Schizm the toughest adventure game ever?, Which game did you find to be toughest?

[Lucky-Rainbow]

Personally, I found Schizm to be the single 'hardest' adventure game I have run across.  While my math skills are pretty strong, I found myself going to UHS repeatedly for the puzzle solutions.  When combined with sound puzzles where the clue sounds can't be repeated (unless you luckily activate one of the 'ghosts' a second time) and the fact that for the most difficult sound puzzle, you can't even hear the results of your trials unless you get it right, the devious math puzzles and frustrating Twixt games against computer opponents made this game difficult in the extreme.  

On the other hand.....it was a lot of fun too.

I am curious as to whether I am the only player who found this game to be the 'toughest yet."  Heck....maybe it was just me.  

[Lucky-Rainbow]

Well, at least ONE other person agrees with me.  hehehe

[Alahmnat]

Well, I can't really make an informed oppinion as I've not played anything but the 3 Myst games and Schizm.  I would venture to say that Riven is tougher than Schizm, from what I've played of Schizm, but Schizm's internal logic is a bit more... obscure, I guess you could say.  You'd think after playing Reah (another game by the same studio) I would have better grasped their thinking.  Guess not.

*wanders off pondering maybe re-installing the game and trying it again*

[Donahoo]

Well, at least ONE other person agrees with me.  hehehe

Sorry to burst your bubble. The forum thinks I voted for Schizm, but I did not.  :confused:  I get a message that I already voted in the poll, but I'm sure I backed out of this thread. I did look at the choices. I never finished Schizm, and the only other game I have played, Crystal Key, is not one of the choices. Due to lack of interest, I didn't give either game a chance, so I'm not qualified to vote.

Maybe Al can fix the poll for you.


Anne

[Lucky-Rainbow]

No problem.  
I also played Crystal Key, but I found it rather...boring.  I didn't include it on the poll partly because it was simply too short to be included in a survey of the "toughest" games.

[Fallstar]

I think I was the other one that voted Schizm...hehe!
I've played Crystal Key as well...it was fun...considering how quickly it went. I didn'g too much care for the ending...but had to laugh at the villain...and how I kept getting 'killed'...sheesh!

But I did like the graphics okay...not as nice as the Myst series graphics...and the Schizm environment.  I had a tough time deciding between Schizm and Riven...and since I'm stuck on Schizm at the moment...and have not played for a while...I chose it.

I have a bunch of new games sitting on my shelf...waiting their turn...including Traitors Gate, Beyond Atlantis, Amerzone, and Monty Python's Meaning of Life...haha! Guess I better get a move on!  This should last me until Myst 4 is completed! haha!

Fallstar  

[Alahmnat]

* Fallstar* HTML doesn't work on these boards.  Use the iB code tags and/or buttons, which use square brackets [ ], not angle brackets < > like HTML.

[Fallstar]

LOL!!!  :D  Sorry Al...I've been straining my brain over HTML for the last week or so...trying to come up with a 'practice' website! haha! I guess between that..and Exile forum..I kinda forgot about the iB tags! I had immersed myself into HTML so much...that I even started dreaming in HTML!  Pretty strange stuff...


I'll go fix it now...

[Alahmnat]

Hehe, you know you're a webmaster when your dreams sometimes involve reading your webboards (or others, for that matter, but that just means your a web addict ).

Now, what was the topic again?

[Lucky-Rainbow]

While Beyond Atlantis is a lovely game, I HIGHLY recommend that you do NOT waste your money on Beyond Atlantis II.  It sucks in just about every way possible.  I also can recommend Traitor's Gate and Riddle of the Sphinx, two of the best adventure games I have played in recent years.  And, of course, The Longest Journey, which is one of the top games ever.

[Donahoo]

While Beyond Atlantis is a lovely game, I HIGHLY recommend that you do NOT waste your money on Beyond Atlantis II.  It sucks in just about every way possible.  I also can recommend Traitor's Gate and Riddle of the Sphinx, two of the best adventure games I have played in recent years.  And, of course, The Longest Journey, which is one of the top games ever.

I have Beyond Atlantis, but I don't remember whether it is II or not. I bought it at the same time I bought Crystal Key. I was so disappointed in CK that I have not even taken the shrink wrap off Beyond Atlantis.

