Myst V: End of Ages (PC Games, 2005)

Another chapter in the worlds of Myst. Another collection of excellent puzzles and mysteries to solve. I have travelled in all of the Myst worlds, and will continue to do so.
The challenges are somewhat easier than some of the past Myst games, and I found that this "cahpter" was easier to complete. I was also hoping of more of an interactive style, similar to the Myst URU game.
I do feel that this game would not be enjoyed to the fullest without first completing all the previous ones, as this does tie them together.
The most disappointing thing that I have about this game is that it is the final one! I wish that they would do more!!

Got it for my wife because she doesn't really play games. Easy enough to get into, complicated enough to stay fun, but nothing incredible one way or another. Then again, it is only a game...

I enjoyed Myst (the original) and purchased Myst V expecting the same results. However, buying this copy was a waste of money. I have Windows 7 and Myst V is incompatible with it. The seller should have warned buyers.

Having now finished all seven installments in the Myst/Uru series of lushly crafted immersive puzzle exploration games, an interesting observation emerges at the end of Myst V - End of Ages. The different locales in Myst and Uru are called Ages, each with its distinctive look and feel and embedded mind-bending puzzles.

Initially these fantasy worlds are escapes, new worlds to explore and master. But they gradually become prisons where one can become trapped with nothing left to find, discover, explore, solve, or master. What ultimately makes them prisons is that, at some point, one has inevitably played them out (occasionally with much needed help from independently published hints and walkthroughs).

In the game, the characters you meet variously consider themselves to be builders, growers, masters, or prisoners of the Ages where you first encounter them. So too, the game player initially experiences the Ages as a newbie explorer who eventually appreciates how these Ages can become dreadful prisons. The duality between Escapism and Imprisonment is remarkable, and is one of the deeper philosophical themes of Myst. In real life, we similarly escape into new worlds, only to become entrapped and enslaved in them. Look at how so many of the venues on the Internet are like that. The same is true of computer operating systems and online communities. We plunge into new systems and eventually become inured to their limitations and misfeatures.

Alas, I have to replay portions of this last Myst game because an obscure bug caused me to bypass most of one of the Ages. There are these non-human creatures called Bahro who have a primitive system of writing, like hieroglyphics. In Myst V, you have to learn to carefully draw the symbols of their written language on a slate tablet, and they will respond according to the meaning of the symbol. But if you misdraw one, they can interpret it as a different symbol that should be used much later in the gameplay, and prematurely open a one-way door to the concluding scene of the Age. So in one Age, that happened to me, and I inadvertently fast-forwarded past most of the Age. In Myst, once you've (presumably) solved a puzzle, it might trigger a lock that prevents returning to the previous state. Some puzzles can be reset, others move you forward with no return. If you neglected to save at some critical juncture, there may be no way to rewind to that specific point. Instead you might have to restart from the beginning of an Age.

In the very first Myst, the father, Atrus, who writes most of the Ages, imprisons his wayward and rivalrous sons in their own Prison Books. The two sons then beg the Visitor (the player) to free them. So you escape from the real world into their strange and mysterious worlds, and have t o decide whether or not to free them. Several of the games in the series have critical decision points about whether to help or free some character who may be good or evil or otherwise worthy of redemption. You must play God and decide who shall live and who shall die, who shall be rewarded and who shall be punished. You can choose to rescue the wayward or trapped characters, with the outcome initially unclear. Sometimes you foolishly free the bad guy by mistake. It's like Sirius Black in Harry Poter. Is he really a bad guy when he is in Azkaban? In most of the games, it's unclear who is ultimately good or evil or worthy of redemption.

Item shipped quickly, product as described. I had no problems or complaints about this seller. Top seller rating was important to me, and it paid off.

You were supposed to send me MYST V, but I never received it. Now you're asking my review of your sevices. If you want a good review, send me the product and I will rate you the best.

Turn around time was remarkable, Product packaging was done well. Excellent quality game. I would certainly purchase other products from this seller.

I bought this specifically to install on an Intel Macintosh.

Unfortunately, this product's installer is not compatible with anything other than a PPC processor, and Ubisoft is not updating the game to be compatible with new machines. They have issued a patch which is supposed to allow you to install it on Intel Macs, but I couldn't get it to work.

There are some detailed instructions on the Ubisoft forum for hacking the java program that does the installation (look for the thread "Unable to install Myst V on Intel Mac"), so I was able to actually install it on my machine. However, it will not run - when double-clicked, the icon flashes once and then - nothing. My only option seems to be to completely uninstall it and try again, but I'm not too hopeful.

This is on a late 2006 iMac, running OS 10.5.7 with the latest Java update from Apple (June 15, 2009) installed.

a ok game is aol all is well here great stuff. i like the game Myst V: End of Ages (PC Games) one hundred words is to many for a review, the game is ok

Was looking for all Myst games; this was one. I came on time and as described. I would use this seller again.

Well I haven't played Myst for about 8 yrs.and I didn't know they had come out with a new game. I found out from a friend they had and so I had to start this(night mare)again and I love it every hr...... I still think it's the best game on the market. You have to think on this one.......Jack Calvert

I'm more reviewing the quality of the software rather than the game itself since I have been unable to actually get to any of the puzzles. In fact I haven't even been able to actually play the game much after purchasing it. First of all it is not Vista compatible like Myst 4 is. Secondly it is too much for my XP computer to handle so I'm kinda stuck. Moving around with a sluggish mouse isn't too bad, but when a major aspect of the game is drawing specific images that's just cruel.

The game was delivered promptly and in its advertised condition. Good seller - I would buy from them again.

After the disaster that was MYST IV, Cyan pulls it together for another awesome installment in the MYST series. This feels a lot more like the original MYST games. I'd say it's like Exile and URU combined. Great game so far. Definitely recommended.

The great graphics and game play continue in this end to the Myst masterpiece! I know it came out over 2 years ago, but I just got to playing it and the screenshots are still great. It end the story well and you will be very happy with it.