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Nonsensical puzzles. Get the DVD version.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 18, 2007
Author: Amazon User

If I had played this in DVD, perhaps my experience would have been a better one. Not that the puzzles would have made any sense- they wouldn't. Not that the ending would have wrapped things up more satisfactorily- it wouldn't. But, at least the ride would have been better.

After years of devotedly playing adventure games, I've become discouraged. Seems that designers think that the harder the puzzles, the better the game and the less sense it makes, the better the puzzle. I suppose there are gamers who like that sort of thing, but not me.

For the opportunity to wander in gorgeous other-worlds, immersed in graphics that takes my breath away, I am willing to put up with nonsensical puzzles...provided I have a walkthrough and did not pay a lot for the game.

Schizm, being an older game, still has beautiful graphics. There is no snow- my personal favorite- or rain, however there are some lovely, if limited, vistas with excellent detail.

Thankfully, the designers used video for the few people you encounter, and not computer rendered characters. The voicework is done very well, and the music and sound effects go excellently with the areas you move about in. However, the differentiation between sounds for two puzzles should have been better. There are no captions for the sound puzzles.

There are a couple of enjoyable puzzles- the train tracks was fun, but hard. It made sense and you had to think your way through to solve it.

The rest were best left to the walkthrough. The markings on one puzzle were poorly rendered and difficult to see. Another made no sense at all for your actions- there was no reason given for what you had to do. To make it worse, you can complete only part of the solution before having to go hunt down a tiny missing part...with no clue as to where to find it. (A note: From one website, it seems that there should have been a character asking for this item, however the CDRom did not show this request)

As noted, the CDRom version has too many problems to make it worth buying. Overall, unless you are playing the DVD version, I would recommend you find something else to play.

An unbelievable nightmare . . .

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

When I first installed this and got it working (finally!) my jaw dropped to my feet. I had been under the impression from the screen shots online and on the box that this game actually looked as good as, say - Myst?
Hah.
When I finally realized I had done nothing wrong in the install and troubleshooting, I was so disgusted I actually felt bile rise in my mouth. In short, this game looks TERRIBLE.
Now, I'm out about 60 bucks for two games that are outright unplayable. This and Reah. They inhale big time. Why? Because they are nothing more than interactive mpegg-y video sequences. You don't actually explore anything, unless you like watching bad streaming video at low resolutions as you 'walk' to the next location. You can't look at anything, and the video garbage is so messy that this is in no way an interactive experience, unless they were just going for eyestrain. When you stand in one area, there are huge color blocks and hash that obscure and ruin what might have been nice visuals.
Why couldn't they have gone for still screens like in Riven or Myst? Those were immersing enough and sure as hell looked a lot better. This hack company tried to go to 3d and it's so god awful I can't describe it accurately. It's like downloading a bad video off of some kid's computer. I can't believe this was brought to this country. Remember that train sequence in the first Myst, the one that drove everyone nuts and was ugly to boot. Imagine blowing up that low res stuff to fill the whole screen and trying to play it. Well this game is just like that, there are no worlds to explore, just click the arrow and watch a cruddy video of how you walk through the area.
People compare it to Myst 3 with 360 views of all locations. Huh? Maybe they got a different game. What I got was so unlike Myst 3 that I'm just stunned. In fact, I have never run into this kid of gaming engine before, And I have played all kinds of games, from Mario to Kings Quest. This kind of engine is pure rot.
What it looks like is this grainy video that you press and arrow to 'walk' forward. Then the low quality video takes you halfway across town or whatever to another puzzle that you can hardly see because it's so low res.
Wow, I am out of money and patience and warn you to stay away from this clunker like the plague.

Bad...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: August 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Okay, first off, I've played MYST since I was five, so don't think I don't know about this stuff. *ahem* Anyway...it's horrible.

First off, the storyline is so...bland...boring...bizarre...(need I go on?)... It lacks the depth that I expected.

Second of all, the puzzles are almost impossible to solve. My dad and I eventually stopped playing it, even after we looked at the walkthrough on the internet, because nothing was coming together right and we were basically just walking back and forth thinking we missed something. Well, there's really nothing to miss...it's just poorly done, that's all...

Third of all, despite what you may think, the graphics aren't that great. Sure, the music is OK, but...I've seen better...

So, the verdict? I would suggest skipping right on out of this web page and ordering yourself a copy of Real MYST.

A first for me...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The first plot to EVER make Star Trek look good.

