Rating: 
Summary: Thespians please apply for a job with the developer...
Review: The graphics and sound in this game are beautiful; they help you to believe you are in another world. The acting and narration, however, brings you crashing right back down to earth and effectively ruins the atmosphere. Yikes!-- talk about some serious spoilers! I haven't cringed at acting that bad since I caught a glimpse of a high school play on public access cable. I could have handled mediocre acting- no one expects an Oscar performance from a video game, but this was beyond horrible. It truly is amazing how much the poor quality "acting" detracts from what would otherwise be a wonderful game.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty, but with ridiculous puzzles
Review: The graphics in Schizm are beautful and the story line is interesting, but everthing is brought to a jarring halt when the player comes face to face with one of the absurd puzzles. Most involve mathematics, and one even presupposes a knowledge of basic trigonometry. I mean, really...I didn't care all that much for trig in college. I don't want to pay money to have to do trig now.
Rating: 
Summary: definitely worth playing!
Review: the reviews to Schizm, varying from the positive to the dismally negative, only make clear one simple thing: we all see and hear complete different things in the same object. So: Schizm has a very bad acting. YES. Schizm has very difficult puzzles. YES. And then? For me Schizm's world is one of the most compelling I ever saw in a computer game, similar to Riven under many aspects but more surrealistic. If you like to explore an endlessly fascinating landscape, if you like a slow and meditating pace, if you DON'T like ridiculous inventory-based puzzles but love to try to solve tough but not impossible logical puzzles, then Schizm is your game. In any other case, if the shooters are yor cup of tea, well, give it a wide berth. Luckily, in the world there's place for anyone and for every idea and taste! For me Schizm is already a classic (and by the way, the DVD version is really better).
Rating:
Summary: not created to win
Review: This Game has the best graphics I have ever seen but it was not made to win. It is so complicated that without the book you are lost and even with the book you will reach a point that the book can't even help you. Not for the beginner!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: 1 in a Million
Review: This game is a one in a million. I bought this game looking for something to pass some recently aquired free time- ie summer break. I wasn't sure how good it would be but I thought I would take my chances. I was pleasantly surprised to find beautiful graphics, and interesting plot line and chalenging puzzles that gettes your mind working.
The biggest problem I had with the game was the need of a walkthrough. I highly suggest you have one handy. But this is one of the better puzzle games I have played.
Rating:
Summary: 1 in a Million
Review: This game is a one in a million. I bought this game looking for something to pass some recently aquired free time- ie summer break. I wasn't sure how good it would be but I thought I would take my chances. I was pleasantly surprised to find beautiful graphics, and interesting plot line and chalenging puzzles that gettes your mind working.
The biggest problem I had with the game was the need of a walkthrough. I highly suggest you have one handy. But this is one of the better puzzle games I have played.
Rating: 
Summary: For any serious adventure gamer!
Review: This is a beautiful, georgeous game with tough puzzles that are difficult but not impossible. This game is for people who like to think, explore beautiful different worlds and try to understand alien societies. It is as relaxing and soothing as it is head-sctaching and brain-bending. The DVD version is the one to get (if your computer plays DVD's) as the graphics are superior to the CD and all the puzzles are included. The CD version is graphically stripped down and some puzzles are excluded. Not for the shooter crowd or the impatient! Happy Gaming!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and complex, but not without bugs
Review: This is not an easy game, and even hardcore gamers are likely to find themselves scratching their heads. If you're a newbie to the adventure genre, better to start off with something like Syberia.The puzzles are what define this game. Yes, the graphics are beautiful -- plenty of pre-rendered, first-person beauty that transition wonderfully from scene to scene. The background sound is reasonable and appropriate, although you won't be begging to buy the soundtrack. And you get to play two characters (often they help each other solve a single puzzle). But it's the puzzles you will remember...and they're very tough. This is, after all, an alien world, and so the fact that you will be decoding other alphabets, working with strange symbols, and even performing plenty of math (!) somewhat makes sense given the story. You have to assume that the locals prefer to lock door and control bridges with puzzles rather than keys, but I'll press the "I believe" button for that. If it's been a little while since high school trig or conversions between number bases, you may want to prepare for some stretching of the brain. Don't get the wrong idea, though -- these are praiseworthy puzzles, and I dare you to complete them without a walkthrough. They're all perfectly logical (incredibly logical, in fact), so there are no excuses -- but boy, they can be challenging! The story is sparse, but then in many ways it is supposed to be. This is an alien world, and your job is to figure out how things work, so a large part of that is not knowing exactly what you're doing. That's great. But when the end of the game comes and you're still wondering what it was that you actually just DID...well, that's somewhat less than satisfying. I have two main complaints. First: the voice acting is, sadly, very -- very -- pathetic. I mean no