Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon

"George and Nico make the leap into 3D with excellent results"

It's been six years since the last Broken Sword hit our PC screens. Limits on technology in those far-gone days meant that George and Nico were 2D images walking around pre-rendered backdrops. Nowadays we've moved on, and Broken Sword 3 has been released in 3D, in a RE: Code Veronica style - that is, the backgrounds are fully 3D but the camera is not under player control.

The transition to 3D is not without its flaws. The slightly dodgy control system allows George to move around wherever he wants to go, but if the camera changes you have to totally stop and then start moving again if you want to change direction. This becomes a glaring problem when you need to quickly hide.

The new engine means that cutscenes can be performed within the game engine. This allows you to participate in cut scenes, too. Near the beginning of the game, Nico is forced to thwart an assassin from shooting her. You have to look out for when an action appears, and quickly press the appropriate button. However, the game gives you no forewarning, and the time you have to press the button approximates to about three quarters of a second. Otherwise you die. However, the game reloads semi-instantly, so it's not a big problem.

Broken Sword 3 for PS2 is an extremely buggy game. The PS2 has never been known for it's stability, and this pops up in the game in a number of ways - failed loads, jumping music, lagged cutscenes.

OK, so I have to score it now - I've been pretty negative so far, so I'll take the space now to tell you how fantastic the game really is.

Graphics: 9/10
I seriously considered giving the graphics a 10. The environments are fantastically designed. English villages, Egyptian tombs and urban Parisian flats are all designed with the utmost attention to detail. The characters are equally well-designed. I took a point off here because some of the animation on the characters is extremely dodgy, especially with regards to mouth movements. When Nico puts on her exaggerated 'confused' expression, she looks as if she's trying to work a stubborn toffee out of her teeth. Otherwise it's all good.

Sound: 9/10
Rolf Saxon is back as the inimitable George. This earns the game some audio respect all by itself, but the rest of the voice acting is also (mostly) excellent. Nico still sounds like Nico, despite having been played by two or three different actresses throughout the series. Some of the voices are a little bit terrible (look out for Melissa), and of course, since this game was made in America, all of the British folk have hideously over-exaggerated accents.
The musical score is adequate. It's not incredibly interesting to listen to. This lost points, but the sheer amount of quality voice-acting in-game more than makes up for this. Another flaw is that occasionally the music skips, and you sometimes get 'action' music where it isn't needed, making you un-necessarily paranoid.

Gameplay: 9/10
I suppose this depends on how intelligent you are. Broken Sword is full of puzzles, and while they're not averagely as difficult as they were in the previous games, some of them are still mind-benders. The 'wine-bottle' riddle that occurs later in the game is a real stinker.
The 3D transition has enables *sigh* block-puzzles to exist in the game. However, they're not always difficult, and if you have a sharp mind you'll solve them easily.
There are a few action scenes, but not many. In fact, there's only one I can think of that really involves fleet-ness of foot (or thumb, if you like), and it occurs at the very end of the game. It's not difficult.
Stealth has also become a feature in the game. Often George is forced to sneak around, out of sight. It's like Metal Gear Solid, only far less action-packed and far more irritating. It's a nice diversion for a short while, however, and since there's not a lot of sneakiness in the game, I'll pass over it.
The puzzles are always pretty logical. There's nothing that will overly trouble you if you're sharp. If you're not, then you'll find it more difficult. Duh.
A small problem is that there's no replay value.

Miscellaneous stuff
The game spends a lot of time tipping the hat to Shadow Of The Templars - Nico has the clown's nose from that game in her flat. There's a picture of George on her table, with Broken Sword 1 graphics. Nice touch. Perhaps this is forgivable, as the game is closely linked to SOTT.

Buy or Rent?
Buy. Definitely. The game is far too long for a rental. It might be an idea to pick up a copy of Shadow Of The Templars to try first, see if you like it. If you do, buy this game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/15/04