Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure

The Good
The whole concept of searching through the sphinx and the ruins of ancient Egypt is fantastic! This game had a great storyline and the potential to be a great game!

I would rate the intro movie as one of the best intro's of all TIME!

The Bad
As a Mobygames reviewer I had approved the other review of this game. When reading the review I became very excited because I saw a chance to have another great adventure experience. However my experience was a little different.

First and foremost the controls are some of the worst controls on any game that I have ever seen. Its clunky, hard to understand and very difficult. You control movement by placing your cursor at the right or left of the screen and clicking. Sound easy? It should be, but actually getting the game to recognize the command can be difficult. Often times it took several clicks to move. And more often than not I didn’t go where I wanted to!

The way the game uses objects (inventory) is horrible. Instead of the tried and true pocket where you can pull things out where you need them, you can only use what’s in your hand! In the professors tent there are several objects and things that you need to look\fiddle\move. Unfortunately because of the dreadful movement system it’s a chore to try to.

The game may contain some eye candy (ala myst) but that’s about the only saving grace the game has. They might as well just did a slide show and called it a educational game.


The Bottom Line
Whoever did the intro movie must have died, quit or been fired because the rest of the game looked like it was made by fifth graders.

Stay far away from this steaming pile of dung.

The Good
Riddle of the Sphinx really surprised me. I had no idea that I would enjoy it so much, or that it would take me so long to finish.

The game is based in Egypt but deals only with the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx and the mysteries within them that have perplexed historians for decades. So, never having been there, it was exciting for me to see the inside of those Wonders of the Ancient World. Just the fact that I was able to delve deeper than anyone has ever gone (or been allowed to go!) made me feel like I was trespassing on sacred ground somehow. But, in true Indiana Jones fashion, I didn’t let that feeling bother me in the least!

The story has loads of mystery and a little bit of greed and deception mixed in for good measure. Background material and clues come in the form of journals, tapes and pages which were handily left behind for you to find. I liked the fact that there wasn’t too much reading – just enough to whet my appetite.

I also liked the fact that the game was non-linear. You are able to explore anywhere in the game world that you want at any time. So if you get stuck in one area, you can move on to something else and go back later.

There are puzzles galore! And they’re all very different, I must say, and in keeping with what you would expect as “Egyptian” in design. Some of them were very challenging while others were as simple as pie. All were imaginative and luckily there were plenty of clues for solving them.

And, speaking of design, the artwork inside the pyramids is beautiful! The hieroglyphics in the tombs, glorious chambers and passages left me awestruck. The ancient artifacts and objects are realistic. And, while you’re exploring, listen to the beautiful musical score, all very Egyptian. Appropriate sound effects are added at just the right times – the crunch of sand beneath your feet, a rock door opening, liquid being poured, the hiss of a cobra (yes, Indie, snakes!). Your character can die in this game, by the way, so save often.

The game is shipped on 3 CD-Roms and I was pleased there was no disk swapping at all. The manual is nicely written and provides everything you need. The number of game saves is only limited by your hard disk size. You can type in any descriptive name and put your saves any place on your disk that you choose. This is a really nice feature that has been lacking in several other games I’ve played lately.

The Bad
Although the inventory management was very easy to use, one part kept me on my toes. I can see why the designers did it this way, but I still didn’t like it. Clicking on an inventory item with another one in your hand will make the first one go back to where you originally found it. Arghh! It look me ~forever~ to find that object and now I must go back and get it again? Live and learn, I guess. At least there’s a caution screen that warns you when this is about to happen.

The Bottom Line
ROTS, as it’s affectionately called, is a great game which I think you will enjoy, especially if you are fond of the “Myst” style of gameplay. You really feel as though you are in Egypt and inside those ancient pyramids. The gorgeous graphics and lovely music make playing a pleasure, and the story will keep you intrigued up until the very end. Personally, I can’t wait for the sequel!

The Good
The immersion factor is very high in this game. The superior quality of both the research and the conjecture on the part of the authors sets Riddle apart from most of the rest of the games in its genre. Although it could with some justice be described as Myst set in Ancient Egypt, in the end that is only to Riddle's credit as the natural mystery of the real-life locales in the game lends it an aura of credibility denied to more fantastical realms like Myst. On top of that, the quality of the writing, the plot, the pacing, the music, and the voice acting are all very high. (I was tempted to write off Gil at first as overdone, but he grew on me.) As for the puzzles, in my opinion they are just about right, both in difficulty and design. They definitely complement the subject matter, and never feel like artificial constructs put in the player's way merely to slow him down (although I haven't finished the game yet, so I might still be proved wrong).

The Bad
As good as the graphics are, I wish they were better. It's hard not to want such exquisite views of all the Egyptana in the game to be rendered in sharper focus. Still, I hope that doesn't discourage anyone from playing. The graphics are plenty serviceable enough--even beautiful, given their limitations.

The Bottom Line
I would describe this game as a detective sim--i.e. a simulation of what it is/would be like to be a detective. If played in this spirit and taken seriously on the terms in which it presents itself, Riddle of the Sphinx is a very rewarding and interesting experience. You shouldn't miss it!