This article originally appeared in Pyramid #29

Pyramid Pick
cover

Riven

Published by Broderbund
and Red Orb Entertainment
Design by Cyan, Inc.
$54.95
After four years of development by the Cyan team, Riven - sequel to the bestselling Myst - is finally here. If you've never played Myst, and wonder what all the hype is about, well . . . Myst, and now Riven, are worlds to be explored, with complex puzzles to be solved, and without time limitations or enemies to worry about. Take all the time you like; the basic problems of the game will still be there, waiting for you to solve them.

Riven is currently available for Windows 95 PC's and Power Macintosh. A version of Riven is also in development for the Sony Playstation, though as of this writing no release date was set for the Playstation version. The system requirements to play Riven are not trivial. For PCs, it requires Windows '95, a 100MHz or faster Pentium, 16MB RAM, at least 75MB disk space, 4x CD-ROM drive, a 640x480 or larger SVGA display, a Windows-compatible sound device and DirectX-compatible video and sound cards. For Macintosh, Riven requires system 7.5 or higher, a 90MHz or faster PowerPC, at least 9MB free RAM, 65MB disk space (though on my Mac, it took about 82 meg), a 4x CD-ROM drive, and a 640x480 or larger display capable of thousands of colors. Most new PCs and Macs easily meet these requirements, but if you have an older machine, well . . . Riven is a good excuse to upgrade.

Riven plays much faster than Myst; transitions from room to room are faster, animations run smoother . . .

This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.



Article publication date: April 3, 1998

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