[supermintyfresh]

Sorry to bump quite an old thread, but I have got to say this.

The graphics we alright, the story..eh, I enjoyed it more than smoking mirror. Gameplay, I hated the control scheme for sleeping dragon, I can't say this is much better, but I did find it more enjoyable pointing and clicking...as I feel with most adventure games.

As previously said before, people just show up out of nowhere and it really just dampers the storyline. For example, Nico comes rescues you from she prison reveals NO information on how she learned of your activties, your whereabouts, or your arrest.

And another example...Duane shows up at the black cat...It's good to see Duane in 3D, but really? What the hell was he doing there?

The ending? Well, I read reviews about how everyone said it sucked, so I came fully prepared for a stupid and arubt ending and wasn't "terribly" disapointed by it...but still, I was infact very very unsatisfied.

ALSO

I fucking hate Anna Marie. I don't know if it's her voice actor that pisses me off, or her character and her actions, but for some reason, I could not stand her and I was very pleased when she took her leave when nico arrivied.

Anyways, another thing about her...She made her fate very predictable from the moment she was kidnapped. Right then and there I knew that it was gonna be the ol.

Spoiler:

"I was working for the bad guys all along, but fell in love with you and realized I wasn't doing the right thing, so now I must redeem myself and do the right thing and in order to save your life I must sacrifice myself and die!"

...Routine.

Spoiler:

I've seen it in movies...Games...Everywhere. COME ON! We all knew she was gonna die. We all knew she was a bad/good guy. LAME.

But through and through I'm glad

Spoiler:

the bitch got shot.

Overall: 3/5

[skieros]

I agree with all your comments but in overall i really liked and enjoy the game.

[Ruslan]

the game is beuatiful as all other BS...but i must say it was way too easy...i remmeber it took me like a month to finish BS 1 and 2, this took me 2 days.....and the ending..i felt like crying...what crap..

they better make another one..and they better try harder this time...

this game is so amazing....its just diff from everything else...god i love it

[Owskie]

um, ok.. so uhh... just beat it.. and... um...


WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ENDING IS THAT!?!?!?!?!

my god, im going to go have someone cry in my cheerios... I would but im just too manly to do it myself.

[broken sword lover]

omfg i just finished this game and what can i say!

i have loved broken sword since the first ever game was brought to the ps1

i always keep completing them as my favourite parts are no ones to be forgotten

broken sword is the best series of games in the world
i also really enjoyed diskworld but unfotunately there will not be any more games dor diskworld :'(

this game is the best! no doubt about it
there WILL be a bs5 out
you cant end it like that
i couldnt believe it when anne died i was like
but all in all brilliant game
im so glad i bought it

but i did use a walkthrough on some of the puzzels, like 2 or 3
hehe the are amazing though

LONG LIVE BROKEN SWORD!!!!

[stepurhan]

Welcome broken sword lover. Glad you've found a game series you like (and a thread to express your enjoyment)

Have a look around. Hopefully you'll come across something else you'll like as much.

[kinetickyle]

I'm currently playing it a third time. Yeah, the ending is a little lackluster, but it's kind of like a good road trip - the journey is the real point of the affair. I liked Sleeping Dragon a bit more, but George is wearing Chuck Taylors - how can you go wrong with that? Regardless of any shortcomings in the story, I think the most important aspect of an adventure game is characterization. If you don't like or believe in the characters, what's the point of seeing the game through to the end. You're hard-pressed to find better characters than the Broken Sword gang.

P.S: Upon further reflection, I've decided that I have to agree with supermintyfresh with regards to Anna Maria - man, that chick bothers me. And, I'm also in agreement that I can't put my finger on what bothers me. I think it's a combination of the actor's voice, which I find a little grating, and the way the character's animated - she just comes off as someone that would be more interested in a Macy's sale flyer than seeking lost biblical artifacts.

[johncon001]

I tell you, angel of death's ending had me in stitches. i hope the bitch rots in hell. i mean, come on! isn't it obvious that the george's sweet lil luv muffin woz gonna end out the bitch of the story? i mean, that position could never be filled by nico. ever. ever ever ever.

And when it came to the ending, I only heard *ahem* 1 gunshot. but 2 died. and oh boo hoo. poor little anna marie came to a horrible ending. even though she had the voice of a 57 year old chain smoker. who gives a sh*t? the whore was evil! she was in on the bad guy's plans! bs1 2 and 3 were all better than this tripe.

mind you, i don't much like the fact that george and nico aren't together either. i mean, if you had gone through that many live or death experiences for someone, would you just go off with someone else, and drop the person out of your life? i have to say that i wouldn't. i'd keep em for life. un less of course, i got bored of them. by all means i'd let them die on their adventures. would i hell come and save them lol.

