Riddle of the Sphinx

by Dreamcatcher

Product Features

• Windows 98/95, Pentium 133 MHz or greater, 32 MB (or more-optimal)
• SVGA monitor(640 x480 with thousands of colors), 8x Speed CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive
• 16-bit Sound Blaster sound card (or compatible)
• DreamCatcher
• PC

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004U8KC
• Item Weight: 12 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: December 20, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,967 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

A noted archaeologist believes he's stumbled upon the answer to the Sphinx's famous query. However, after deciphering the ancient scroll holding this arcane knowledge, he realizes he's been cursed with certain death. In a last, desperate attempt to pass on the secret, he sends for none other than... you! Find the missing scroll and piece together hidden clues to finally solve this celebrated mystery.

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Simply loved it!, March 28, 2001

By 

I. Peters (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Riddle of the Sphinx (CD-ROM)

Fun, fun, fun! I just finished Riddle of the Sphinx (ROTS) and it was one of the best Adventure/Puzzle Games I have ever played.

The storyline is familiar, yet intriguing: You will have to find the ancient secret of the sphinx. An archeologist friend of yours has disappeared after he solved the riddle, and now it is up to you to discover what he found out before his disappearance. The main objective in this game is to solve puzzles, interpret clues and look in each and every corner for each and every detail to help you solve this ancient secret.

I cannot begin to say how much I enjoyed the rich, superb graphics and detail of the different locations. I still can't believe all this was more or less crammed onto only 3 CDs. Compared to the game I played just before this one (Gabriel Knight 3 - bad!), the ROTS graphics were pure art. Many times it felt as if I was right there, for example on the beach with the golden pyramid. Adding to this feeling of reality was the soothing music which also helped to "spiritually" send me to the shores of the Nile...

The puzzles tie in well with the story, I never got the feeling that what I was doing had nothing to do with the purpose of my search. However, I admit that some of the puzzles were quite difficult to solve, I especially remember a particular one (the one where I had to press certain stones in a certain order to open a gate) where I would have been completely lost without a walkthru I found on the web.

On a more fundamental level I would like to commend Dreamcatcher for continuing to make non-violent games like this one. There was a time when I thought this genre had disappeared for good. I am delighted to report that although you can die in ROTS (on very few occasions, by making a wrong choice), it is not bloody or gory at all. No fights, no weapons, no violence. Add to this the more than reasonable price for this game, and you have a true winner!

I would have given this game 5 stars in a heartbeat. The only reason for why I didn't is that at times the screen was awfully dark and it was extremely hard to see where I had to go. I had to literally block out all light in my computer room to be able to see something. But this seems to be a problem that I have noticed in other games, too. ROTS is no worse than any of the others. It just bugs me that I have to click around blindly in order to find the one hole in the otherwise black and solid wall through which I need to go next...

Other than that only one more thing: I hope Dreamcatcher will come out with a sequel! Soon!!

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Almost a Success, March 11, 2001

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Riddle of the Sphinx (CD-ROM)

Riddle of the Sphinx is a classic puzzle game that draws its theme from many of the New Age, Atlantean and alien invasion versions of human history. Sort of a blend of Indiana Jones and the X Files. It is set at the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx in contemporary Egypt. As indicated this is, like many Dreamcatcher games, a puzzle game, not a true adventure. As such the action is limited to running back and forth in order to find clues and complete puzzles.

It is a difficult game to evaluate fairly. It is the product of a small team (two to be exact) that literally worked out of their house. As such it represents a remarkable effort. Unfortunately, like many games from Dreamcatcher, there is little cause for excitement. When compared to a game developed by a full team - such as Ultima IX or The Longest Journey, these efforts come off very badly.

One has to keep in mind that Dreamcatcher sells these games for considerably less than its bigger brothers. The truth is that ROTS is almost a very good game. It does have several flaws. First of all, it is not clear what your real object is until the end of the game. It turns out that this is intentional, but it leaves you feeling a bit at a loss when you are trying to make sense of the clues. Another problem is the somewhat unorthodox user interface. I was perpetually hitting the wrong key. This will take a bit of getting used to.

The scenery is very pseudo-Egyptian, but doesn't really ring true. It is the source of several of the irritating inconsistencies in the game as well. Finally, there is a hint book for sale. It seems that every time game designers market a hint book as well as the game, they view this as a license to create puzzles that are hard to virtually impossible (It sells hint books, after all). This turns a reasonable priced game into a purchase of questionable value.

This is really a 3.5 star game, but I cannot in all conscience give it the benefit of the doubt and round up to a four. Even so, the designers display a good bit of talent. Hopefully future efforts will benefit from there initial experiences.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid adventure game, albeit a bit outdated, October 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Riddle of the Sphinx (CD-ROM)

Riddle of the Sphinx is a Mystlike adventure game set in Egypt. You are summoned by your friend, an archaeologist to his newest dig. But when you arrive the camp is deserted, and you must uncover the mysteries of the great pyramids (or at least a couple of them).

Riddle of the Sphinx offers solid game entertainment. The graphics are beautiful, the puzzles logical. Puzzles varied in difficulty, but it is reasonable to expect that most people should be able to solve them if they try hard enough. There are a few which escaped me because I didn't search rooms throughly enough and missed vital clues/items to pick up.

Most of the time you point and click your way around, picking up objects and using them every once in a while, typical adventure game style. The navigation is not as elegant as available in today's 3D rotational viewpoint adventure games (Beyond Atlantis, for instance), but this is forgivable. Inventory management is a little less than graceful (items can go back to where they started out at if you're not careful), but acceptable. A word to the wise: save. There are a few points in the game where you can die. These were not enough to annoy me.

The game suffers a bit from crashes, but overall was much more stable than instable.

Riddle of the Sphinx is not the best adventure game I've played--it could use more personality and the plot failed to involve me--but it definitely ranks high up there. I would buy other games from the same developer.