I never had the patience to really appreciate Myst. I remember playing the original Myst and being drawn into the mysterious world and quickly getting frustrated when I couldn’t figure out any of the puzzles. Regardless of my ineptitude and inability to finish the game it still left a big impression on me and I remember many details of the game to this day.

Now you have a chance to test your mettle with Myst once again with the release of Myst Online: Uru Live, the latest game in the successful Myst series. Myst Online has been released as a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game - a striking difference over the predecessor.

Unlike previous games, where the player is a stranger who lived 200 years ago, Uru takes place in the present day, as if the entire story of the Myst saga were discovered to be true. As in all Myst-based games, there are a number of different locations (called Ages) for the player to explore. The gameplay is more sophisticated than in previous Myst games, and the graphics are now in real-time 3D rather than being Photoshopped stills.

Myst was very popular and successful for many years, so much so that it helped to create a new genre of computer game - the adventure game. In the wake of the Myst’s success, many games that followed in this genre are often referred to as “Myst clones” by both fans and haters alike. Adding the MMO component to Myst Online will be interesting as the original Myst was a very solitary experience.

Myst Online was developed by Cyan Worlds who also developed the other five games in the Myst series and is published by Turner Broadcasting System. The game is out of beta and available now with a GameTap membership.