Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars Directors Cut (DS)

This game was released almost 3 quarters of a year ago in March of '09. It, unfortunately, slipped under my nose for so long, but yesterday I acquired a copy of the game and spent the entire day playing the game.

I was raised playing Lucasarts and Sierra point-n-click games on PC, going all the way back to Headline Harry, Gold Rush and Colonel's Bequest on a 286 (not to mention, I never really got anywhere in Gold Rush, that game's crazy hard). I'm not going to hide my bias towards point-n-click gameplay and adventure games, as that's the entire reason I spent an entire day playing Broken Sword on the DS.

This is a port, as well as minor reimagining, of the original game from the Broken Sword series. The main game varies ever so slightly from the original release on PC (in 1996), the only parts of the game that were definitely new were the parts where you play as the supporting character Nicole Collard, as well as a gallery of concept art. That's not a whole lot of extra game (considering I own an original copy from 1996) to make up for buying a new copy of the game, but it does add just a little bit to the story.

The game, itself, has a classic adventure narrative, coupled with an unusual diaspora theme as well as religious ideology being a large piece of the narrative without being overbearing. You play as George Stobartt, an American on vacation in Paris, who gets unwittingly involved in a conspiracy that leads to his travelling across all of Europe. The story seems rather forced, initially, but once you get past George's initial involvement, you start to settle into the story and appreciate the grandeur of the game. To give you an idea of how forced it is without giving away any major plot events, George says "I believe in justice, and I must go after the man who did this" and does a better job at investigating than the police.

The graphics are about what you'd expect, quality wise, from a port of a PC from 1996, but I was slightly bothered by the cartoonish style that the characters were drawn in. It wasn't an issue with the graphics themselves, but rather a differing of opinion that the artists at Revolution Software and myself have. The puzzles in the game tend to be simpler than most other games from the same period (think of Kings Quest 6 from Sierra and The Dig from Lucasarts as contemporaries), but still offered a bit of a challenge from time to time.

Broken Sword also offers an in game hint system that made consulting the internet for frustrating parts almost completely obsolete. It made it easier to stay submerged in the game's universe and appreciate that the developer was more interested in making the game accessible and enjoyable than create moments of absolute frustration and hatred.

I finished the game in a single sitting, albeit a 12 hour single sitting with breaks for lunch and dinner. I can't say that the game is absolutely worth the price of admission, given the lack of a talkie track (especially, considering that with SCUMMVM DS and a copy of The Dig, you can get that with a talkie track on your DS) and any other extras that I'd hope to get in a "Directors Cut," but it was a fun trip down memory lane for this old Adventure gamer. There was also the issue of the soundtrack being Midi tracks, rather than WAV or MP3 audio, making for a quick disconnect, sound wise, from the game. I admit, that once I found out there was no talking track and the audio was weak, I spent the day watching movies while playing the game.

Pros: Beautiful graphics for a 13 year old port, hint system allows easy play, grand story line that spans Europe, decent character developement, strangely relevant in 2010 for a game made in 1996, beautiful cut scenes.
Cons: No talking track, Midi audio blows, ending comes far to quickly and with too little effort.
Play if you liked: any of the adventure games from the 80's and 90's.
Overall: 7/10

Also, visit the developers website for info on the game, as well as freeware versions of Beneath of Steel Sky and Lure of the Temptress, which are both very similar games:
http://www.revolution.co.uk/