Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

"The best vacation George ever had"

Developed by Revolution Studios and released by THQ for the North American market (released by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for the European market), this is the first RPG-like game that I've got with a twist in solving puzzles and in using items for solving some problems. The best things about this game is with the speeches, voice overs and the cut scenes that you'll encounter when you play the game.

STORY:

It's a lovely and gorgeous day here in Paris, France. Anyone will love to walk around the streets, take photos, go eat in Parisian restaurants and drink coffees in cafes. That's what American tourist George Stobbart is trying to do while taking a vacation in France. While minding his own business (until later), he notices a strange-looking clown guy waltzing in a cafe. While he was not noticed, he mysteriously places a device inside the cafe and heads out in a jiffy. Afterwards, an explosion occurs and George is knocked out of his table and into the dirt. This made George suspicious of the clown and starts to investigate on his own. As he continues on his investigation in Europe, he later finds out that he's entangled in a mystery which concerns the descendants of the famed Templars in the days of the Crusaders and the plan to take revenge.

CONTROLS:

A Playstation mouse is much suitable to use in this mouse-scrolling game than an ordinary Playstation control pad, since the speed of moving the pointer is so slow that you'll need to press the triggers to boost up the speed.

The bottom line here is that you have to get a mouse. Otherwise, prepare for grueling, boring and exhausting time to move the pointer around the screen.

AUDIO/VIDEO:

Audio is good here. Most especially on the voice overs on each of the characters who speak in the game. Special effects and the music do fit for each of the scenarios in the game itself. As for the videos, the cut scenes are realistic, I would say that there are drawn to the square mile for each of the details here.

REPLAYABILITY:

A long RPG. You'll need to save constantly every time you either enter a new area or enter a new country aside from France. Watch what you do in the game, since you can get killed or maimed by the enemies, such as being shot by assassins in the heart.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/08/03, Updated 04/08/03