Douglas's game of the week: Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars

[Sim Kid]

Ever heard of the Broken Sword series? Maybe if you were a PC gamer, you would have probably heard someone mention them at least once. The Broken Sword games were some of the Older PC games, so some people today may not have heard of them unless they saw the recent broken Sword game on the shelves. But, there WAS a Gameboy Advance game-And like alot of GBA games, it was a remake. A remake of Broken Sword: Circle of Blood for the PC and Broken Sword for the Playstation.


The graphics of Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars are pretty good-The Backgrounds are pretty cool, and the Character Models look life-size, and it uses perspective backgrounds-Such as how when you walk off in the distance, your character gets smaller, and when they move closer, they get bigger. The movements are also pretty realisitic, and the Cutscenes also look like an Animated movie. Unfortunatley, they do suffer some drawbacks, such as how your characters don't really have faces, but if you see them up close, then you can see a few details. And if it weren't for the little cursors that appear when you're near an item you can interact with or pick up, then it'd be really easy to miss them. They certainly aren't the best on the GBA, but they're close.

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars features very few sounds. Most of the sounds you hear are pretty realistic, such as a Gun going off or a Purse hitting someone's face. The Music is also pretty good too-If not a bit quiet. The music in Syria is probably one of the best tunes in the game. The sound may be worth turning up the Volume for if you want to hear the music and some of the sounds. It's not irritating or anything, just on the quiet side.

The controls for the game are pretty easy to pick up-I was almost afraid we'd have to move a cursor (Not someone who puts Curses on people, silly!) around and hit the A or B button to move the character, but you move him around with the D-pad and interact with the A or B buttons. Still, George moves a bit slow, but that is how alot of people move when they're walking, and when you have to be quick, there is no "run" button. luckily, they give you enough time to move where you need to when you distract someone.


If you think 3rd person adventure games like Broken Sword have no Game overs, think again. If it's the first time you're playing and you say something wrong, then you might get killed, especially if you don't do something like stop a train or throw a Torch in time. Other ways you can get killed is if you try to leave the Hotel Ubu with the Parchment. There are several ways to die in the game, and unless you know what to do, then you better be careful or else you will die. There are also several times when you have to combine a few items, such as a wet piece of cloth with a statue to get the statue to look white and you can sell it. It certainly isn't anything hard, but if you're not careful, then you get a game over.

There isn't really any replay value for Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars. Sure, there are a few scenes you'd like to see again (Like maybe the "Ha ha, very funny you psychos!" scene or Syria), and there are some funny scenes that are good for a few giggles, but if you've played it once, you might play it again just to see the funny scenes, and then you'll probably set down the game and play it again a few months or a few years later. Still, the game is linear and you don't really have much of a choice.

Overall, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars isn't revolutionary or anything, but if you like Adventure games like Maniac Mansion or The Dig, it' worth a go, or if you're a fan of the Broken Sword games, it's good for a stroll down memory lane like alot of the GBA games. 8.06/10

Pros:
-=Syria=-
-=Some great backgrounds=-
-=Some mildly funny scenes=-
-=Cutscenes look like pictures taken from animated movies=-
-=Perspective graphics=-
-=Some of the music=-
-=Movements of the sprites=-

Cons:
-=Easy to die if you're not careful=-
-=Characters are mainly faceless=-
-=Very few sounds=-
-=Not much replay value=-
-=yet ANOTHER remake=-
-=The Cutscenes aren't animated=-
-=The sound and musics are actually quite quiet=-

[Codiekitty]

I've seen some Broken Sword games, but didn't know enough about them to buy them. Sometimes I'll impulsive buy, like CIMA: The Enemy. But only if something about it appeals to me.

Speaking of CIMA, you might like that game.

Wanna see something weird?


This is the main character of CIMA, Ark.


This is Raven, from Fire Emblem.

If you haven't seen anything yet, let me put them side-by-side.



If you still haven't seen anything, you're either blind or in dire need of a pair of glasses. Since I don't think anybody reads and types for you, you're obviously not blind.


Where are these lemmings going? The Super Nintendo Super Shire! Hop in line and follow them there!

[ June 15, 2004, 09:33 PM: Message edited by: CodieKitty ]

[Sim Kid]

Yeah, they look similar-Haven't played CIMA: The Enemy but I heard it was pretty good.

[ssorD]

Yeah, typical red-haired bishonen. An anime cliché.