The basic premise is that people from Earth inhabited a planet full of wonderful machinery, but no people. It is a Type 4, M type planet (Oh my God!) If that part of the plot didn't pique your interest, I don't know what will. The two characters that you play as were stranded now, and all the people from Earth have dissapeared also... DUN-DUH! The cymbals crash, I'm incredibly involved in the plot... Which finally comes back at the end of the game, with a twist that is so ludicrous! It was a cop-out that was almost insulting! Not that there was all that much build-up.

Let me start out by saying that you will never have to worry about the incessent talking that are unfortently all to common in some adventure games... In fact, you never talk at all. One could say that there are no cutscenes in this game, but everytime you move, the game simulates the first-person footsteps as you 'move' forward. This was graphically stunning (I used the CD and I thought the Graphics were awesome. But I've never seen the DVD version) But it also leads me to my next point.

You cannot skip these walking scenes. Some last as long as thirty seconds, and you still have to go through six more to get to the location that you want to go to! At first I was like 'This is beautiful' and the second time I passed by that same stupid boat thingie I'm like 'Look at the view' and by the tenth I've brought a book to read while I'm waiting for the clip to stop! It made Kate Walker's continuous walking in 'Syberia' a sprint!

However, the puzzles were very hard, with occasional clues that in were in no way obvious. I had a walkthrough.

You must know Pythagorean's thereom in order to understand a puzzle, as well as understand warped alien language played backwards... Your clue 'plays' once, and then you never hear it again. So pay attentian! Unfortently, due to all the walking, My book distracted me from this ever so temporary hint, so I had to once again, look at the walkthrough.

There's a glitch, where if you follow the logical choice (Going to a new location that opened up) you will lose the game. So make sure to remember that your characters (There are two, remember?) have not visted the locations that the other started in. I know this seemes like a spoiler, but if you don't think of this, you will lose the game and be forced to start over from scratch, very tedious considering all those once beautiful cutscenes of 'walking'.

The music was okay, not outstanding. Of course, it's not like James Newton Howard was on call for the soundtrack. "A new Dreamcatcher game? I'll be right there!" I think not.

Overall, I gave this game a three, because if you are in for a game with outanding graphics, and extremely so-hard-that-you-bang-your-head-against-the-wall-repeatedly-and-get-a-concusion-and-your-game-crashes-so-you-have-to-start-all-over-again puzzles, then you'll probably love it. I think that Myst lovers will enjoy it too... Not that there's a difference. For newbies, I suggest Nancy Drew games (Do not get any after number nine, except for maybe number 11. The other games stink... I sugges Danger on Deception Island) or Syberia for those who are bored of Nancy Drew. Perhaps, Mystery of the Mummy will do something for those who found Syberia too easy. But, for those who don't care about the puzzles, enjoy walking around. The graphics are superb.

Pshaw, ignore it.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: November 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a nice game, but somewhere around the second or third puzzle I had to cheat to figure out how it worked. No sane person could figure it out. I NEVER would have.
I wouldn't recommend it. I never even finished it. How can I if I have to cheat to do the puzzels?

"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.

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.

save your money unless you're a masochist

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Like many before me, I give mixed reviews because this is both good and bad. The bad outweighs the good overall because the bad is so, well, BAD! I thought the music and graphics were gorgeous. I found the cursor was difficult to use. It took me two or three tries and reinstalls to realise the problem was you needed to swing the cursor left and right to get a response. Bizarre. I found the puzzles had no relation to the environment, and that really put me off. I spent a few hours and solved the first two puzzles by guesswork. That is not what I want the game for; I want to use the old noodle, but not merely guess. It almost seemed random, but since I didn't go through it all, I cannot say for certain if that were the case or not. Overall, any of the Myst games would be preferable.

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.

Very difficult game, but rewarding in the end

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: September 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought Schizm: Mysterious Journey just solely on the graphics I saw on the package and this was one game I do not regret buying. I only have the CD-ROM version, but I understand it is only made better if you get the DVD-ROM. Even if the graphics on the CD-ROM isn't the sharpest, I was still very impressed with many of the surrealistic landscapes. Also, it's much better to have all five discs installed, as it would avoid you the hassle of having to swipe discs as you travel new places. It took me an hour to give all five discs installed on my system, but then you don't have to worry about that again, and it makes things so much easier never having to changes discs. This game originated in Poland, but for us North American users, was translated to English. As it turns out the comparisons to the MYST series can't be avoided. You have to solve many puzzles to get places, just as you do MYST. Some puzzles are random (like getting the fish-like balloon craft inflated and ready for flight). Yes, many of these puzzles are very difficult, and unless you're a rocket scientist, you're probably going to need a walkthrough. Be sure to write things down on paper as you go along. This game is not for novices, but for those wanting a challenge, go for Schizm.

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