red and blue, around Christmas time, and it might have worked the same way for Mindscape.
Want to learn more? The official web site is www.mystmasterpiece.com. 
The Verdict
The Lowdown
Developer: Red Orb/Cyan Publisher: Mindscape Release Date: August 1999
Available for: 
Four Fat Chicks Links
Screenshots
System Requirements
PC: Windows® 95/98 Pentium 90 MHz or better 16 MB RAM Super VGA (640x480x256 color) 4X CD-ROM or better Sound Blaster or compatible QuickTime 4.0 or higher
Where to Find It
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