User Reviews (1 - 11 of 65)

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Wish I Could Play...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 16
Date: October 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Looking for a new PC game to play, I got Sanitarium based in part on the reviews here on Amazon. Unfortunately, I'm getting stuck on the second level because of whatever bug produces lock-up on that level. I've tried downloading the patch for this, and while I got further along the second time, it still locked up. ASC is out of biz for over a year, and I've written to DreamForge, but for now, this game is essentially a set of 3 silver drink coasters. Aaarrrrgggghhhh....

It does not run on XP

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 19
Date: March 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Please don't buy the game thinking it runs on XP. It does not. I was on so many chat boards trying to find patches or help to make it run. It ran for a little and then would crash at places. What we did get to play did not impress me. However, others have said it is great. My 1 star is a little unfair because of the OS I was running.. but such is life.

I'd give zero stars if I could

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: December 01, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have to echo what other frustrated XP users have said - even though the package says it works with XP, it clearly doesn't. Too bad...looked like a fun game.

Brilliant concept - terrible execution

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 8
Date: November 10, 1999
Author: Amazon User

The subject matter of Sanitarium is eerily dark, surreal, and occasionally disturbing (wait until you see the town of deformed children) and starts with a bang. From the 3rd chapter on it all rapidly goes downhill. I got the feeling that the first two chapters were the only ones that were really thought out, and the rest were just sort of tacked on to fill space. The levels where you morph into a four-armed cyclopean comic book character and an aztec stone god seem to belong in a different game entirely. The mood is broken so many times in the course of the story that it's irrecoverable by the end. Speaking of the mood the AWFUL voice acting nearly kills it all on its own. You'll want to play this one with the sound off. Biggest problem - NO challenge! Its a puzzle-style game, and I've played a lot of them granted. But I beat this game in approximately 6 hours with no looking on the web for clues. Not a good return on my investment. Bottom line, find a demo and play the first two levels. You won't be missing anything after that.

DOES NOT WORK ON WIN XP!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

You can't give it zero star so I am stuck with giving it one... Oh well, the box is kinda nice. But Windows XP users, beware: this game will NOT work on your machine despite what it claims on the box. At best, you MIGHT be able to play for a short while before the fatal crash. I went as far as playing it for 10 seconds. My verdict, useless piece of crap! This company gets on my black list for lying about its product

Sanitarium

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: September 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This looked like a great buy. I'm very much into rpg/thiller games huge sh fan. Sadly the package says windows 95/98/me/xp????I have xp
Well then why is'nt it working? If anyone knows the help would be awsome thanks Crissy126@hotmail.com

PC game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I read lots of great reviews for this game that made me want to play it. It will not play on my XP. Talked to a lot of other gamers that tried to help but nothing worked. Am holding onto it in case I can get a chance to play it on another computer. I don't think it is XP compatible.

Unchallenging and silly

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: July 07, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Sanitarium may have some interesting locations, but that's all it has going for it. I only played through to find out what was really going on, and, believe me, it wasn't worth it. Just think of the most cliched ending a game like this could possibly have, and you know how it turns out.

During the game, the puzzles are so simple that they didn't even feel like puzzles. Playing Hide and Go Seek? That's a real challenge. The longest I spent on any puzzle was when I knew I had to dig a hole, I just couldn't find the danged shovel. It was right out in plain view, but the detail of the scenery caused me not to notice it.

I would only recommmend Sanitarium to those who desperately crave a good-looking adventure game and don't care about the plot or puzzles.

Oh, the repetition...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: June 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is basically a point-and-click game with various puzzles to figure out; even the plotting itself is a puzzle to be put together to progress. That is where my primary complaint with the game comes into full bloom. The character(s) you control always move at a slow walk(there really isn't anything to run away from) and this is so annoying, especially if you have to walk from one side of an area(town, village, etc.) to another just to exchange information or gather an item only to return to the previous location. One area made me laugh at one point because I had to once more "walk!" through an entire Aztec village just to gather the lineage information for six fallen warriors. I broke out my pen and paper and subsequently got my virtual excercise. But that is not the only moment in this game that I threw my hands in the air. Another is in a small town. The character(s) are able to pick up and use items they find in rooms, along the way, etc. I am going to ruin this part of the game because it was utterly ridiculous. I was "walking!" all over town clicking in vain, trying desperately to find any sort of an answer to the state of limbo I was in, when I suddenly picked up a rock. A rock! There are rocks all over that bloody town! However, there is a lot here worth mentioning in glowing terms. The places are all interesting and filled with unnerving characters. There are many blood-filled chambers with defiled remains and maniacal behavior from the gruesome denizens that inhabit this game. There are multiple characters to be controlled, even if, in the end, they are essentially one character battling with his dementia. That plot-line is revealed at the start of the game, so don't be mad at me for unveiling it now. The mechanisms that have to be deciphered or puzzled over are all excellent as far as graphics and level of difficulty. They are not so hard as to cause violent head-shaking, yet not so easy as to allow any random clicking to unravel them. Overall, for a decent price, I can see many enjoying this game and "walking!" through the various areas patiently looking for clues...and "rocks!" If you have a lot of time to burn then this is your game. The fact that you can save the game at any point is also a large plus. Take it easy.

Irritating in some parts, fantastic in others

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: June 19, 2001
Author: Amazon User

You've read the synopsis so I won't repeat it. Some of the places you get to visit are amazing, filled with interesting challenges. Other places are packed to the edges with characters you need to talk to -- at length, and slowly. Parts of the game deserve 5 stars, others deserve only 1. This averages to 3 stars, though I'd still recommend the game at this price!

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