So, I first played this on the default (even set to adapt to my system) settings and agreed with others here that it wasn't worth the price. But then I upped everything to maximum settings and completely changed my mind. It's *not* about flashy graphics and high poly counts. Rather, at the maximum settings much of the game looks like those over-rendered smooth pre-rendered graphics of 1992. Many 'shots' look very much like 1080p versions of those same classic elements from the original. Obviously, rendering in real time at 60fps what might have taken a day to render a frame of in 1992. The previous realmyst was great for moving things into a real time rendered environment, but it didn't evoke the same classical feel. By no means does the latest version of the game try to look realistic. And that's a fantastic thing! It looks almost like you're stepping through the original models and textures Cyan Inc had back in the day, anachronistically in high definition. Other things: I've only played with the classic settings, as I don't much enjoy the free roaming. Controls mostly work smoothly. Sometimes switches and dials get stuck in a 'grab' or 'pressed' state and you need to click to the side, making the player step back. Audio is in decent shape, but has not been remastered and overhauled as the video has. It is at times very rough. Had a few glitches in the Selenetic 'mine car' puzzle where scrambled audio played. Would have been quite problematic if it weren't for that little red button... Definitely check this one out! It doesn't replace Masterpiece, but I think it certainly is a step up from Real Myst, the first. It might not be worth the full $18 if you already have a version of Myst you're satisfied with, but it goes on sale for $12 from time to time.
