Customer Reviews

Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Having been a huge fan of the two previous Broken Sword games I eagerly anticipated the release of the third installment in this brilliant graphic adventure series. I struggled with the rating of this game, I wanted to give it the full 5 stars but unfortunately there are one or two minor niggles which do detract from the overall enjoyment factor. But let's focus on the positives first, and there are plenty. BS:TSD is a tale of epic adventure, exploration and intrigue. Our intrepid heroes, George Stobbart and Nico Collard are once again thrust into a world riddled with ancient conspiracies and secret codes as they attempt to unravel the truth about a mysterious earth energy known as dragon power.

From the outset, George ends up getting stranded in the Congo after the plane he was in crashes, whilst Nico witnesses the murder of a man in a Parisian apartment block, until eventually their two stories intertwine and they learn that they are both investigating the same case. Graphically this game is beautiful. The backgrounds are lovingly crafted, colours are vibrant and vivid, lighting and shadow effects are spot on, character animation is second to none and the lip synching is superb. It is a fully realised 3D world and the attention to detail is incredible. The music is suitably moody and atmospheric and the voice acting (George is once again voiced by Rolf Saxon as in the previous two games) is of a very high quality.

Movement of George and Nico is with the arrow keys and there are four action mapped keys corresponding to the icons on screen, i.e, look, use, etc. This new interface takes about five minutes to get used to and is simple enough. Of course, the integral part of any adventure game are it's puzzles and this is where the first criticism can be levelled. Whilst almost always fun and logical to figure out they are a bit on the easy side and seasoned adventurers will rarely have trouble progressing. Quite simply, there are'nt any that match the complexity found in the previous games and this is a slight disappointment. And there are crate puzzles too. Lots of them. Whilst initially enjoyable there are far too many of them and they do tend to disrupt the flow of the game.

There are also action elements implemented into the gameplay. Frequently you will find yourself leaping across chasms, shimmying across ledges and climbing walls. Another new feature are the timed action events in which you are put in danger and must react quickly. This simply involves pressing the only key available at the time, and even if you do die the game restarts from the point where you made the fatal error so you don't need to load a saved game and lose any progress you may have made. Occasionally, stealth will have to be employed to evade guards and dogs. This sometimes leads to awkward, confusing camera angles in conjunction with the character's movement, although by and large the camera often conveys a wonderfully cinematic feel to the proceedings.

Paris, Glastonbury, Prague and Egypt are just some of the locations you will visit and explore, among others, and you will meet and interact with an interesting cast of characters, gathering information and vital clues to assist you further. The dialogue between George and Nico is often humorous, at times touching and a narrative high point in the script. There are also references to people and events from the two previous games, so although BS:TSD can be played as a stand alone adventure it's best to play the other two games first or it might seem a little mystifying. Another slight disappointment is that the game is a bit on the short side and leaves you wanting more.

One or two minor irritations aside, Broken Sword The Sleeping Dragon is a wonderfully told tale, with rich, detailed environments, a movie quality script and acting, and is a fitting conclusion to an outstanding trilogy.

First a confession: I'm a lousy (albeit enthusiastic) gamester. I had to rely on a walkthrough just to get through a Nancy Drew game (I'm NOT a youngster, by the way).

So, when I say I was able to play the entire game with almost no 'hints' you get an idea of how relatively easy it is. That's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I preferred it over the completely illogical and complex Myst-type puzzles.

The story was a bit hokey (and that's being kind) and I don't understand why they had to "hunk" up George. If I'm not mistaken, in the first Broken Sword game he was a bit of a bumbling nerd -- but charming and at least not an Indiana Jones clone. And does every female character in these games have to look like Lara Croft, with the obligatory short shorts???? Let's try something different once in a while!

Still, that didn't detract too much from the fun of the game. Oddly enough, once I got used to the controls, I didn't have any trouble moving the characters around and I thought the graphics were very well done for the most part.

I did have a few other 'pet peeves' I need to get off my chest, such as:

a) Nico's constantly stretching and flicking link off her shoulder -- these gestures were annoying and distracting. Was the stretching some adolescent male programmer's idea of sexy, perhaps?

b) no way to bypass certain cut scenes so if you did "die" you had to sit through them again (and again and again).

c) when both Nico and George appeared together, the graphics were terrible. She kept disappearing and reappearing, flicking around the screen, etc. Not a glitch, exactly, just poorly done.

d) too many dumb "move the boxes" puzzles. For once, I was good at something and by the time the end game came I though if I had to shove one more box around the screen, I'll kill George and Nico myself and align myself with Sussaro (the bad guy).

Okay, lots of pet peeves and complaints ... but I still give the game a 4 since, compared to so many other adventure games, it had enough good moments -- at a good price -- to put it ahead of the pack.