Anne

[Leo'Ri]

We think Schizm is the toughest game, because we are stuck with a ever-freezing version and we will never, never end this game, but waste our time with rebooting and rebooting and rebooting.
No jokes, Riven was up to now the most difficult one for us. Exile was, similar to Myst, divided in several 'chapters' or parts that could be solved independently.

[Leo'Ri]

Now, after having explored some parts of SCHIZM, we recognize that it has actually beautyful views of it all, but, compared with MRED, the game itself lacks consistency, and there is no target known.
E.g., in MYST we had to find red and blue pages, in RIVEN it was Katharina's liberation, and in EXILE we had to recover the Book of Releeshahn from Saavedro's hands. But in SCHIZM, nothing of that. The action area is reduced, you cannot touch but very few things, you run around looking for what?
Thus, despite of the magnificent graphics and nice puzzles, it is simply frustrating if you don't know what you are supposed to do. Add to this frustration the software instability, and you may not find many reasons to continue.

[Leo'Ri]

Again, running Schizm now on the AMD processor there are no breakdowns, and it is possible to go on. But the puzzles are not "tough" in the dictionary sense of that word, but simply not to be solved by means of logic and brainpower.

While we rushed (well, OK, nor actually rushing that fast...) through MYST, RIVEN and EXILE, the game on one computer, and writing the protocol on the other, (we believe to have the right to be proud to have finished the 3 games without any external help), with Schizm one computer runs the game, and the other ... an Internet walkthrough. Shame! But not with Schizm, there is no external help to be ashamed to use it.

[Fallstar]

I agree Leo'Ri! I have access to the walkthrough...but have yet to actually finish the game!

[Leo'Ri]

Thanks, Fallstar, now we are at least two saying the things as they are.

And, again, it is a pity, but it sticks: There is (at least up to now) no game to be compared with Myst & Co.

[mystmum]

I don't know about the difficulty of Schizm, but the frustration is right up there! The software is so buggy, when you think you figure something out you have to spend hours rebooting the dang thing to get it to run right and forget what you think you solved!

Somehow I don't think I will ever be bothered working it out.

[Atocha]

[Yeah guys i agree about Schizm being the most difficult game i have ever played it was insane how hard it was!!! but i had fun even though i had to get help maybe i can go back through it and try without cheating and see how far i get cause i got pretty far without cheating then i ended up needing help.

[Zanar]

Beyond Atlantis.........hmmmm.....Is that the first game to a 2 game series?I think the first was Atlantis:lost tales.If i'm thinking of the same game and second was Beyond Atlantis.Is there a second beyond atlantis?A 3rd in the series?I know they were somwhat difficult though i was very young a long while ago....Shcizm i've never heard of . besides the frustration factor do any of u recomend it?

[Fallstar]

It's actually a three-game series now...

- Atlantis: The Lost Tales
- Beyond Atlantis
- Beyond Atlantis II

Schizm was (IMO) very difficult as far as puzzles go...it was never clear exactly what you needed to do to progress in the game. I (as well as few others I know) gave up part way through the game and uninstalled it. The graphics are awesome though...but the character actors (videos of real people) were pretty bad. But if you have patience for that type of game, I would recommend it. The sequal is now available, called Mysterious Journey II.

You can find information on all the above games at The Adventure Company.

[Iehova]

Schizm. Hardest adventure ever.

(But on the reality note, wouldn't the game be almost 100% realistic, in 'Like... what do I have to do?')

[*moietay:)]

Its hard for me to vote on this because I played myst when I was 9 so it appeared to be really hard and I had to practically do the whole thing using a hint site, I found Riven pretty easy, Exile was quite challanging, I havent finished Riddle of the Sphinx and I havent played any of the other ones.

[Cfischer83]

Wow, old thread

Myst 4 Revelation

[MYSTerio]

I agree, Schizm was quite hard, probably the hardest game i've ever played! The puzzles didn't come at you right away and to find the solution you would have to go back and fourth for a while before u got it

[Ramandu]

I personally voted on Exile because it was the hardest of the games that I have played (that were on the list) . Revelation was not on the list, but it is definitely the hardest of the Myst games. I have not played Schizm or any of the other games like it.