[The13thDoll]

Unlike some of you here, I liked Anna Maria, but I think the ending feels unfinished either way.

[johncon001]

oh and btw i havent added those little spoiler coverer thingy coz the name of the thread says beware spoilers so i thought any dipshit who complains about my not using them things because it spoilt it for them would just be totally ignorant or totally stupid.

[Dale Baldwin]

You can stop the trolling instead.

[Thalomarre]

NOTE: Spoilers ahead, and I'm not gonna bother with spoiler tags; as another person pointed out (albeit in a ridiculously rude and tactless manner), ya reads the thread marked "spoilers", ya takes yer chances.

Okay, I picked this game up from the shelf a couple months ago. Interesting idea, historical/archaeological adventures are always fun... any indication that the game was the fourth in a series somehow eluded me.

So I play through a bit, made it to Turkey, and when at the first mention of Eamon O'Mara, I thought to myself, "Hmm, there seems to be some history there... was there another game before this?"

Then it dawned on me... that look... that voice... I've played this character before!

Yes, I'd bought Circle of Blood long, long ago and somehow gotten sidetracked and never finished it... then found one of the discs had mysteriously disappeared when I tried to go back, and had then more or less forgotten about it until that moment.

Just to be sure I wasn't going crazy, I did a quick search online.

"Yep, that's George Stobbart, same guy... wait a minute... they made two more after that?!"

Needless to say, I had to put BS4 on hold then and there. I went to amazon.com, ordered copies of all three previous games, and waited impatiently for them to arrive. Of course BS2 and 3 got there before BS1, so they sat on my desk taunting me for a couple of days before BS1 arrived and I could start from the beginning.

So I play through the first few games pretty much back-to-back, thoroughly immersed. Fully identified with George, fell in love with Nico, found myself more or less on the edge of my seat throughout. I know it seems I'm preaching to the choir when I extol the virtues of the Broken Sword series, but one must keep in mind that, though I was all-too-briefly introduced to the first game ten years ago, the entire series was something entirely fresh and new to me. So that sets the backdrop for my experience with BS4.

And I must say that, while I think the fourth game did feel like the weakest in the series, it still kept me pretty much captivated to the end. I think part of it was the fact that I entered into the game pretty much ignorant the details that would probably have been known to someone who'd been awaiting and anticipating the game. As I played through the first three, a disturbing thought gnawed at the back of my mind: so far as I'd gotten in BS4, I'd seen no sign whatsoever of Nico. She hadn't been... left out, had she? How could we lose such an unforgettable, beautiful individual as this?

I restarted BS4 with the same sense of worry. Who was this new girl? She wasn't really gonna replace Nico, was she? She's too... nice! Nico would've never stroked his ego the way Anna Maria did, what with all the "That was a good idea!" and "Great thinking, George!" C'mon, George, you don't need that! You need a strong, independent woman who'll kick you in the butt and tell you when you're acting like an idiot!

So when Nico finally did show up, I was as overjoyed to see her as George was, never mind how she got there or knew he was even there. Shame about the voice, though; if I hadn't played any of the first three games, I don't know if I would've been able to tell whether she was French, English or Irish. And even overlooking the ambiguity of her accent, there was something... not right about her. She just didn't sound like the Nico I'd known. She seemed too serious or something; her voice lacked that certain playful quality that had helped to define her personality. Of course, her voice had changed with every single game, so the fact that it was different wasn't a surprise... but this one was definitely my least favorite (as an aside, she sounded a little odd to me in BS2 as well, but not to such an extent. I'm not sure whether I prefer the voice in BS1 or BS3; I'm leaning toward the latter, since I feel that's where she shone the most brightly as an independent character on the same level as George, not just as a supporting role).

So, okay, Nico's not entirely out of the picture, that's a relief. But it still ate at me that George seemed to have "moved on" to Anna Maria. Now more than ever, Nico stood out as the obvious choice between the two. So I play through the game with that in mind, and finally reach the ending.

"Did she just get...? Damn... wasn't expecting that. Wait, maybe the power of the Ark will--oh, no, I guess not. And here I was grumbling about how much better Nico was after Anna Maria's latest bout of gratuitous praise for George's puzzle-solving abilities. Well, now I feel a little guilty..."

So, mixed feelings there. I didn't hate Anna Maria with the same passion others here seem to have felt, and I certainly didn't expect or want her to get killed... but hey, that left Nico still in the picture, which was a tremendous relief. And, for all his apparent bitterness toward her at certain times previously in the game, he did in the end actually choose Nico over Anna Maria in some sense, so it's not like George would've considered her "the next best thing" if they were to reunite (okay, so to be fair, saving Nico came with the bonus prize of not seeing the end of the world as we know it, but I like to think that was secondary in George's mind when he smashed those cherubim).