Not to discourage adventure game makers, since there are so few these days, I must say that this game is not the goal to aim for. While it is a good game, an enjoyable game in many respects, it represents a lone voice in a current adventure vacuum. After playing it from start to finish within 5 days, I have to say several things; it is very easy, in terms of logic challenges. Ever heard of the old slip a newspaper under a door and poke out the key from the inside lock and gain access puzzle? This is that kind of game. This is the kind of game that gives you a small area to explore, and all the answers are right there, and the challenge is minimal. Also there are action-based challenges, which are fine, but sort of transform the game into a reflexive rather than cerebral arena.
This game also owes a major debt to Gabriel Knight 3, which is a superior game. There are too many similarities in detail to be mistaken, but the major difference is that Gabriel Knight was written exceptionally well, and Broken Sword is merely adequate. The BS story takes you along to the next little episode, but doesn't quite bring all the parts together. When the final confrontion comes about, I was reminded of Asmodeus from GK3, until the action was over and the story was resolved. In the case of George and Nico, it didn't really come to anything, so I'm holding out for Broken Sword 4. I admit, I'll play it, since there are so few choices these days. But I have to say, I care so much more about Gabriel and Grace, and the ending of GK3 left me feeling more for two fictional characters than any movie or other game ever has.
Sorry, George and Nico are lightweights. They don't have depth, and the series has never made the leap of genius, but they are fun for the short time that the game requires mastery of.
I can't wait to play Jane Jensen's upcoming game, but I don't want it rushed out. I hope that The Adventure Company will take their time and do it right. A five-star game is what we all want.

Broken Sword 3 takes the classic adventure gameplay of the first two games, and gives it a whole new slant by switching everything to 3D, and it works wonderfully for the most part. If you've played Grim Fandango, imagine a much-improved version of that engine, and you can picture what BS3 is like. Unlike in Grim Fandango, though, the controls here felt intuitive right from the beginning. I've read several reviews that complained about how cumbersome this game is, but I can't imagine what problems those people encountered. I'll be the first to admit that I'm lousy at handling anything other than the simplest interface when it comes to gaming, and BS3 just felt natural from the very first puzzle.
One thing I really enjoyed about BS3 is that it just felt more "adventurous" than most adventure games. This is due in part to the way you must perform Tomb Raider like maneuvers at certain points (shimmying along ledges, stacking crates, jumping gaps, etc.) Don't worry, though, it's still purely an adventure game, and you won't need to rely on twitch-reflexes to get through these portions of the game.
There are, however, a few sequences in which you will need some good reflexes. For the most part, these sequences play out like scenes from the classic laser-disc game Dragon's Lair, and it's merely a matter of moving in the right direction at the right time. If you screw it up, the game kindly lets you try again, even if you neglected to save recently.
Storywise, this one is pretty solid. There's a fairly complex plot involving the knights templar, and there are enough twists to keep you interested throughout. I liked the fact that George and Nico (the two playable protagonists) start out with seemingly unrelated storylines in different parts of the world, and it isn't until later that you realize how everything is connected. It's a good technique that's rarely (if ever) seen in games.
One word of caution-be sure to update your drivers before playing this. I couldn't get the game to load at all until I updated my sound and graphics drivers. However, once I did so, everything ran smoothly, and I didn't encounter any bugs at all, and that's a rare treat these days!

Why is it that any game company which has successfully produced great comic style adventure seems to believe that today's good adventures *have* to be in 3D? After Lucasarts, it is saddening to see that Revolutions chose the same path for the sequel to Broken Sword. Rather than presenting an easy to handle, mouse controlled game, they released a game which seems to require quick fingers rather than the kognitive ability to solve riddles.

The awful controls of the game spoil the gaming fun to a large extent, particularly since there are several scenes in the game which require a fast reaction from the player. And so one often finds oneself repeating the same part of the game over and over again, just because one can't seem to get the 4 different keys the scene requires timed correctly.

Also negative points for the lack of a gamma slider - many of the rooms in game are so dark, it's difficult to see much when playing during the day.

Then again, the game is at times far too easy and requires little thought. Important objects are marked by a blinking star, so it doesn't take a whole lot of thinking to figure out what to take along or to use.
It's almost completely unnecessary to save the game any time other than when logging off, because the game will automatically replay sequences that were failed. As it is impossible to save the game during these sequences, the repeated replaying of the longish scenes tends to get somewhat annoying.

Despite these issues, the game does get a few stars for its good, solid riddles, its overall good story and the fame of its prequels.

Just givin' a quick review here. Just to let ya'll know for me Syberia really set the standard for me. So when I say that this game is the best experience I've had since Syberia I am saying A LOT!! Some of the best graphics I've seen in awhile. 5.1 sound. I recommend the use of headphones for a more immersive experience. And one of the creepiest villians i've seen in a game. Good Times!

I was a long time fan of the first two Broken Sword games and eagerly anticipated the release of number 3. I was a little worried at first with the move to 3D, concerned that it would turn into just another 'Tomb Raider' style game, where nimbleness of fingers was more important than dexterity of brain. Thankfully, this was not the case.

The puzzles start of absurdly easy, which was a bit of a worry, but thankfully became more challenging as the game went on. The story is intriguing (even if you are not particularly interested in the Knights Templar, it is a great murder-mystery), the graphics are beautiful and the characters are given voice by real actors.

(n.b. I played this on the PS2, but Amazon appears not to have a listing for that platform).

