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First-person adventure gamers must-have

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: January 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The puzzles, environments, and eye candy visuals were great! I highly recommend this one!

This is definitely a keeper. The puzzles were logical and not overwhelmingly hard. The environment was immersive: I found myself rushing to get home and re-enter this world. The number of places to explore and items to add to inventory were incredible--you can spend a good deal of time just enjoying the surroundings while you puzzle through another task. I encourage you to try this one out if you enjoy first-person adventure games like Myst, Riven, the Crystal Key, etc.

ROTS - The Best PC Adventure Game Ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 19 / 23
Date: March 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Over the past 5 years, I've been very selective with the PC adventure games I've played/purchased. My previous favorites have included Obsidian, Riven, The Black Dahlia, Grim Fandango, The Last Express, Blade Runner, and Myst. I must rate Riddle of the Sphinx well AHEAD of all of these games, for the following reasons: outstanding themes, wonderful ambience, coherent game structure, marvelous soundtrack, and the logical nature of puzzles. In sum, Riddle of the Sphinx is the best adventure game I have ever played. My suggestion is to BUY IT. If you enjoy pure adventure, this game delivers it in spades--you will not be disappointed.

Definitely one of the best Dreamcatcher games out there.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: August 29, 2002
Author: Amazon User

O.k. First for the negative stuff. For all those who have been complaining about the game "crashing" and for all those who complain about the game taking "so long" to complete, this is far from the truth.

First, I admit my computer crashed when I was playing this game. Did I just swear and reboot time after time getting frustrated? No. In fact, if you just go to the Dreamcatcher web site, you will find (no surprise to me) that there is a patch for the game which will prevent your computer from crashing. No more problems there.

Second, I have not used any walkthroughs, and it has only taken me about 50 hours to complete this game. So if you have the patience of a hungry lion, don't play this game. The puzzles are not as challenging as I'd like, but enough to keep you interested throughout the game.

Finally, the good stuff. The graphics are awesome. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out how to move around the scenes. If the prelude movies annoy you, you can just click through them. The gameplay is non-linear, so you don't have to do one task before you do another one (and there aren't too many games out there which are not linear in nature).

This is definitely a good buy for the price.

rots is a bad name

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: June 06, 2001
Author: Amazon User

recently finished this. what a surprise. I figured it would be a cheapo to do while waiting for exile. in reality, it turned out to be better; in fact, better than any point and click puzzle game i have done other than riven. regarding graphics, rots has some pretty pictures, but they are slightly grainy and washed out, especially at the 360 panning points, which, on at least one occasion, makes objects difficult to see. colors are not as fully saturated as in some other games. at no time, however, did i have problems with a dark screen, and i never had to turn up the brightness from average. the settings are appealing. some of the chambers inside the pyramid are stunning, while others are "primitive". included are underground cisterns, rivers, burial chambers,a maze, and an oasis surrounded by palms and temples. the pyramid has its own little observatory. the puzzle quality is excellent. while some of the ideas are "borrowed" from myst (rotating rooms, constellations, sliding balls, model ships surrounded by eight columns, rings of stones to be pressed in order), they are applied in an original manner, so you cant get by on what you found in myst. theres lots of exploration and pick-up objects, with hints from scrolls. i found none of the puzzles to be far fetched; as a matter of fact, most can be solved by finding the solution rather than having to figure it out. the little book (libretto) that comes with the game gives hints by showing the rooms. if you havent found one, you need to go back and look for it. its possible to die at several points, so judicious saving is necessary to prevent having to do large sections over. there is one bad point which causes rots to be downgraded to four. while it was ok on os8.6, on os9.1, it jammed repeatedly. the patch did not help, so i called the #, where they told me to turn off the ATIs in the extensions manager. this allowed the game to run perfectly, but was a minor pain in the a every time i wanted to play. in summary, an entertaining and challenging game that is worth much more than the price asked.

Great Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: October 24, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If you like interesting, non-violent, adventure games, then this is a must have. It starts off by giving you a run down of discoveries made with the real Sphinx and Pyramids and then pulls you in to make this one of the most "real" feeling games I've played. With many games I have gotten stuck and frustrated trying to find solutions to puzzles that are not logical, but in this game everything seemed to flow beautifully. Whenever I got stuck I would just go back and explore again, and see things I hadn't the first time.

The only downside to this game is its primitive graphics. Though good, it could have been much clearer and more advanced. This game has problems on PC's with the minimum requirements, yet doesn't do well on very fast machines either. Thankfully I was able to use a friend's 333 pentium and it ran just fine then. The music is occasionally intrusive and annoying as well.

Overall, though, I'm glad I got it, and it was worth the cost.

Old time (Hitch-hickers Guide) Fun!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: October 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

My husband I sat & played this together--had not played Myst at all--so we really enjoyed the "new" look & controls & puzzles very much. We had not had a computer since we sold our "commador 64" at a yard sale many years ago, till just late in 2001. We had played Hitch-hickers Guide on the old 64 & had a blast on that one...so when we were given a computer for christmas...we bought "The Riddle of the Sphinx". Our reaction was WOW! We had a few glitches which were promptly fixed by a free patch downloaded from the online Dreamcatcher site...so much for the other people with their problems & not seeking help...
We have since gotten Myst:Exile & I feel that Riddle of the Sphinx is Soooooo much more fun--one reason is you can pick up & take so many items & the graphics are just fantastic!! Exile did not let you interact with much at all--wouldn't let you pick up much, did not let you take anything along--talk about having to write everthing down! The best thing was the roller coaster ride in that game....Give us The Riddle any day...You actually had to think & find what the puzzle was to solve, Where Myst takes you right to the puzzle each time.
We are looking forward to purchasing the Omega Stone--About time they came out with another high caliber puzzle game... We have been waiting.......

