But this system, good looking though it is, results in a very slow game. The player moves through the landscape by clicking on the screen, then watching as the FMV shows the player's shift to the next location. "Plodding" is definitely a phrase that springs to mind when describing it.
The action, and I use the word in the broadest possible sense, comes in the form of interactive logic puzzles that are scattered through the game and seamlessly blended with the environment. Like navigation, they are worked by clicking on certain areas of the screen and watching the results unfold in a mini-movie. The puzzles are often strange and require some creative thinking to deduce how to solve them. But that's what Riven's all about -- solving its mysteries through exploration and deduction. It's a totally cerebral experience that requires your brain rather than your reflexes. And if that's what you want from your gaming, Riven is brilliant escapism that'll keep you busy for weeks (or even longer).
But, and it's a huge-ass "but," I can't see many players wanting that kind of gaming experience from their PlayStation. To me, Riven on PSX just seems wrong. OK, so it adds a new dimension to the PSX library, but it's certainly not one I welcome. I've said it before, and at the risk of repeating myself I'm saying it again -- I bought my PSX because it's the best videogame system around. I can play incredible games on it like F1: Championship Edition, WipeOut XL, Colony Wars, Parappa the Rapper, and Final Fantasy VII. These are the bread-and-butter of PSX gaming -- I certainly didn't buy my machine to play super-slow FMV adventure games on it, which is what Riven is.
As you've probably noticed, I've rated Riven seven out of 10. I did this because I think it's a good game by itself. But do I recommend you, a PlayStation owner, to buy it? Absolutely not. Not unless you really, really want a ploddingly slow adventure game that your mom will probably enjoy more than you. No, I'd point you in the direction of any of the "real" PSX games I've listed above, because PSX gaming is all about action, excitement, thrills and spills, and Riven is lacking all of those things.
Jaz Rignall
