Myst V, for the first time since Riven (Myst II), was crafted by series creator Cyan Worlds. As the highly-touted final entry in the series, the big question is, is it a fitting end?

It really depends on how high your expectations are. If you're prepared to savor this final look at the Myst universe for what it is, then you should be pleased. The five Ages you get to explore are mostly quite large, with plenty to see. But if you're looking for a plethora of puzzles or a truly epic ending to the series, you won't find either.

Myst V begins as once again, you, Atrus' unnamed "friend," find your way back into his family's business. Atrus has grown old and weary since Myst IV, and his daughter Yeesha -- no spring chicken herself -- is now the primary protagonist. Yeesha believes herself to be "the Grower," a figure from a prominent D'ni prophecy, who will rebuild D'ni society after the Fall of D'ni.

But there's another member of the D'ni, a man named Esher, who believes he is the Grower. Both Yeesha and Esher appear to you throughout the game, offering guidance, background information, and various reasons to trust and mistrust them both.

Most of the puzzles center around the mysterious Bahro creatures (who, rather frustratingly, we learn precious little about -- what are they, exactly?) first introduced in Uru. When you draw symbols on a series of stone tablets, the Bahro will follow your instructions, and it is through their help that you'll solve many of the game's puzzles.

Myst V, for the first time since Riven (Myst II), was crafted by series creator Cyan Worlds. As the highly-touted final entry in the series, the big question is, is it a fitting end?

It really depends on how high your expectations are. If you're prepared to savor this final look at the Myst universe for what it is, then you should be pleased. The five Ages you get to explore are mostly quite large, with plenty to see. But if you're looking for a plethora of puzzles or a truly epic ending to the series, you won't find either.

Myst V begins as once again, you, Atrus' unnamed "friend," find your way back into his family's business. Atrus has grown old and weary since Myst IV, and his daughter Yeesha -- no spring chicken herself -- is now the primary protagonist. Yeesha believes herself to be "the Grower," a figure from a prominent D'ni prophecy, who will rebuild D'ni society after the Fall of D'ni.

But there's another member of the D'ni, a man named Esher, who believes he is the Grower. Both Yeesha and Esher appear to you throughout the game, offering guidance, background information, and various reasons to trust and mistrust them both.

Most of the puzzles center around the mysterious Bahro creatures (who, rather frustratingly, we learn precious little about -- what are they, exactly?) first introduced in Uru. When you draw symbols on a series of stone tablets, the Bahro will follow your instructions, and it is through their help that you'll solve many of the game's puzzles.

Fans of the D'ni universe will relish the chance to travel downward several miles beneath the earth through the "Great Shaft" to the underground city of D'ni. Yet we're never allowed to roam the city as we got a taste of in Uru; instead, we're stuck on the island of K'veer, where Atrus was imprisoned in the first game. We get to see just a little more of this island before venturing off to the four Ages that make up the primary gameplay.

The old-school Myst "slideshow" interface has been replaced by a fully 3D environment, which you can opt to roam about freely in, or jump-click to important hotspots, a la the last four games. The interface is as smooth and seamless as it gets, and it's possibly Myst V's best feature. You'll need high system specs to appreciate all of the bells and whistles, but the immersive audio and gorgeous graphics make for a well-rounded experience, with some fascinating new worlds to explore.

Most intriguing of all the advances is how for the first time, live actors have been substituted with fully 3D models, but with a twist: the actor's faces have been grafted onto the 3D models and their movements captured and translated to the models. While the skintones in the faces don't always match perfectly, it's a surprisingly effective technique. The 3D characters move and behave very much like real human beings.

The game is not without its downside, though. It's no secret that Uru Live was meant to continue the storyline of the D'ni for many years to come via episodic content, though we have no way of knowing if a definitive ending was ever written into the Uru plan. Thus, this quickly put-together ending to the series feels every bit as forced as it is. The whole thing has something of a "cutting our losses" feel, as if it was put together way too fast. It's on the short side, with rarely more than two or three puzzles per Age.

As for the storyline, it purports to be about the restoration of the D'ni society, but in the end, it's more about salvaging the legacy of Atrus' twisted family. While not an unworthy bookend, Myst deserved a grand ending of epic proportions. This game, while admirably picking up the plot threads of all five previous games, ties them in a neat bow with very little in the way of real payoff. It leaves you feeling that you jumped through a bunch of hoops for an ending that was pretty much inevitable, with or without your involvement.

Yet the Cyan magic is still on full display, as those hoops you jump through are mighty fun. In a nice throwback to the original game, the finale comes down to a choice between two characters: who do you trust? Yeesha or Esher? It's a conflict of idealogies, and you must make your choice. The puzzles are smartly designed, and while not the hardest in the series, the games have been built as part and parcel of the game world, instead of arbitrarily added to it.

The moral implications of the game are quite fascinating -- the topic of slavery is touched upon in a similar manner as what was seen in Myst: the Book of D'ni. Exploring some of the oldest D'ni Ages and seeing how its decadent culture is reflected through the arcitecture and surroundings is compelling. It's not long before you realize that D'ni was a culture that needed a rebirth.

All in all, fans will definitely want to see this thing through to the end. If the story of Myst has taught us anything, it's that the journey is what truly matters. Myst V offers one last journey through a wondrous world of intrigue, mystery, and fun.