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Old 08-30-2011, 10:51 PM   #1559
terhardp
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Location: Croatia
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Broken Sword - The Shadow of the Templars: The Director's Cut

The ones that read my posts probably know that the first two "Broken Sword" games are still my favorite adventures. I've started playing adventure games on PC with "Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror" in 1997, which is another reason why I'm so attached to the saga. I've once read that someone called "Broken Sword" games "bastion of adventure games" or something like that. I must agree.

Enough babbling. You may have guessed that I didn't need much pushing to get the "remastered" versions of the first two "Broken Sword" games. But I must say I was very skeptical about them, even though I was blown away by the quality of the SE versions of "Monkey Island".

Now, after I've played it, I can't say that this version of "Broken Sword" thrilled me as much as the said version of MI. Still, there are things to love about it. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I was mostly impressed by some of the puzzles that were added in the DC version and weren't present in the original game.

What has disappointed me the most about the game is the graphic. Not that I have anything against the original artwork of the first two BS games: I absolutely LOVE IT. The thing here is that DC version didn't brought the re-rendered good old BS look that we all know and love. Instead, there is some pretty serious clashing of styles going on. We have the graphic from the original, some almost photo-realistic close-ups, cut-scenes that looks like they belong to the much more modern cartoon-style games such as "Runaway 3", and of course, the infamous mini-portraits during the conversations. Yes, and don't forget the balloon-type subtitles. At the end, I must say that the mini-portraits fit the most with the timeless graphic of the original.

The another thing that I've found rather cumbersome is the navigation system in the DC version. I simply hated the drag-and-drop method when using inventory items. Since I always play non-widescreen titles on my laptop, the said method caused a lot of the frustrations in conjunction with the touchpad. I also think that the design of the navigation system doesn't fit with the original graphic.

Apart from the few newly-added puzzles, the biggest new feature of the game is adding Nico as playable character and her own little quest to solve. While this part of the story is somewhat intriguing, the big story of BS can certainly do without it.

While the DC version of "Broken Sword" is not what I was expected, it was a pleasurable experience for me. It certainly won't cast a shadow on the original in my book, but original or not, one doesn't need much pushing to dive back into the world of "Broken Sword".

Verdict:

4,5 / 5

Original version: 5 / 5
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