Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

Broken Sword is a bit old now, but I think that this is the best cartoon-point-and-click adventure around. On both Playstation and PC. You play George Stobbart, who is an American tourist on vacation in Paris. He is sitting outside a cafe, when it is suddenly blown up by a man who appears to be a terrorist. One man dies in the explosion. George talks to the police, but they don`t believe him when he tells them that the killer was a clown(!). George decides to investigate on his own, and he tries to track down the killer, who is disguised as a clown. Poor George is about to enter a sinister world of mystery and death. The graphics are cartoonish and the scenery looks stunning. The mysterious music creates a perfect atmosphere. The story is excellent and gripping, and it is based on things that have really happened. The game has excellent and logical puzzles. All of these things make Broken Sword preferable to all other similar games out there. Broken Sword is a massive adventure, and is THE adventure to choose, wheather you`ve a Playstation or a PC. Brilliant game!

9,5/10

Broken Sword is one of the true classics of the adventure game genre. It combines a dark story with a light-hearted cartoon look to provide an extremely satisfying combination. Broken Sword can be summed up as cross between Monkey Island and Gabriel Knight, using historical events as a back-setting for a mystery driven adventure but colouring it with lighthearted humour.

The first adventure in the series is undoubtedly the best. The mysterious plot keeps you in its grip and the many goofy characters you encounter make the game an unforgettable experience. The puzzles are very simple in a way that they can be figured out without incredible leaps of logic.

Although there is some inconsistency in the quality of certain cut-scenes and thought the soundtrack is not as high quality as those of the later instalments, The Shadow of the Templars has a timeless quality that makes it enjoyable every time you play it.

Broken Sword is a standard inventory-based adventure game, as exemplified by LucasArts who produced the classic Monkey Island series. The user controls George Stobbart, an American tourist accidentally entangled in a plot to take over the world (sounds terrible, doesn't it?). George is moved around by clicking on the spot where you want him to walk to. In addition, many of the beatifully drawn locations scroll horizontally, so George can walk beyond the display visible at any one time. As you move the cursor over the screen, it will change its appearance depending on the object it points to. This allows things to be 'picked up', 'used', or 'examined'. And that's it! The controls are as simple as that. At the top of the screen is your inventory (in iconised form) at the bottom there is space for a set of conversation topics, which you can use to interrogate the 40 or so NPCs.

The plot may sound hackneyed and juvenile (a cross between Foucault's Pendulum and Indiana Jones) but the fact that it is grounded in some kind of historical reality certainly gives it an edge over the usual dull sword-and-sorcery setting or cliched sci-fi environment. Much of the plot exposition actually comes during dialogue as opposed to the cut-scenes, which are generally used as a linking device as George Stobbart jumps from one part of the world to another (the settings include Paris, Ireland, Spain, Syria and Scotland). The game effectively recreates the feeling of doubt over the nature of the NPCS: are they in on the Templar conspiracy, or just innocent bystanders? Unfortunately, the resolution to all this is simplistic and rushed, leaving many unanswered questions.

Compared with other adventure games, Broken Sword verges on being easy. Personally, I think this is a great thing: adventure games are much too hard! Monkey Island 2, for example, was ruined by its excessive difficulty. If a game wants you to appreciate its story, it should let the game flow, not obstruct you with artificial barriers that leave you kicking the machine in frustration and quitting the game in disgust. Broken Sword deftly avoids that trap: I was able to solve most of the puzzles without any outside assistance, and only peeked at the walkthru about 6 times, which is pretty good for a game of this size (incidentally, it should take about 30 hours to complete). There are a few awkward moments requiring you to scan the screen pixel-by-pixel, and other times where randomly using inventory items suddenly brings unexpected success, but generally the puzzles are logical and well thought out.

Presentation is first-rate: everything about Broken Sword is beautiful to look at, listen to, and use. The installation is a doddle, changing options is a breeze. The stunning backdrops are like watercolours, the animation is smooth and cartoon-quality, and the background music is very atmospheric.

So far, so LucasArts, right? What makes Broken Sword different is the conversation system. A set of topics will appear at the bottom of the screen when George starts chatting: you simply select a topic, George will ask about it, and the NPC will respond. You don't select the exact phrase George will utter, just the general topic. Often, you can ask about the same topic many times, for a more detailed interrogation, going deeper and deeper until they reach breaking point and spill the beans (hopefully). This works surprisingly well, allowing pretty good character development in even the most minor characters, and also giving George a well-developed personality (even if it is a bit too similar to Guybrush Threepwood). At times, the relentless attempts at humour in the conversations can be wearying (this is, after all, supposed to be a 'serious' adventure, not a comedy), and dodgy accents abound, but the dialogue is one of the highlights of the game for me.

Broken Sword is certainly the best game of its type I have played (although I haven't played many). It ranks alongside Monkey Island 1 in terms of gameplay, and naturally it looks and sounds much better. There can't be a more glowing recommendation than that. The difficulty level is pitched just about right, the user interface is clean and simple, and its cheap! Broken Sword comes on 2 CD's (you are required to do about 6 disk-swaps), and has a small but informative instruction pamphlet that gives some background detail and a short walkthru for the early puzzles. As well as the PC, it is also available for the Mac and Playstation. In short: brilliant stuff.

i first experienced broken sword on a ps1 demo when i was only 8 years old.. that was 11 years ago, and still to this day i go back and play it maybe twice, three times a year!. It is a 2d adventure game that plays so smooth its like watching a real life drama unfold before your very eyes, and you are the main character, George Stobbart, two b's and one t!. This game takes you on a journey across the globe from France to Spain to Scotland and even to my home Ireland!, you must solve puzzles and try figure out who nearly killed you that faithful day in Paris. It is out on ps1 (although hard to find), pc and gba. I love this game so much I have it on all 3 formats. Broken Sword will suck you in from the moment you hear George's voice after the infamous café explosion. If you have not yet played this game well then get it!, you don't know what you are missing!

This Adventure game is about an american on vacation in Paris. Sitting on the pavement outside a cafe he is drinking coffee when suddenly a clown walks in and blows the cafe away. The game isn't too hard to play but also not too easy. The story features many unique plots and there are a lot of jokes too. The atmosphere is almost perfect!