URU: Ages Beyond MYST - PC

The weird and wonderful world of Myst opens up once again with this latest PC adventure from Ubi Soft. Developed by the original creators of both Myst and Riven, Uru: Ages Beyond Myst does just what the title suggests, taking the original concept and spanning a series of fantastical alternate worlds known as 'Ages'.

The story dates back some 10,000 years, to a time when the D'ni civilisation established an underground empire on Earth. While living beneath the Earth's surface, the D'ni practiced a technology called the Art of Writing to create these Ages, which they could travel to through Linking Books. During that time, a D'ni family traveled to the surface of what is now southern New Mexico, creating the link between our world and theirs. The D'ni people below thrived for some time, but later met with a great catastrophe that ended their civilization and thus left the vast underground cities uninhabited and their Linking Book technology lost forever. Until now, of course.

The game itself sees players journey through a variety of different Ages, exploring the fantastical environments while finding clues, solving puzzles and collecting the Linking Books. Although a single-player adventure is available, and indeed is a game in itself, the main focus of the proceedings is in the multiplayer. Massively multiplayer, that is, as a subscription to the online community opens up a never-ending Myst universe, populated with other players to share the journey. As well as allowing you to journey together, the game also offers you the chance to text chat and share images with other players who are on their own journey.

Along the way you'll soon be introduced to what's known as the D'ni Reconstruction Council, which is a group that is rebuilding the D'ni city and civilisation. Throughout your explorations, these guys keep people informed of what's going on within the game world and can also occasionally open up new areas to explore.

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