Myst on What?!

Nintendo is coming out with . . . get ready! MYST! I played this game when I was younger, and it really fostered in me a love for adventure games, not to mention appreciation for well rendered graphics and loving details inside a gaming environment. This appreciation is evident when I peruse any game, whether it be adventure or first person shooter. Graphics are a big decider for me. (You can see just how beautiful the graphics are in Myst in the picture to the right. This is not a publicity shot; it is really part of the inside world of Myst.)
At first, however, I was a little wary of how well it would play on a hand held, not to mention how good the graphics would be because, in my opinion, a huge part of the appeal for Myst was its amazing worlds. After speaking to a fellow geek (who happened to have the girliest looking DS I have ever laid eyes on. Baby blue? No thanks), I was informed that the graphics are prerendered, which means that they should do just fine on a hand held. As far as the point-and-click aspect of it, since DS has a nifty stylus for its touch screen, it should work out beautifully. The only problem, I think, is that smaller details will be lost on a smaller screen, since Myst was originally meant to be played on a computer monitor. I suppose only time will tell . . .

New Book!

Ok, I am aware that I have neglected to write a new post for awhile. This is not intentional; I have just been going through finals week, which (between work and final papers and projects) has left me little time to blog anything worth reading, really. However, as a literary geek, I am constantly buying new books to replenish my diminishing "must read" pile. Recently, I purchased a book, Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters That Ruled Europe, by Nancy Goldstone, that I had assumed would be a historical novel, the story of 4 sisters in the thirteenth century who practically ruled Europe due to their smarts and advantageous marriages. As soon as I returned home, I started to read it, just to see if it was as interesting as I'd anticipated. However, it was MORE interesting than I'd anticipated. It is not a work of fiction, but an actual historical biography, and I am just fascinated by it. The sisters become the Queens of England, France, Sicily and Germany, and apparently they wielded subtle yet strong influence over all that went on under their reign. I've only started reading it last night, but I have been reading it whenever I get the chance. Now I just need to avoid the temptation to stop working on such-and-such project to read just one. . .more. . . chapter.

Adventure Games: My Click of the Mouse

So, today I bought a new book along with a new game at my local Half-Priced Book Store. More on the book when I actually get to reading it, but the game is Dream Fall: The Longest Journey. It has been rated as the best adventure game of its year, and I remember the time when I could not wait to try my mouse on it. It sounded so awesome, but something prevented me from actually buying it until now (lack of funds, perhaps?). At a price of a little over seven bucks, which I was more than happy to shell out, I went home and immediately installed it. This took awhile. I'm not sure if it's just me, but it seems that software installs slower on Windows Vista than it originally did on Windows ME 2000 or Windows XP (and to think, I complained about ME). I've been able to play quite a bit (ok, I have to admit: I can play the thing for, literally, hours), and I'm really liking it. The graphics are beautiful, if you keep in mind that it is a couple of years old, and the worlds seem so rich and full of depth. The characters are interesting, and there is a mysterious storyline that opens up at just the right pace. Currently, I'm stuck, which will happen if you're going to play any game that is worth it's salt. I'm not so great at sneaking around. I'm more of a shove-the-door-open-and-throw-in-a-grenade kinda girl, but sneaking is necessary in this adventure. This is my first real foray outside of First Person Shooters, so the amount of dialogue is different, but I'm enjoying it. It's almost like an interactive book! Plus, it has 6 frigging disks! That should keep me occupied for quite some time (if I can get past THIS. ONE. PART!)