Beware of Hidden Agenda in This "Egyptian" Adventure Game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 15 / 19
Date: August 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have played lots of adventure games, and I usually enjoy them, even if many of them are a bit clunky or goofy compared to their sleeker cousins. "The Riddle of the Sphinx" is definitely in the "Myst" family of games, the best of which (in my opinion) are probably "The Journeyman" series, or "The Longest Journey," because they have such a good sense of humor along with their solemn "save the world" messages. Most of these games involve aliens, popular mysteries such as Easter Island, the Pyramids, etc. Some have a sense of humor, with funny and self-conscious dialogue, and characters who are appealing and interesting. "The Riddle of the Sphinx" takes itself very seriously throughout, which is one strategy for building suspense, imitating the "solemnity" of the Myst series, and it's fine if you don't take it toooooo seriously. But the game also has a hidden agenda which appears at the very end, and is, to my mind, insidious.

I played this game with a walk-through because the puzzles, which mostly involve wandering from room to similar room picking up similar objects and dragging them around with you, tend to resemble each other. (By the time you "solve" the ultimate mystery, your inventory bag must weigh about 400 lbs!) I didn't have the patience or energy to solve the puzzles, and I admire players who did! Other reviewers have commented on the game's tendency to crash (it does freeze a fair amount), but if you save frequently, this is not such a problem. The game uses a tremendous amount of computer resources, and you have to be careful to close all applications which might be running in the background. You can do this during game-play by hitting Ctl-Alt-Del, and closing various applications as you go.

But it's the conclusion of the game which was really problematic for me. All adventure games give you a "reward" when you solve them-lights come on, music plays, and all the mysteries come together in a big, satisfying, "bang." Usually, you are smiling at the end, pleased as your computer takes off into never-never-land. Unfortunately, the ending of this game veers off into a grey area of religious doctrine which I think many gamers might find offensive--I certainly did. Without giving away the "mystery" for those who still want to play "Riddle of the Sphinx," suffice it to say that the creators of the game suggest (without much subtlety, and with little or no humor) that there is a literal biblical basis for much of the world's history, and that non-biblical cultures around the world ("pagans")have been "cursed" for meddling with the "true" (i.e. biblical) plan of the world. While I respect the beliefs of those who wrote this game, I think this kind of suggestion is inappropriate in any product not sold as "religious."

A line has been crossed here which many alert gamers will not appreciate. Most people play computer adventure games to be carried into a self-contained fantasy world. Whatever "preaching" goes on should be ecumenical and in the spirit of fun. I suggest that the game's creators might want to consider revising the ending of their game, or advertising it differently. And for gamers thinking of playing "Riddle of the Sphinx," beware the true curse at the end!

Not a Great Game, And a Bit Deceiving

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 23 / 35
Date: October 31, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First, there are similar games with better grahpics, like Myst. Second, upon playing the game I felt a bit betrayed. Nothing on the packaging indicates that this game has a specifically Christian outlook, but it becomes apparent upon play. Had I know, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. Now that I have I suppose I'll have to sell it in an attemp to recoup something. The designers, et al, should have had the integrity to be honest about the slant of the game BEFORE unsuspecting people buy it and discover it for themselves. I've nothing against proselytization, but at least be up front about it so that I don't waste my time or money.

Riddle of the Sphinx is One of the Best!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: February 25, 2001
Author: Amazon User

After reading the reviews, I really expected this to be a hohum game. I have played all of the Myst games and have to say that this game is better in theme, puzzles, gaming and difficulty. The only downfall is the navigation was a little deceptive in some critical areas. Although, this is common in all software games of this kind. It took a week and a half of about 3 hrs each night. It was a truly enjoyable experience! This game is worth double its cost. If you don't buy this one your missing a great classic.

Decent way to get lost in another world

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: April 17, 2001
Author: Amazon User

After finishing Riven, which kept me wanting to go back and just explore the scenery even more, I wanted to play another really good game that was able to make me feel like I was in another world. I've been interested in Egyptology for some time, and although that setting isn't quite what I was looking for to compare to the feel of Riven, Riddle of the Sphinx caught my attention.

First of all, the graphics are OK, but not great, although they do depict the pyramids very well. This game did a fairly decent job of creating another world to explore. One thing that kept it from being better is the fact that the sound kept cutting out every time I moved to another part of the scene. Music helps solidify a great "other world" adventure experience, and with music cutting out so much, it really took away from that experience.

Gameplay was average, although at times, clicking in a certain direction would put you facing a different direction than that which was clicked, which was very confusing at times.

Overall, it's a fun game, and is better than most Myst or Riven clones. If you like Egypt and are looking for an adventure game, give it a try.

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