Empire Interactive has announced today that it has picked up the rights to bring Myst on the Nintendo DS to North American gamers. Its previous “Q1 2008″ release date has now been narrowed down to March. Thing is, the title wasn’t received overwhelmingly favourably on its prior release in Europe…

Myst is an unusual first-person adventure game in that there is no inventory, no dialogue and no risk of death. Instead, the focus is on a depth of puzzling made consistent throughout the experience. The game’s non-linear gameplay has previously caused frustration with newer gamers, but many, many more find the experience refreshing and intriguing.

The release of Myst on the Nintendo DS follows a version of the 12 million unit-selling title on the Sony PlayStation Portable last year.

“As one of the strongest video game franchises in history, with more than 12 million games sold, we felt it was only natural to partner with Hoplite Research and Cyan Worlds to bring MYST to an innovative system like the DS,” said Karim Farghaly, vice president of sales, Empire Interactive. “The DS addition to the MYST game library allows players to take advantage of the new features created exclusively for the DS, while still maintaining the integrity of this classic game, creating a refreshed, on-the-go adventure experience for players of all ages.”

“It was important for us to work with a partner that understood family adventure titles to support the North American launch of MYST for the Nintendo DS,” said Manny Granillo, president, Hoplite Research, LLC.

Not put off by Myst’s ropey critical reception? Let us know in the comments section below.