December 31, 2003
Lots of News....and Happy New Year!
First, SmashGames has announced their 2003
Awards, with Uru winning the following: Best Game, Best PC Game, Best Graphics,
Best Music and Best SFX.
Second, JustAdventure has announced a contest,
giving away 5 copies of Uru! Plus, they have an interview
with Rand Miller, by Jennifer Miller.
Lastly, and most important of all, the DRC has released a statement
about past and future events. And, they've updated their Ages
page with the following info:
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Age
Restoration Projects | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
*
Estimated dates are simply that: estimates. While it is the DRC's goal and hope
to reach the above dates, stating them publicly does not guarantee them, the
dates are subject to change. Please do not base any future decisions on these
estimates. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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December 22, 2003
Uru Awarded for Best Sound Effects in a Game
GameSpot gives the award here.
Well deserved. (Thanks to BennyD for the notice)
Uru Soundtracks Arriving
I just received my Uru Soundtrack CD, directly from Cyan Worlds,
via USPS.
A Good Review.....and a Not-So-Good Review
Steven Hopper at Game Zone loved
Uru! Along with a 9.3 rating, he gave it an Editor's Choice! Here's one comment:
"Uru’s deep story and great puzzles easily make it one of the best
adventure games of the year." Thanks, Steven!
Carla Harker at GameSpy, however, had some issues.
She gave it 3 of 5 stars, mainly for the control method and the issues getting
UruLive. Here's an example: "Still, you'll want voodoo dolls of the developers
for some of the puzzles, especially those that require you to play soccer (!)
to solve them. You have no inventory in URU, and can't pick up anything up, so
you're relegated to kicking objects until they're in the right spot. My suggestion:
When every attempt to move an object into place fails, you can stick a pin in
your developer voodoo doll. After every player sticks a few hundred pins in their
dolls, maybe the developers will find a better method of handling object movement."
Ouch!
December 19, 2003
New Issue of The Echo!
Check it out here.
Great Review by FourFatChicks.com
Jen at FourFatChicks gives Uru a Gold Star! Here's a brief snipit
from her review: "I'll even go out on a limb here and predict that this...is
the future of adventure gaming. Love it or hate it, I believe we will look back
in five or ten years and see this as a watershed moment in our brief gaming history,
in much the same way as the original 1993 Myst is now viewed. That being said,
how can I give Uru anything but the Gold Star? Besides that, it's loads of fun
to play." Read it here.
(Warning: The review and the images in it include many spoilers. Review found
by Grehm'lin. Thanks!)
December 18, 2003
Outstanding Review of Uru by "The Inventory"
It starts with one word: "Wow". The review
is by Dimitris Manos and he loves Uru. Download the zip file, that contains the
.pdf of issue 10, here.
Uru Soundtrack Available from Amazon
Because of "overwhelming demand," ordering of the Uru soundtrack
has moved from Cyan's site to Amazon. Click here
to go there. Free shipping!
Log of Chat with CyanBill
A log of the chat is available here.
New Server Issues with UruLive
An acknowledgement of issues is listed here.
New ATI Drivers Released
Click here
to get the latest Catalyst 3.10 video drivers.
December 17, 2003
Great Review from Miami Herald.com
By PEGGY ROGERS: "Finally, there are the gorgeous 3D views of different worlds
and ages in Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. You take your player through beautiful underground
worlds in an exploration of a once-sophisticated culture set in an obscure, desert
location whose subsequent extinction is a central mystery. While restoration of
the former D'ni society goes on, experts, your player and others flock to the
fissure that allows entry to the linked worlds. The player pretty much chooses
the order in which he or she explores the worlds and the mystery. If your video
card, memory and processor are sufficiently powerful, you get to set the visuals
at the highest viewing quality. Do not buy this game for someone with an older,
less powerful computer, for she will either miss the splendor or find herself
unable to play.I found Uru to be the most enjoyable, unorthodox, tricky and breathtaking
of the four and one of the best games I've ever played." Read the
complete article here.
December 16, 2003
Update on the "Mac for Uru" Issue
The same person who asked RAWA earlier, Vern Seward, just asked
RAWA for an update and got one.
Praise From GamesFirst!
By Monica Hafer: "Another on the Ubisoft list is URU: Ages Beyond
Myst. Although this game is probably just for the patient puzzle solvers out there,
it is a really innovative and beautiful title."
Gigex Says Uru is the Number #1 PC Game!
Gigex, in a press
release, lists Uru as one of its Top Games to buy and the top PC Game! For
more details, check out their Holiday
Guide.
Uru gets Editor's Choice in PC Gamer (91% rating)
In PC Gamer January 2004 (on the stands, not yet online) Uru received a 91% rating
and an Editor's Choice! Here's a quote from the the review, by Chuck Osborn: "It
feels like an eternity since an adventure game has engaged my time the way Uru
has. I dream about its puzzles, contemplate solutions in my spare time, and imagine
what lies beyond. But most importantly, I've had fun - and that's what adventuring
is all about." Cool!
December 15, 2003
Interview with Rand Miller
There is an interview available with Rand Miller at HomeLAN.
Upcoming Chat with Bill Slease
Bill Slease, aka CyanBill, Live Content Director for Cyan Worlds, Inc., will appear
in an exclusive online chat
to discuss Uru™: Ages Beyond Myst®. In addition, other members of the
Cyan team may also join in the chat. The hour-long chat will allow fans worldwide
to ask questions, gain more insight, and learn more about this pivotal member
of the Uru team.
Another Positive Review
This one is from IGN.com.
Uru Survey Available
UbiSoft has released a survey.
December
5, 2003
New Uru Screensaver Available
Check it out at UruLive.
There have been reports, however, of problems downloading it.
Uru Affiliate Sweepstakes Launched
Also at UruLive, is a contest
to link as many purchases from your site to folks to buy Uru. Winner will receive
a copy of Uru, signed by Rand Miller, as well as all of UbiSoft's games for a
year.
December 3, 2003
New Soundblaster Contest!
"Solve the Mysterious Puzzle" here
and you could win: One Grand Prize
. Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS Sound Card
. Creative Inspire™ T7700 Speaker System
. Uru™: Ages Beyond Myst® game
UruObsession Has Uru TV Ad for Download
The much discussed TV Spot is available at UruObsession, on the
Movies
page.
December 2, 2003
Kha'tie Interviews Josh Staub
Josh Staub is Cyan Worlds' Artistic Director. Click here
to check it out.
Alahmnat Interviews Randomos
Randamos is Ron Meiners, the San Francisco-based Uru Community Manager. Read the
complete interview here.
December 1, 2003
D'Ni Guild Retires
Cyan suggests the following: "For
discussion about Myst, Riven and Exile, we recommend Uru
Obsession or the Myst
Community forums. For
in-character Uru discussions, we recommend the DRC
Site forums. For Uru Live game discussions, we recommend Ubisoft's
Uru forums."
Tiscali,
AdventureGamers Review Uru
Tiscali, the European ISP, has released a generally favorable review.
In an article named Uru
Diaries, Part One, AdventureGamers gives their first impressions of Uru. Most
of the article discusses how un-Myst-like it is, but they seemed to enjoy the
game.