The latest in the beloved Myst series of graphical adventure games capably continues the traditions that started more than 10 years ago. Like its predecessors, Myst IV Revelation is a deliberately paced first-person-perspective adventure game whose controls are almost instantly intuitive--and yet its incredibly complex and challenging puzzles are about as far from instantly intuitive as possible. However, as with most great adventure games, there's a cohesive underlying logic to the Myst IV's lengthy series of complicated trials. Furthermore, this latest chapter in the Myst series features some dazzlingly beautiful sights and amazing sounds. Much of the game is truly a wonder to behold, and while unraveling the story will probably be an interesting incentive for longtime fans of Myst, it's the thrill of being able to fully and freely explore the game's imaginative and remarkably lifelike worlds that often proves to be the biggest incentive for pushing past Myst IV's near-impenetrable puzzle barriers. Then again, solving the game's puzzles can be very rewarding; just be sure to bring plenty of patience and a keen eye for detail.

Prepare for a lengthy, highly challenging, and graphically stunning adventure in Myst IV Revelation.

Though your familiarity with previous Myst games is not necessarily assumed by Myst IV Revelation, its storyline is heavily intertwined with previous entries in the series. Longtime Myst fans will catch numerous references to earlier games, and they will most appreciate the ability to gain a lot of new insight into Myst's main characters, including the Da Vincian scientist Atrus and his scheming sons, Sirrus and Achenar. Even if you aren't already familiar with these characters, there's a good chance that they'll readily endear themselves to you, thanks to the game's use of live actors in its full-motion video plot sequences. The actors portraying these characters do a particularly fine job (some of the other performances aren't quite as strong, but they're OK), and they help give Myst IV a personal touch and a surprisingly distinctive personality, seeing as very few games feature live actors anymore. At any rate, though the story loosely ties together the events of Myst IV, it's mostly just there as a setup for you to explore a series of wondrous, otherworldly locales. If you've played a Myst game before, then you know not to expect a lot of dialogue or character interaction here. At the least, you can look forward to discovering and reading through the various main characters' journals during the course of the game and discovering their ambitions and their secrets along with some important clues. These journals are lengthy, but they are expressively narrated and packed with interesting detail.

As in previous Myst games, your character's persona is undefined, but it's evident that whoever it is you are, you're Atrus' friend and you're willing to help him. After all, Atrus is a remarkable individual--he has the power to write "ages," which take the form of completely different worlds that seem to spring forth from Atrus' books (he humbly explains that he merely links to these ages, rather than creates them). Your journey through Myst IV will see you through several unique ages: Tomahna, a beautiful cove in which Atrus and his remaining family reside; Spire, a gloomy and equal parts bizarre and awe-inspiring world of floating cliffs and perpetual storms; Haven, a lush prehistoric-looking land filled with strange creatures; and Serenia, a utopian society that's reminiscent of the legends of the lost city of Atlantis. Each of the game's settings is incredibly designed. The different ages are highly distinct from one another, not only in terms of the sights and sounds you'll experience while there, but also in the nature of the puzzles you'll be solving in the respective environments.

You'll explore the game's different ages on your own, but you'll encounter several key characters throughout.

Unlike many other adventure games, Myst IV lets you go about some of your objectives--and visit some of the different ages--in no particular order. This free-form structure is both liberating and bewildering. Myst IV doesn't ever lead you by the nose from one location to another, it instead invites you (and challenges you) to find your own path. Navigating is as simple as can be. A context-sensitive cursor in the shape of a hand (you can even choose a right- or left-handed version) changes to indicate when you can move toward a distant area, examine an object, or use an object. Unlike last year's Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, Myst IV is not a fully 3D game, which means you'll be moving from node to node--from one picturesque scene to another--as you click around. Transitions from node to node are occasionally animated, but mostly, Myst IV harkens back to its predecessors just by crossfading from one scene to the next. This effect works fine. You'll hear a few footsteps, and the crossfade generally takes about as long as it might take for your character to walk forward a few paces to the next scene, so your imagination will readily fill in the gaps between nodes. No imagination is necessary to take in all the splendor of what you actually will see, though.