Uru Live dead until next week

Myst maniacs who were looking forward to spending their weekend playing Uru: Ages Beyond Myst online got an unpleasant surprise today. Just before the sequel's multiplayer network was supposed to go live, Ubisoft posted a notice on the official Uru site postponing the "prologue" until next week.

Officially, the delay was because Ubi and developers Cyan wanted more customers to receive pre-ordered copies of the sequel. Gamers greeted the official line with skepticism, if not outright derision.

Uru: Ages Beyond Myst is the sequel to Myst, one of the best-selling games of all time. Like its predecessor, the game focuses on exploration and puzzle-solving in the ruins of the mysterous D'ni civilization. While the game has extensive single-player levels, the online component will offer additional areas. For more clues on how to solve the Uru puzzle, check out GameSpot's preview.