This review originally appeared on Reviewcenter.com in 1999.

Although 989 Studio’s Cool Boarders 3 is a very good snowboarding game with great graphics and outstanding sound quality, it didn’t quite live up to its anticipations or expectations. After Cool Boarders 1 and 2 paved the road people were expecting more out of the third component of this trilogy. It’s fun to play, but unfortunately it’s also a letdown.

The improvement of graphics are what save CB3. No other snowboarding game can even be compared to Cool Boarders 3 without looking like a NES game. The tricks looked very realistic as well as the hills and the scenery.

Another great aspect of Cool Boarders 3 is the many modes available on the game, like downhill, half-pipe and slope style.

Downhill is a regular race down a hill that takes into account time and points. The half-pipe, which was drastically improved from Cool Boarders 2, is a great test of your ability to pull of crazy tricks and stunts. Slope style is basically a snowboarding park with many apparatuses filling the slope. All can be used to help perform massive trick combos and to get maximum air time.

There are only five hills to share over the three game modes, however.

There is also an avalanche mode that is probably the most unique part of the game. A helicopter drops you onto a hill, seconds before an enormous avalanche. Your goal is to get to the bottom of the hill without being flattened by boulders of snow.

Another unfortunate change from CB2 is that you can’t pick the background music. The same ol’ song plays through all the modes, on all the hills.

All and all, Cool Boarders 3 is a pretty cool game. The graphics are higher quality than most sports games and it is extraordinarily realistic. Cool Boarders 3 is a great game but I recommend buying it used or waiting until the price comes down — $50 is a little too much.

From 1998

Myst is a classic adventure game created in 1994. The journey begins on a mysterious and somewhat magical island world that seems like a ghost town, but despite the lack of inhabitants the isle contains several buildings and a hidden ship in the harbor.

The game is a puzzle/adventure novel in which you have to solve different mysteries. Myst is completely made up of several Quick Time movies and was one of the first games to incorporate actual movies into a game.

I found the game, intriguing, yet desolate. There are almost no actual characters or enemies, and the puzzles take forever (or a hint guide) to solve. I also found the game play to be way to slow to keep up with today’s rapidly unfolding game plots. The adventure takes too long to become an adventure. This is rather unorthodox of a computer game, because most games start an adventure or action sequence early on in the game, and some games start the adventure in a hostile world with instant action, but this is one of the reason why Myst found a niche in the adventure realm.

Despite the age, Myst is still a classic adventure game, and there are more people that like Myst than there are critics. I recommend this game to the slow paced adventure fan. Myst has a lot to offer to the experienced gamer.

Quick hits:

Publisher: Broderbund
Developer: Cyan
Platform: Windows/Mac
Genre: Adventure
Price: Varies, often bundled with new PC’s

Performance: 4 out of 5 stars
User friendly: 4 out of 5 stars
Support: 3 out of 5 stars
Cost: 4 out of 5 stars
Ease of Installation: 4 out of 5 stars
Graphics: 5 out of 5 stars
Sound: 5 out of 5 stars

Ratings were determined in 1998