Schizm: Mysterious Journey

The Good
Schizm was one of the most highly anticipated adventure games to come out in recent years. It was in the development stages when the original publisher, Project 2, went belly up so there was serious doubt that we would ever see this title in stores. Part of the reason that Project 3 Interactive was organized (by former P2 employees) was because of their belief in this game. So, when I finally saw it for sale in the US, I grabbed it. But, other things got in the way and it sat in my closet for a year before I got around to playing it.

It is obvious that the "mentor" for Schizm was the Myst Series. As in Myst, you will spend hours in a kind of "Where am I and what am I doing here?" syndrome. You know you must solve the puzzles, but their purpose isn't at all clear at first. That's normal in this type of game.

Myst and Schizm share many attributes:

The Good
Graphics- The best I've ever seen. Stunning features, the screenshots, unlike most games, are not from FMVs like most games have. They are the real thing.

Gameplay- I admit, the puzzles are hard, but it is fun trying to solve them. I like puzzles, maybe you don't. Well, if you don't, don't get the game.

Controls- I think they are easy to get accustomed to. Using pretty much only the mouse makes playing the game getting and getting around reasonably easy.

Story- I think it's a good storyline. I can't say it's new, but maybe it is. I've heard it's almost exactly like "Myst", which I have never played before, so you might not want to listen to me on this. As for what Lynx said- "In "Schizm" you first must solve the puzzles, and only then you start realizing there's actually some sort of a story in the game."- I disagree. The instruction manual goes over the story, although not everyone reads it, but they also go over it at the start of a new game. The story line evolves, of course, after that, but it starts you off with a good understanding and quickly evolves into a catching storyline.

The Bad
Sound- It was O.K. but I've heard better. Lack of good, changing sound effects (many are repetative) is made up only slightly by the real voices in the game, which many games don't have.

The Bottom Line
I think "Schizm" Is a very good game, but, if you don't you're entitled to your opinion. People looking for an easy game, steer clear, but if you like puzzles and haven't played "Myst" (which, going by everyone's word, is the same) then you should try it.