In defiance of the Oscars…

…I played video games.

I was in need of NEW gaming action that would sate both my need for some puzzle-solving and general curiosity for exploring, without having to shoot anything and run around at break neck speeds. After a leisurely work out on Sunday, I stopped in Best Buy. I had seen Myst Uru: Complete Chronicles earlier in the week... and hadn't picked it up since a.) I've got stacks of video games either partially played or unopened and b.) I'm talking STACKS.

Maybe it was fatigue, but I caved.

I've been a fan of the Myst series from the very beginning. It was THE groundbreaking game of it's time, incorporating sound, animation and what was then, high-quality graphics. Multimedia had found an outlet. This was probably around 1994-5. I sat for four days straight with Myst. I was working for a presentation graphics company at the time. Business was slow and the boss was away.

What was so original about Myst, it started you with nothing. You were a nameless explorer, you didn't see yourself (1st person perspective) and you had to logically piece together solutions to puzzles you'd find. You were forced to explore for clues in your surroundings. As each puzzle was solved, slowly, the story would unfold. There were fantastic worlds, created by the fictional ancient civilization of the D'ni, to explore via "linking" books. Around every new turn, new challenges awaited.

Naturally, with such a success, sequels would follow:
Riven (Myst II)
Myst III - Exile
Myst IV - Revelation
and finally Uru: Ages Beyond Myst

Myst Uru: Complete Chronicles is Uru with two expansion packs.
So yeah, I bought it. At $20, it was a steal for the PC. (PC, yeah, I'm not happy about it either.)

After 3 hours of playing yesterday, I'm getting pulled into the world of the D'ni once again.

Okay, maybe it was closer to 4 hours since it was the entire Oscar broadcast.

Alright, maybe 5, I did stay up later.

I have to satisfy the inner geek.

Add to the pile:


I swear... this ADD is expensive.