offense, but even I could do much better. It's actually kind of embarrassing. Fortunately most of the time you're wandering deserted areas. Second complaint: There is absolutely much too much traveling. I enjoy wandering around new areas as much as the next gamer -- and with scenery like this, you'll want to, too -- but towards the end of the game, things got absurd. In the first locations, everything you needed to solve the puzzles was more or less within a minute's distance (your minutes, not the characters' minutes). By the end, though, I often found myself traveling ridiculous distances on the mere HOPE that what I found at the other end would be worth the travel. And then, if I forgot to bring the 2nd character along with me, I'd have to travel all the way back, get him/her, and travel back yet again. Couldn't there have been a map or something you could click on to jump to places you've been to already? In the end, though, it's an enjoyable journey for hardcore adventure gamers. It's too bad that, having just finished it, I still have a bad taste in my mouth about all the needless back-and-forth running around I had to do -- because this is in fact and well-designed, thoughtful, and extremely enjoyable game. Just laugh along at the acting and be patient through the travels...the puzzles are enough to test your mettle.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and complex, but not without bugs
Review: This is not an easy game, and even hardcore gamers are likely to find themselves scratching their heads. If you're a newbie to the adventure genre, better to start off with something like Syberia. The puzzles are what define this game. Yes, the graphics are beautiful -- plenty of pre-rendered, first-person beauty that transition wonderfully from scene to scene. The background sound is reasonable and appropriate, although you won't be begging to buy the soundtrack. And you get to play two characters (often they help each other solve a single puzzle). But it's the puzzles you will remember...and they're very tough. This is, after all, an alien world, and so the fact that you will be decoding other alphabets, working with strange symbols, and even performing plenty of math (!) somewhat makes sense given the story. You have to assume that the locals prefer to lock door and control bridges with puzzles rather than keys, but I'll press the "I believe" button for that. If it's been a little while since high school trig or conversions between number bases, you may want to prepare for some stretching of the brain. Don't get the wrong idea, though -- these are praiseworthy puzzles, and I dare you to complete them without a walkthrough. They're all perfectly logical (incredibly logical, in fact), so there are no excuses -- but boy, they can be challenging! The story is sparse, but then in many ways it is supposed to be. This is an alien world, and your job is to figure out how things work, so a large part of that is not knowing exactly what you're doing. That's great. But when the end of the game comes and you're still wondering what it was that you actually just DID...well, that's somewhat less than satisfying. I have two main complaints. First: the voice acting is, sadly, very -- very -- pathetic. I mean no offense, but even I could do much better. It's actually kind of embarrassing. Fortunately most of the time you're wandering deserted areas. Second complaint: There is absolutely much too much traveling. I enjoy wandering around new areas as much as the next gamer -- and with scenery like this, you'll want to, too -- but towards the end of the game, things got absurd. In the first locations, everything you needed to solve the puzzles was more or less within a minute's distance (your minutes, not the characters' minutes). By the end, though, I often found myself traveling ridiculous distances on the mere HOPE that what I found at the other end would be worth the travel. And then, if I forgot to bring the 2nd character along with me, I'd have to travel all the way back, get him/her, and travel back yet again. Couldn't there have been a map or something you could click on to jump to places you've been to already? In the end, though, it's an enjoyable journey for hardcore adventure gamers. It's too bad that, having just finished it, I still have a bad taste in my mouth about all the needless back-and-forth running around I had to do -- because this is in fact and well-designed, thoughtful, and extremely enjoyable game. Just laugh along at the acting and be patient through the travels...the puzzles are enough to test your mettle.
Rating:
Summary: For Hard-Core Adventure Gamers Only
Review: Usually I write a review to "gush" all over a product, but for me this game is the exception. In my opinion, some gushing and some caveat emptors are in order for Schizm: Mysterious Journey. First, a review I read before I purchased the game said it best: "Albert Einstein on his best day could not beat this game without a walkthrough!" Plain and simple, some of the the puzzles in Schizm are HARD--VERY, VERY HARD. Second, although other reviews I've read complain about the acting (it's really adequate for a computer game), one main reason I buy an adventure game is for the artwork, graphics, and atmospherics. In Schizm, these elements are "drop-dead gorgeous!" I have never seen an adventure game so beautifully rendered. Also, the music and sounds compliment the game perfectly. Finally, I strongly suggest that anyone purchasing this game buy the DVD version (presuming your computer is so equipped). I'm told that the DVD's graphics are far better than that of the CD-ROM version. So in sum--if it's easy puzzles, a great story line, and "award winning" acting that you want in an adventure game, keep looking. However, if you value REALLY HARD puzzles, a gripping plot, super graphics, marvelous sound and ethereal music, buy the DVD version of Schizm: Mysterious Journey. But beware: it's one for hard-core adventure gamers only.
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