Rating:
- Aura: The Fate of the Ages
This game is not bad. I don't know - maybe I'm just a bit jaded after finishing the entire Myst series and a few other miscellaneous "adventure games", but this is a pretty good "beginner's game" for someone new to adventure gaming.
The puzzles really aren't that hard, and God knows they give you enough hints and clues for most of the puzzles. However, like the other Adventure Company games I've played, it is heavy on inventory, and there are at least two items that are hard to find - especially if you don't realize you're supposed to be looking for them!
The graphics are absolutely gorgeous - possibly the best I've ever seen (and, as a Myst veteran, that's saying a lot!). However, I wish game companies would stop using computer-generated people. They always - and I mean always - look awful. They really should stick to live actors.
The music is very heavily synthesized, and comes across as heavily pretentious. (The music for the third world of Na-Tiexu reminds me of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".) Then again, maybe I'm just spoiled after hearing Tim Larkin's wonderful scores for Uru and Myst V.
I've read reviews about how buggy the game is, but I found the 1.04 patch and installed it, and had no problems, except that it would crash if I tried to delete old saved games.
There's a sequel called "The Sacred Rings" that's still in production as of this writing. I'm looking forward to it.
- Awesome!!
- should you have to purchase a book to make it work?
- A pretty homage to it's forefathers
- Intriguing