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Revolution Software certainly knew what they were doing when they created Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (or Circle of Blood as it is known in the US). Released in fall 1996, this game remains an absolute masterpiece. I hardly know where to begin bestowing the accolades (and I'm really ticked no one told me how great this game was earlier)!
You enter the game as George Stobbart, who is happily taking an autumn vacation in Paris, France. While enjoying the morning outside a small unassuming bistro, George is witness (and victim) of a violent bomb attack that leaves quite a few shaken and one man dead. By trying to gather a little more information on the explosive start to his day, the clues take George deeper and deeper into a thick and ancient mystery. This simple explosion will send George gallivanting through many countries in pursuit of a mystery hidden behind centuries of conspiracy.
Broken Sword: The Shadows of the Templars is a third-person cartoon style game. This may put some of you photorealisim aficionados off, but don't let it fool you. This game is definitely not for young kids. The deep and mysterious plot is designed to be thought provoking and highly entertaining at the same time. Many games utilizing this style of animation have been comedic romps, but Broken Sword is a serious game that contains plenty of intrigue and bundles of historical references. There are only enough jokes to add comic relief, and they are very witty.
The gameplay in Broken Sword is smooth and intuitive. It has inventory-based puzzles and an easy-to-use point and click interface. The puzzles are very well integrated into the plot. They are also moderately challenging, for there are a couple that can squeeze the breath of life clean out of good old George. The game also has a "smart-cursor" that changes into an icon when a certain action can be performed at a "hotspot." For instance, if you can operate something, the cursor changes to display a turning gears animated cursor. This cuts out a lot of guesswork, and makes the game a much more enticing experience.
The house is on fire, a poisonous spider is crawling closer, and George Stobbart is tied up and in big trouble once again. George clearly didn't get his fill of mysticism, murder, and exotic-location mystery solving in the Circle of Blood because he and Nicole Collard (Nico) are back, caught this time in a smuggler's web that leads directly back to the dark Maya god Tezcatlipoca.
But they don't know that initially. It's only through extensive travel and chat with strange characters that George and Nico discover what's really going on. Locations, of course, are one of the strongest draws this game has - as was the case in Circle of Blood. London, the Caribbean, the docks of Marseilles, and, of course, Central America and Maya ruins are each artfully and realistically re-created, providing the very distinctive sense of place necessary to fully immerse you in the game.
Gameplay has been streamlined as well as dialogue; it's more linear. There's no map and in only one area do you have more than one choice about where to go next. Essentially, you're in an area to find a specific thing or solve a specific puzzle and once you've done it you're done with that area.
System Requirement for Broken Sword : I & II
Windows 98 / XP
Pentium-II
128 MB RAM
2X CD-ROM
SVGA with 2 MB
Mouse
Sound board
(Comlete Setup of 2 ISOs 1.23GB / 3D / Drama, Mystery, Adventure)
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Adventure games are one of the oldest PC game genres and also one of the most conservative. When the genre evolves, it's usually at a glacial pace. That's why it's really refreshing to play a game like Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon. It's not hugely innovative, and it has its share of faults, but its particular blend of features nevertheless gives it a fresh, fun feel. Just as importantly, developer Revolution Software really understands the adventure genre and capitalizes on its strengths. You'll unravel a colorful, witty yarn filled with lovable characters, dramatic encounters, sharp dialogue, and exotic locales.
Carnby is called to Slaughter Gultch after learning of the disappearance of Emily and her crew, and is soon met by Stone's Zombie Cowboy gang. Armed with various western paraphenalia such as colt peacemakers, bullwhips, and even a gattling gun, Carnby must fight his way through Stone's minions and discover Emily's fate. Along the way he learns some surprising things about Stone's origin, as well as a sinister plan interrupted by his death which involved the destruction of the west coast and which Stone can now pursue once again.
Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon is a loose sequel. The first game in the series, called Circle of Blood in the US and Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars in Europe, came out on the PC back in 1996. The second game, Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror, arrived in 1997. The six-year wait for the latest game, which marks the series' transition from 2D to 3D, sure paid off. If nothing else, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon wins high points for style, often looking like a slickly directed animated film. Vibrant colors, expressive lead characters, and detailed settings all draw you into the game.
You maneuver George, and later his fellow adventurer, Nico Collard, using directional buttons on the keyboard or a gamepad. You can also make the hero run or creep along stealthily. Whenever you near a hotspot that you can examine or an area that you can climb, jump across, or shimmy along, little icons light up to show your available options. You then just press the appropriate key to select your option. When standing near a telephone, for example, you can examine it, listen to any messages on the answering machine, or make a call. When standing near a crate, you can push or pull it and climb up or down from it, all using this simple icon system. The system means that the game's climbing and jumping puzzles are much less stressful than in a true third-person action adventure game since here you don't need to employ lightning reflexes to avoid a fall. You merely press a jump button at a valid location and let the game handle the rest.
System Requirement for Broken Sword 3
Windows 98 / XP
PIII 750MHz or equivalent
RAM:128 MB
Video Memory: 64 MB
Hard Drive Space:1000 MB
Alternative Name
(PC) Secrets of the Ark: A Broken Sword Game (2007)
(Comlete ISO 3.1GB / 3D / Drama, Mystery, Adventure)
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Secrets of the Ark (The Angel of Death in the UK) is the fourth game in the Broken Sword series. It is the first not fully developed by Revolution Software Ltd. Instead, they outsourced the art and programming to Sumo Digital Ltd., which already provided consultancy on the PS2 and Xbox version of the third game, The Sleeping Dragon. Charles Cecil still wrote the story and oversaw development however. Unlike the previous game, it is now only available for the Windows platform.
Keeping to the tradition of ancient mysteries, hero George Stobbard needs to expose an old rivalry between powerful factions as he chases after a manuscript Moses used to construct The Angel of Death. This powerful weapon was the final of the ten plagues that brought the Pharaoh to his knees and allowed Moses to start the Exodus as he freed the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. The factions are especially interested in the mysterious substance "mfkzt", referenced in the manuscript but forgotten for thousands of years..
George gets involved when he is forced to take a job at a bail bonds company in a dangerous neighbourhood. The Dragon incident is classified as mass hysteria and he has been blacklisted by his previous employers. During one of his assignments, he meets Anna Maria who tells him about the manuscript. As she is being chased, George decides to help her. The familiar French reporter Nico Collard is also present in the game and this only complicates things as George has to keep the balance between the two women. Some of the locations you visit include Phoenix, Vatican City, New York and Istanbul.
Although still relying on a full 3D engine with fixed camera perspectives, the game returns to its roots by reintroducing point-and-click-based mouse control next to keyboard control, along with a new drag-and-drop control mechanism. A few puzzles are still action-based, but you are now given more time to act in stressful situations, rather than having to make split-second decisions. Next to the regular puzzles, you need to investigate images, texts and clues in the central manuscript as the story progresses.
System Requirement for Broken Sword 4
Windows 98 / XP / Vista
2.0 GHz Pentium 4 or equivalent
RAM: 512 MB
Video Memory:128 MB
Hard Drive Space: 2600 MB
Keyboard & Mouse
Passwords
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