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I HATED THIS GAME

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game from the "bargain bin" not realizing that there was a DVD version of the game - in the long run it probably would not have made a difference. With the CD-ROM details are fuzzy. I'm sure this game is beautiful with the DVD version since there are some spectacular colors even on the CD-ROM. In any case, this does not take away from the fact that I loathed this game.

In Schizm there are two characters - Sam and Hannah. At times you play Sam, other times Hannah. One of the difficulties is knowing who to play when. As we all know, there is a lot of running around in adventure games. That's just the nature of the genre and true to form, there's a lot of back and forth to various locations. That's OK but sometimes you have to do this with both characters - the exact same locations, essentially repeating all that running around. But that wasn't what did me in.

What did me in were the puzzles. I'm not big on puzzles that don't seem to have any relation to the story. In other words, finding clues, putting them together and solving the puzzle. No - some of these were random puzzles. Just keep on plugging in numbers over and over again until you come up with the right combination. The puzzle that truly tried my sanity was a maze-type puzzle - basically finding a route from one place to another while the game blocks your moves eventually cutting you off from reaching the end. The puzzle is random so it's a new route everytime. It's not as easy as it sounds. I probably attempted this puzzle 30-40 times until I got it right. But guess what...you don't have to do this one time, but twice and you have to get it right two times in a row. One walkthrough (I had to use three different ones) stated that if you kept track of your moves on the first successful attempt all you had to do was repeat the results on the second try - nope. Oh but guess what??? Once you are successful with this puzzle, you get to go to another location and do the exact same puzzle again. Sorry - not me. That's when I quit. I was able to finished 3/4 of this horrible game but I just couldn't go on.

I would only recommend this game if you are some kind of masochist.

It rocks

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: May 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

hey there, wanna tell you why most of you guys didn't like Schism? Because you weren't supposed to play it! Go play Larry, Syberia or something else! For those of you who have no patience DO NOT BUY Schizm. Yes it's a difficult game but most puzzles are very nice. They have no ... solutions like aother ...adventures. I am a die-hard Riven player and I find Schizm very astonishing too. To be honest I haven't finished it yet but I will in a couple of days I guess. For those of you who REALLY Like Myst series, just like me, go buy Schizm now! For you who have found games like Syberia difficult don't even bother. A Two suggestions.Buy the dvd version cause the graphics on the CD version kinda [stink].Suggestion two;Don't give up,be patient,and listen to Schism too(!)

I discovered something! DO NOT BUY THE CD ROM VERSION!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 11, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Apparently, according to the games creators (of which there are 6 working to an extremely low budget) the DVD version carries 9.6 GB of data compared to the CD Rom versions 2.3 or so. Hence, many scenes and areas were cut and some puzzles lft out. It also comes on one disk rather than five or so.

The graphical quality is far superior, but that won't change anything unless you're a fan of games such as Atlantis and Myst 3. Like puzzles that'll keep you scratching your head forever? Buy it!

If not, then why'd you even think about buying it in the first place? Fools!

Get the DVD version...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 08, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I bought the CD version of this game (because my computer can't play the DVD version.) The graphics were stunning, and the puzzels were (mostly) logical. My only complaint is that the clues cut out of the CD version made the puzzels MUCH harder to solve. I eventually had to give up and get a walkthough, but I recommend trying to solve the puzzels yourself first (that's always more rewarding.) Anyway, I think if I had the clues from the DVD version I wouldn't have had so many problems.

I liked it!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 25, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I liked it. I used the full install option and the graphics were realistic, flowed from scene to scene flawlessly. No lag time at all. I needed a walkthrough for the "higer math" puzzles. For me this was a $$$ trip to another world that lasted better than a week. And the flying scenes are incredible. 5 stars and the programmers earned every one of them. Bring on the sequel.

