Myst IV, Part II

So I've spent some more time playing through Myst IV, after a kind soul helped me get past the aforementioned evil puzzle of death. I've got a few more things to report.

First, the bad: the game's "help" system is so comically useless even at its highest levels that I'm beginning to think the designers deliberately sabotaged it in a fit of indignation. Among other issues: It refers to areas, animals, and people by name even when they haven't been named within the game. It does not state the goal or reasoning behind most puzzles, only the rote steps necessary to solve them. It only lists the steps to solve a puzzle from its initial state, for puzzles that can't be reset to their initial state. It contains inaccurate (or at least misleading) maps of the levels, and makes no mention of where to find important switches/levers/buttons etc. I no longer have any compunction about looking at any of its spoilers, because I know they'll only leave me more confused than I was before.

But there's also some good:

* I found out that the developers are working on their first patch which, aside from other technical issues, will adjust the timing on the puzzle I found so awful in my last post.

* The game's last level, Serenia, is utterly, endlessly gorgeous. But more than that, it's far more "Myst-like", inasmuch as the puzzles are far more like what I like. They fall into two basic categories: logic puzzles, where your objective is clear and you need to determine the correct algorithm; and engineering puzzles, where the level is a giant broken machine that you need to diagnose and debug. All of that, I like.

* Towards the end, the plot and tone of the game take a left turn into the realm of the artistic and abstract. It's a bit jarring at first, but also very pretty, and provides some of the game's (IMO) cleverest and most interesting puzzles.

* There appear to be as many as three different good endings, somehow based on your play style, though I'm still not sure what the variables are.

So I guess my recommendation now would be to a) wait until the patch is released, and b) maybe just borrow the game from me. Don't feel bad about using hints (albeit someone else's) on the game's obtuse middle levels, if only for the joy and wonder of the first and last levels.

Oh, yes, and I finally got paid today. Yay!