Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror

by Crave Entertainment

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00001ZWOP
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: December 7, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,927 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: PlayStation

GameSpot Review

Despite several attempts by game developers to prove otherwise, the PlayStation controller doesn't do well in place of a mouse. That, combined with the PlayStation hardware's limitations, may be why such games as Broken Sword II are not commonplace on Sony's machine. Even though point-and-click adventure games have been around for years on the PC, the PlayStation has been fairly devoid of them. And while the original Broken Sword was held back by its difficult interface and almost unbearable loading times, the sequel makes point-and-click adventures seem almost doable on the PlayStation. But though the loading times have been trimmed and the interface has been fixed, it's still the PlayStation's limitations, not the compelling storyline or the game's quirky sense of humor, that keep Broken Sword from achieving its potential. Once again you're walking in the shoes of George Stobbard, the jack-of-all-trades American who saved the world in the first Broken Sword game. Nico, Stobbard's prissy French girlfriend, has been kidnapped, and it's up to you to help him escape from a burning house and track down the girl's abductors. But more importantly, you must figure out exactly what's going on. Indeed, this story is about more than just girlfriends and poisonous spiders - you'll run into CIA agents, cocaine lords, power-hungry dictators, mysterious scientists, Mayan artifacts, fallen priests, powerful shamans, and other oddball characters who are all extremely good at muddling the plot. Like all good mysteries, once you think you've got a good handle on exactly what's going on, the game yanks your theories out from under you and tosses you back to square one. Are you tracking down a cocaine empire in the hopes of turning it into the authorities, or are you trying to stop a maniacal Mayan priest from resurrecting the god of chaos and evil from his spiritual prison? Whatever your goal, you'll do plenty of traveling. The game starts in Paris, moves around France a bit, then it's off to Mexico, the Caribbean, London, and back again. Not only does this variety give you a great change of scenery every few hours, but it also lets the game introduce distinctly different characters. Instead of spending all your in-game time as Stobbard, there are parts of the game where you assume the role of Nico herself. This makes the game more interesting, as Nico has an entirely different way of dealing with people and situations. Because of her striking cartoony curves, men are more apt to help Nico, but she has a more difficult time doing physical tasks. Stobbard, however, hasn't changed a whole lot since he had his fun in the original Broken Sword. He's still a quirky, cynical bastard with an aspiring MacGyver-like talent that lets him do remarkable things with everyday items. While there are tons of items and puzzles in Broken Sword II, you won't find yourself stuck in any scenario for any lengthy amount of time. If you can't figure something out, it usually means you must go talk to everyone you've met recently all over again, as they'll offer new bits of information they conveniently forgot before. This makes the gameplay almost tedious, because you spend plenty of time listening to people ramble and significantly less time figuring out how to do things such as start a fire with a bank statement and stone figure. Still, there are plenty of creative things to do with all the common items you stumble across in the game, and people looking for at least one or two challenging puzzles will find them. Like its predecessor, the graphics in Broken Sword II are all hand drawn. The graphical style and attention to detail gives Broken Sword II a feel similar to Don Bluth's laser-disc games like Dragon's Lair and Space Ace. But because the environments are actually interactive, the graphics simply don't look as crisp as they would have had thisgame been on laser disc. Details such as faces are rather smudged and difficult to make out, and sometimes the game looks like the screen has been squished into a different size than originally intended. There's also a lot of pixelation around the edges of objects that can easily confuse you as to exactly what it is you're looking at. Still, the backgrounds are well detailed and creative, and the graphical style is a refreshing break from the recent uprising of polygons.--Ben Stahl--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, great follow up, June 23, 2001

By 

alexliamw (New Haven, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror (Video Game)

Broken Sword two follows George Stobbart and Nico as they continue their adventures. In this sequel the storyline remains equally intricate. Stobbart is your average jack-of-all-trades and he has that knack of using everyday objects to do extraordinary things. You also get the oppurtunity to control Nico, something you don't get in Broken Sword 1.

There are quite a few puzzles which are difficult to solve and require some lateral thinking. There is also an added danger factor. But the game is thoroughly enjoyable and I'd reccomend it to anyone.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another addictivly irratating game!, November 11, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror (Video Game)

Broken Sword 2, the continous story from Broken Sword 1. Broken Sword 2 was rated as either 9/10 or 10/10 from magazines all over the world from Russia to England, America and Japan. Broken Sword 2 follows on the story from the previous game with better graphics and a more trickier plot. BS2 is shorter than the previous but is more trickier and there are more ways to get yoourself killed! The game starts off brilliantly then the action starts, imagine a poison spider crawlling up your leg and a fire over by the exit while you are tied to the chair, if thats your fab dream then this is the game for you. Not for the weak minded this game sends puzzle after puzzle and none are easy to complete. But the action is there although not as good as some games but this type of action require more thought that fistes, one false move and you may set off a gaurds gun or fall into a pit, the game is very hard to complete but is very challenging.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite enjoyable, April 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror (Video Game)

It makes a great sequel. Lots of fans of Broken Sword say it's not nearly as good as its predeccesor but I think it's equally good. Though the graphics are a little groggy on the playstation version they still are quite nice. The game is undoubtedly an adventure and strategy type game. There is absoulutely no action or fighting. That does not automatically mean it has no suspense. To fight you have to look at your suroundings and choose what to use on your opponet. George(main character) takes it over from there. Simple?yes. It has simple 2-D graphics and point and click control. After all it was originally a PC game. Plus it is a bit old. In fact I was only 6 when it first came out in 1997. I would type more but i'm getting bored. If you want to check it out you should just try buying it from here because it's most likely no where else. You most likely won't be able to rent it from anywhere. You should definetly check it out. It can be quite hard and frustrating at times so you should check out www... for walkthroughs and hints. It also has a great forum with a lot of great people from all over the world. The game itself was actually made in Europe somewhere. Sorry I couldn't give you anymore information. Thanks for reading my review.....CU.

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