A breathtaking expenrience

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Schizm, lets start with words such as stunning, breathtaking, seductive, mystical, and surreal. These words apply perfectly to a game that has brought to life the adventure game genre. Created by a group of Polish aesthethic designers and an incredible cast of writers, this game has what it takes to amaze any player, especially Myst fans. Unlike Myst 3 Exile, the enemy is the game itself while in myst 3 Exile, the enemy was an actual character of the game (Saavedro). The player has to use the wit and the intelligence to defeat an unseen mystery, lurking and threatning the player at any time in a deserted world. Although the Myst franchize excells in sound, story, and 3D environment, Schizm excells in mystery and a sense of fright of being in a threatning environment. Schizm like many adventure game genre, except for The Longest Journey, Myst saga, Grim Fandago, and Escape from Monkey Island, suffers from a bad dialogue and acting job. It is hard for a foreign actor to support a dialogue written in English, but it is evident that they were trying, at least. Apart from this, the game was superb and most players will use this game to entretain themselves until The Longest Journey or the Myst saga is released. Schizm, in general, is a complicated game made for hardcore players. If you are a novice player in the adventure game genre, then you have to reconsider when purchasing this game. Also, it is impossible to use a walkthrough guide in this game because the puzzles' generater alters in every game. Mind you, it is a sophisticated game. Schizm is a diamond in a rough, yet it brings an aura of enchantment for something that is not real. The environment is beyond our perceivable imagination. This game really shows what it can be made with a group of sophisticated designers. Schizm is one rare game in which aesthetical elements are being introuduced to the player in formidable ways such as sound, manual interface, and a chilling story. The story itself is mingled between fantasy, science fiction, and psychological horror. Please, do not be afraid because the game doesn't render a horrorifical experience, yet it has glimpses of a psychological edge to the human mind. Like a beautiful flower, Schizm both enchants and devours the player into an unforgetable experience of a lifetime.

Teddy

"You've gotta be kidding......"

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: September 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Wow. The title of the review is pretty much the sum of the parts. Excessive-compulsive cd swapping. Two characters so you can play the same game twice. Puzzles that you simply didn't know existed.

"Einstein couldn't solve the puzzles on Schizm", the quote is true. But what the previous reviewer failed to point out is........why would Einstein even bother?

Schizm is lacking in so many areas that adventure games are expected to have, it is a shock that I continued to play this game for the sheer beauty of the lands.

However shocking it may be, Schizm starts off suprisingly strong. The puzzles are difficult, but fair. You'll be pleasently suprised if you choose to play the first two lands. All I saw was a four star rating from this point in time.

But then......the game continues. And as it continues the game proceeds to lack a plot, an experience, and a grip of logic.

The puzzles fail at this point because the player is always lead to believe he or she is doing something entirely different than what is intended. And there will be no hints.......

One puzzle involves changing a scattered code of Arglirian numbers into a different set. Never does this game even hint to the fact that this code is not an access key. Looking at the strategy guide I can tell you I was appalled to see the steps I would have to take in order to continue.

And have a geometry/calculus book handy as well. Does the game give you hints to lead you on the geometric triangle puzzle? I think not.

Last but not least, there are double character puzzles. This means you must traverse the same grounds to get to the same location with both characters. And they have to go all the way back. And then one of the characters will have to go to the other side of THAT land, and so forth.... I was in shock the game creators actually thought this COULD be fun.

All that negativity being shed, however, I liked the puzzles in Schizm (the first two lands). They were made for the experienced adventure gamer and any adult can appreciate that, as games like Syberia and the Longest Journey hold your hand all the way through the game.

But frankly, an adventure game cannot be fueled without a good plot, and the only chance you'll get at that will be the end.......(the best part of the game.....it is SO CHEESY). I had no desire to wrap up the puzzles, and that's a shame, because I'm sure this company is well aware Prima Strategy guides are upwards 20 dollars.

Two stars says you should just steer clear. This game turns into a chore, and steals any chance of redemption.

Beware the Bugs!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: December 31, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Although this title has quite a few reviews, I wanted to add the information that some people, myself included, have found the game to be extremely buggy. I have the CD version, and it has some serious bugs. The worst is that when you switch from one character to the other, the current game is not loaded. If you save often, you can always load the correct one, except when you get to a puzzle where both characters have to work cooperatively. In that case, it is impossible to get past this puzzle because no game will exist with the cooperative actions in it (if you see what I mean). After struggling with this game for 3 days, I threw it in the trash. I've never done that before. The bugs, combined with some of the most irritating puzzles I've ever encountered (can't save in a multiple part puzzle, for example) made this game a total waste of $...

Unbelieveably bad

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: June 01, 2002
Author: Amazon User

CDROM version. This game is horrible. The graphics [arn't very good], the gameplay is slow, it keeps crashing, and the game riddles are insanely difficult because there is no logical flow to them. I wanted a game that was like MYST and got a big piece of do-do. Stay away at all costs.

It out-MYSTs MYST

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: June 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I played this game as a team with my husband some time back and I just completely fell in love with it. I had been disappointed with the decline of puzzle complexity in the MYST series after Riven and had never seen another game in the genre that had puzzles of that sort, until we heard some buzz about this one and tried it out. We LOVED it to pieces. Yes, it is hard, but that was what we loved - we felt that the challenge of the puzzles really worked us out and kept us hooked. It stands apart from any other game we've ever played in the Dreamcatcher line-up and I really look forward to trying its sequel.

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