This game drew me in right from the start--- a great intro to a great game! The highlight for me was Riven's story...
The highlight for me was Riven's story. Everything revolved around the story--- the puzzles, the setting & the characters. I've never played a game before where the puzzles were so integrated into the story that even if I was left stumped (which happened a few times--- these puzzles are HARD!), when eventually I either looked the solution up or figured it out, I thought: "Yeah, I can see how that works in this fantasy Age".
As always in the Myst genre (except the first game), great graphics and sound. And great dynamics in the environment (e.g. riding the tramway from island to island). Also, the Gehn character was well played & left me feeling some semblance of pity for this villain who succumbs to pride & chooses a demi-god lifestyle.
My biggest complaint w/ Riven was its uniformity. All the islands felt similar, and I didn't get that sense of immersion in the Age(s) as in later Myst games.