I’ve been on something of a nostalgia kick for the last little while. In addition to my more modern gaming projects, I’ve taken on a few older ones as well.

First off, anyone who talked to me at PAX knows how much I love Myst. I went on and on about it to anyone who would listen… multiple times. It was great. Well, Myst IV is coming out in a few days, and I find myself woefully unprepared. I played Myst and Riven, but at first didn’t have the required funding for Exile. Then it fell of the radar. Multiple times. Uru met a similar fate.

So now Revalation is right around the corner, and I just started Exile this morning. I’m losing three days of play time to a 3-day jaunt out of town, so I only have five days to dedicate to the project. Add that to my renewed Homeworld addiction, and I’m really drowning here.

On the bright side, I’ve successfully solved the first few puzzles in Exile, which is a noteworthy achievement. That series of games is nothing without its obscure puzzles, and I’ve been out of practice with its methods of problem solving. Who would have guessed a plant could make such a great amplifier?

I was originally intending to include Myst and Riven in my puzzle revival, but I’ve discovered I can’t. Not only does the above-mentioned time frame not provide for such a thorough reeducation, but I just can’t run it. The logic that a high-caliber machine can’t play a game from 10 years ago is alien to me, but true. I fired it up, remembering how smooth and beautiful it was, like a sleek automobile. The game I encountered was sadly pixelated and choppy and reminded me unpleasantly of my first car. In spite of the velour seats, the car just couldn’t handle any hills. I shut the game down shortly after reaching the dock, and I haven’t tried to play again. I don’t want to ruin the memory.

The anomaly of the game’s performance continues to bother me, though. I don’t know if newer monitors aren’t being properly trained to display the older resolutions, or if I was just so accustomed to that performance being standard that it seemed smooth at the time. That’s not the way it’s supposed to be, but I don’t know if I can fix it now.

So, after a brief bout of melancholy, I’m concentrating on Exile. After playing the Revelation demo, the advancements even between just these two installments is apparent. Exile is miles ahead of Riven, and Revelation just builds on what Exile created with the 360 degree environments and movement. Even though I’ve seen better graphics, I find myself enjoying Exile as much as I did its predecessors. I don’t expect it to do the things Revelation does, because it’s taken three years to make those advancements. Instead I’m focusing on the beauty of the game without comparing everything, and enjoying the puzzles and challenges this particular game presents.

My only complaint, really, is that it can’t run in a window, and it can’t survive being alt+tabbed out of. I love the immersion, and I know Myst is all about that, but sometimes I’d really like to have access to other applications on my computer as well. I hope Revalation allows for that. The demo does; I tested, so I’m crossing my fingers.

On a side note: Homeworld is the rox. It’s got to be in my top 5.