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Myst-type game, good value

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: January 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I liked this game very much -- lots of hours per dollar of entertainment.

Plus:

* Able to explore lots of different environments, most of which are rendered with good graphics.

* You learn a little about ancient Egypt.

* Puzzles are fun and not terribly difficult (with perhaps one or two exceptions).

* Nonviolent.

Minus:

* Lame ending.

* Minimal interaction with other characters -- not much of a plot.

* Some puzzles require very tedious, repetitive actions.

Definitely one of the better games . . .

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: March 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have to say right off that if you liked Myst and Riven, you'll probably like this. While the outdoor and Gil's Tent graphics (not to mention the helicopter)are rather lame, you don't spend much time out there anyway (unless you're REALLY lost). The puzzles are superb, as you either figure out a puzzle somewhat quickly or you are stuck and have to get help (hopefully from someone who has already finished the game). I don't have sound on my computer because I can't figure out and find which driver had previously worked on it (before I deleted it accidentally), so I cannot rate the sound. The only reason (besides the poor outside graphics) that I marked down on this is that I can't get to some places, which, as I've been informed, I have to go to get the 6 tablets needed. My computer is a Pentium II at 210 Mgz (don't ask me how it went from 233 to 210-I have no earthly idea), and I know where I have to go, but the game freezes up on me whenever I try.

However, this game was a great time killer and an excellent puzzle to work out. While I still haven't finished it (yet), I have enjoyed playing it immensely. I hope this review has helped you decide whether this game is worth buying or not. Personally, I'd recommend it to anyone.

A must have (but...)

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: October 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game was so cultural and interesting, I felt like I often got lost in it. You have to have this game, I can't even stress enough how good it is.

The only flaws is like everyone is saying. It crashes if you play too long. So you might want to go for about thirty minutes, then stop and reboot your computer. And it WAS too dark down in the pyramids, and although I hate having to adjust my monitor for games, it is well worth changing the brightness ahead of time because you'll want to see everything. And save often.

You can make a career out of this

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: August 31, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I guess I'm not cut out for the gaming life, emphasis on life. I got stuck in the guy's tent which turned out to be less than 1% of the whole game. Luckily, I found a walk-through on the Internet (nineteen single-spaced pages) and I'm glad I did. Otherwise, I'm sure I would have quit after weeks, if not months, of frustration. It amazes me that anyone could conquer this without a walk-through. They should be working for the NSA. But the work that went into creating this game also amazes me. I don't know how this one compares with other games but I was sure impressed with the graphics, sounds and just the "feel" of it seemed right.

Great puzzles, mediocre interaction

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 22, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is one of the best games puzzle-wise, that I have played in a long time. Most of the puzzles were just right; and they made a lot of sense, unlike some games I've played. The puzzles made it worth the problems and playability issues we encountered. I was disappointed with the controls and the bugginess of the Windows version. There are a lot of 'empty' screens to click through. Although a 'warping' feature is provided for faster movement, it is often confusing. Also, the habit of the camera 'helping' you out by turning a corner for you can be very disorienting, especially in a maze area. Despite loading the patch and following the instructions for the sound, we often played without sound (which makes it difficult to determine the outcome of a puzzle and whether it was solved if the cue is an aural one. The end of the game hinges on sound as well, and we eventually played the audio file directly off the CD in order to hear it. A little QC / playability analysis and debugging would have gone a long way and made this a 5-star game in my book.

In the Eyes ...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is most mind challenging game I have ever played. It is worthy to receive a 5 star request. I spent hours on the game every day and in about a week worth of playing I had it figured out and got into the sphinx. I opened the ark too. i still have fun playing the game over and over. I love the great graphics it contains and how intence your mind focuses on it. i would like to say that the over all game was a fun and great game. Not only was it fun it had alot of historic information. One thing that I learned was that the sphinx was created before the Egyptians came and how they took the head ofg the Pharoe and stuck it wear the spinx's head was. That was very interesting to me. I hope that I can find another game so I can relive that same expearience from the Riddle of the Spinx. In closing I would like to saw that the creator did an awsome job on the game.

MOST AUTHENTIC EGYPTIAN GAME OF ALL

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: March 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Unlike Myst, Riven and those mind boggling puzzle games, Riddle is the BEST by far. Having been to Egypt and seen first hand the places in the game, you cannot beat it for realizm. The puzzles are solvable, interesting, and enjoyable. The 3D graphics are terrific, easy music while playing the game and the content is the fantastic. It was a pleaseure to play this game which is why we play adventure games in the first place. I was not furstrated trying to solve some mathmeatical nighmare. Recommend this game to everyone, and don't pay attention to those who gave it a bad review. Atlantis games stink compared to Riddle.

Intriguing idea but a little too linear

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: July 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Riddle of the Sphinx does an excellent job of capturing the imagination with its interpretation of ancient Egypt and the Indiana Jones school of archeology. The visuals are evocative and are complimented fairly well by the soundtrack. I was also pleasantly surprised by the attention to detail shown by the designers in their inclusion of Egyptian mythology. Many subtle elements had symbolic connections to various Egyptian deities such as music to the goddess Hathor.

The actual gameplay is interesting; however, puzzles are often drawn out and too linear. As opposed to many adventure games, most objects will not be re-used or combined to solve scenarios. Although this prevents "leap of logic" puzzles (i.e. climbing a cliff with a fork and a rope), it also reduces the challenge of the game. There were also several occasions where pieces of a puzzle were impossible to find on the screen unless a lucky mouse click revealed them.

The game was very glitchy upon the initial install and it required the patch and an extensive use of the troubleshooting guide before it would work at all, despite having beyond the maximum specs for the game.

I have read several other reviews which complained about the "Christian" ending of the game. I am rather surprised by this assertion, as I found this game much more influenced by the pseudo-history of Graham Hancock of "Fingerprints of the Gods". Any "Christian" influence is at most superficial and forced - which is an accurate assessment of the game's ending. This, and the sequel The Omega Stone, do not reflect a Biblical perspective of history. Atlantis, El Dorado, or the Pyramids for that matter appear nowhere in the Bible. Like many other games of its ilk, most noticeably those containing Atlantis references, this game requires a substantial suspension of disbelief in the archeology/history it presents. That being said, the game is quite enjoyable in its depiction of that history though I did find the conclusion rather silly.

All in all, this is an interesting game with enough elements to fire the imagination, but I would have appreciated more difficult puzzles.

disappointing and offensive

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 18
Date: November 11, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Disappointing because the graphics were often beautiful and the premise interesting, but the technical glitches were too much to bear. Simple navigation was a disaster, the attempt at 3-D didn't work.

Offensive because the authors insist on putting their religious beliefs into their printed writeup.

It might be fun, but I never found out.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 14, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I read all the reviews and system requirements. It sounded as if it would work well with my Apple G3 (beige) with Mac OS 8.5.

Unfortunately, when it arrived, it didn't work. I had QuickTime 5.0 beta 2 on my system. I installed the game with QuickTime 4 translation. It never worked with QuickTime 5 beta 2, so I uninstalled QuickTime 5 and downgraded to QuickTime 4.1.2. It didn't work then, either! It kept wanting missing game files and QuickTime 3, for some reason.

After I uninstalled and reinstalled the game and QuickTime ten times or more, I decided to send the Dreamcatcher (the game's maker) Tech Support department an e-mail.

All in all, this would have been a fun game if it had worked with my newer software. Just be careful when buying this game and your computer has newer hardware and/or software on it because you may have a hard time getting it to work.

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