24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Too much help when I needed hints, August 3, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Riven: The Sequel to Myst (Value Series): Prima's Official Strategy Guide (Paperback)
This is a great book, if you are too lazy to even walk around in Riven. I had completed everything, except for 2 of the last 3 puzzles, and all I wanted was a couple of general hints to point me in the right direction. Instead, the first half of the book, which is supposed to do just that, was more of a smoothed out walk through - not every step, but it pushed you through the whole game and revealed all of the secrets and solutions. The real walkthrough in the back is basically the same thing, just bulleted and put into command sentences. Don't buy this book if you want to take your time and figure things out on your own. If you just want to beat the game quickly, with no respect for the beauty of the programming and the story, this will do fine.
On the brighter side, after I bought this and read it, I stopped hitting my head, solved the puzzles again for myself, and finished the game in 2 hours. I would still be playing around in the ceremonial chamber and with the marble puzzle if I didn't get this book. I missed the small things, which made so much difference, and I couldn't make the connections, which is what this is all about. Please, try Riven on your own first, and if you are really stuck (I mean really), then get this book. It will alleviate your headache.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not Just a 'Go Here and Do This' Book, March 28, 2000
This book not only gives you the answers that you've been struggling for, but it also tells you why the answer is what it is as we follow the author in an interesting and easy to read story. I found myself on several occasions saying, "Oh yeah. I noticed that too, but I never knew what it meant." Even reading about the many answers I was able to solve on my own was enjoyable.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
DON'T BANG YOUR HEAD AGAINST THE WALL, THE ANSWERS ARE HERE!, March 29, 2000
By A Customer
I fell in love with the game Riven right from the start. I had not played very many computer games before this, and had never played Myst, so therefore, Riven turned out to be a bit difficult for me. Just when I had solved a fairly easy section I would hit an impasse and thought I'd maybe end up banging my head against the table. I was hopelessly stuck at a point in the game when I came across this book - a blessing I thought! It's actually more of a curse due to the fact that the book makes it much too tempting and easy to cheat. There is nothing as thrilling as finally breaking the code, solving the mystery, and finding the answer to the great puzzle - the book eventually gives you all the answers and thus spoils the fun. I for one will NOT buy this "cheat sheet" type of book again, however, I highly recommend it to those individuals who get a thrill out of cheating!
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