I eagerly awaited this 3rd episode and was very disappointed. The graphics are not as good as the 1st two games, and the use of the arrow keys, rather than the mouse, was cumbersome. I r ead that the creators of the game say that this is the future of adventure games. I certainly hope not as, in my opinion, the mouse action is so much smoother. The rich color of the 1st two games was amazing, and since this game is several years ahead, I expected more in the way of lush graphics. It was not there. It was difficult to get the characters to move in straight lines. I found the game concentrated too much on eye-hand quick coordination to get through many parts, rather than logic. I did not enjoy spending hours trying to progress through the game by learning which keys to press, in which order, and doing it without missing a beat. To me, that is not an "adventure game" but rather a game of beating the clock. I finally through in the towel about 3/4 through.

I absolutely loved the first two games in the series, but in comparison, Sleeping Dragon is a huge step down.

For those unfamiliar with the first two games, Broken Sword is about an American man and French female encountering conspiracies involving secret societies that trace themselves back to the middle-ages (e.g. the Templars). The storylines are intelligent and exciting with roots in interesting historical facts and modern speculation, and the lead characters have well-developed personalities and witty dialogue. Overall, I consider this series better than Gabriel Knight, although this last installment is weaker than any of the Gabriel Knights.

The 3D graphics are nice, but I would have preferred more of an animated movie approach like the first two games, and a lot of what made the series special is missing. There is far less character interaction, which was one of the great strengths of the first two games. For example, in the first two games, if you presented any inventory item to most of the characters, they would have a specific, often hilarious, response to most of the items. Now George just makes some stock comment like "I decided not to" or "That did not seem appropriate". Also, while the new interface is easy to use, it also limits your choices of what actions to take. This results in the puzzles being far easier with the interface now often giving away what you need to do.

The puzzles in this third game are less interesting. The gameplay is more linear. The puzzles often consist of moving boxes around in order to climb to a specific spot, sneaking past guards with perfect timing, or pressing a button when the matching icon suddenly pops up on the screen in order to survive a timed puzzle (or else you get killed and you go through the whole long scene all over again with no option to skip dialogue). And there is a lot less interesting historical information or detective work involving tracking down info. The only scene which comes close to the first two games is the first time you spend in Glastonbury.

Still, Broken Sword holds up extremely well compared to the increasingly lame adventure game genre we are stuck with since Sierra and Lucas Arts have now abandoned the series which made them great in the first place.

The ending of the game fails to resolve everything within this lastest installment (e.g. why Petra claims to have met Nico before and hates her so much), let alone questions left over from the first two games (e.g. the comic relief tourists -- is the husband a CIA agent or not?). Which give me hope there will be a fourth game, although the series has always been referred to as a planned trilogy.

The first instalment in the Broken Sword series (1996's Shadow of the Templars, US title Circle Of Blood) introduced us to American-in-Paris tourist George Stobbart, the glamorous Parisian photographer Nicole "Nico" Collard, the lecherous museum curator André Lobineau, and a host of other delightful (and dastardly) secondary characters. With hand-painted cels by former Don Bluth animators, the game had a revolutionary look and feel--it was like being immersed in an interactive animated movie. BS: SotT's witty dialogue, excellent soundtrack, and well-integrated puzzles made it an instant classic. The sequel, Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror was released in 1997.

Seven years later, creator Charles Cecil has resurrected George and Nico once more so that they may save the world in style, this time from the evil plans of Señor Susarro, who plans on harnessing the Earth's energy in order to make himself an all-powerful immortal.

The first part of the game cuts between the respective action in Paris and the Congo. Nico is framed for murder and must prove her innocence, and George must discover Chomondely's secret deep in the jungle. Their stories converge in an action-packed fashion (would we have it any other way?). One of the highlights of the game is the ability to play as both George and Nico.

The major difference in Sleeping Dragon is that the series has gone to a 3D prerendered platform in place of 2D painted cells. Another development is the absence of the mouse (Cecil dug an early grave with adventure gamers by claiming that "point and click" was dead)-the controls are the A,S,D, W and directional keys, which takes some getting used to. The constantly changing camera angles are annoying at best and fatal at worst, as several scenes involve timed escapes. I also encountered several bugs, the most annoying of which involved characters pausing during dialogues, and then speaking two or three lines at the same time.

Sleeping Dragon is much more action-based than its predecessors, so expect to shimmy across narrow outcroppings, inch along precarious ledges by your fingertips, leap across chasms, sneak past guards and have the occasional fight sequence.

There are a variety of puzzle types incorporated into the game, most of moderate difficulty. Puzzles can be solved by examining the inventory, combining objects and going through all dialogue options. One glaring pet peeve: the sheer abundance of Sobokan "move this crate over there" type puzzles, which numbered at least two dozen. The first few times were exciting, but I would see another crate, block, appliance, etc. and groan. Next time, less boxes, guys.

The graphics are gorgeous, the voice acting is top notch (a rarity), the music is worthy of John Williams, the one-liners fast and furious, and the storyline is a novel unto itself. Although not without its flaws, Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon may be the most complete gaming experience I have ever had-once I started playing, I didn't want to stop.