So the ending was rather abrupt, but I don't know that I'd call it disappointing per se. As someone else said, the important thing is the journey. The fact that the fireworks occurred before the final click I had made and not after didn't bother me too much. But it did leave me feeling... unsated. The question remained whether George and Nico would be together again, and it might've been nice to have some strong indication either way in the end, for the sake of closure.

I feel like there's more of their story to be told, and I'm really holding out hope that there will be a fifth installment of the series. I understand that the official word is apparently that there won't be, but it wouldn't be the first time a game designer has gone back on their word in such matters. Quest for Glory V springs to mind, a much-anticipated game that wrapped up the series nicely in my opinion. I feel that's what Broken Sword needs: one final epic adventure that presents a greater challenge than ever before faced and leaves the player with a feeling of accomplishment and completion at the end.

Anyway, if you've read through all this, congratulations! I'm not sure that I had much of a point to all that; I think I just needed to put my thoughts in order for my own sake and, well, if anyone else got something out of it, so much the better!

[MasterLoo]

Originally Posted by Thalomarre

I feel like there's more of their story to be told, and I'm really holding out hope that there will be a fifth installment of the series. I understand that the official word is apparently that there won't be, but it wouldn't be the first time a game designer has gone back on their word in such matters.

To reply your comment first:
Revolution Software has expressed interest in making another Broken Sword game, but the question is getting the money to make it. It seems like like Revolution Software are currently working on other games, though, so I don't expect to see Broken Sword five anytime soon. But I believe the series is far from dead so I have a feeling we will see another Broken Sword game.

Then more rambling:
I've also read something about Revolution being interested in making another 2D game. I think it would be cool with a Broken Sword five which went back to it's roots, and was made in the same style as Broken Sword 1(just with obvious improvements, like better sound quality and higher resolution images, etc..)* I have a feeling we won't see another Broken Sword for at least 3 years, though, maybe 6. It went 6 years between Broken Sword 2 and 3.

* "Just because it's 2D, doesn't mean it has to look bad" and "Just because it's in 3D, doesn't mean the graphics actually look good." It's what they do with 2D or 3D which makes the game good.

[Thalomarre]

Well, that's good to know. The animation in both of the latter two games was surprisingly good (for the most part, anyway. What was with those inanimate guard dogs in BS4?), but I think I prefer the "cartoon" style of the first two. It would be great to see them return to that.

Anyway, thanks for the info. Here's hoping!

[frogbrains]

Yes, Broken Sword 4 had lovely graphics. But I had to get a program called £dAnalyser for it to work. Basically makes the game think your pc's got a better graphics card than it has. If anyone else gets that problem by the way, an error message saying "there was a problem starting DirectX", then that's the program for you. 3d Analyser.

[frogbrains]

Yeh, I though it felt unfinished too. I'm awaitin' a fifth game!

[frogbrains]

Originally Posted by Owskie

um, ok.. so uhh... just beat it.. and... um...


WHAT THE HELL KIND OF ENDING IS THAT!?!?!?!?!

my god, im going to go have someone cry in my cheerios... I would but im just too manly to do it myself.

Yeh. I really felt like cryin at the end. Not coz people died, but because it was so SUDDEN. It didn't feel like an ending at all. I thought after it faded to black it would come back on and there'd be some kinda seen with George 'n' Nico talkin about whatever. Also, the credit music is shit. So was the credit music in BS3. Also, in this game, Nico looks and sounds like an Irish hooker.

[sysryn]

Sorry for bumping an old thread but i just finished the game and wanted to share opinions...

First, i must say that the BS has to be my favourite game series of all time. I got my copy of BS1 back in 2000 and played BS2 right after it.

The third one was also good but it did need a bit of "adjustment".
After a long time i started the Angel of death and it did had that "Stobbartish" feel to it.

Controls are similar to BS3 but they felt a bit better... or was that only cause BS4 didn't have all those box carrying stuff going around.

I need to agree with the rest of the people about the ending...
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!?

Even more... this is supposed to be THE LAST game in the series?!
I mean... just WOW! Someone should get his butt kicked bigtime cause of this.

The game was enjoyable, a bit difficult on some parts but
the ending did spoil the overal experience a bit...

P.S. Didn't George meet Duane in Syria back in BS1??
In the steam room he says he met him in south America,
and that's BS2... Think he got bumped on the head way too much

[pointandcliklover]

Originally Posted by sysryn

Sorry for bumping an old thread but i just finished the game and wanted to share opinions...

First, i must say that the BS has to be my favourite game series of all time. I got my copy of BS1 back in 2000 and played BS2 right after it.

The third one was also good but it did need a bit of "adjustment".
After a long time i started the Angel of death and it did had that "Stobbartish" feel to it.

Controls are similar to BS3 but they felt a bit better... or was that only cause BS4 didn't have all those box carrying stuff going around.

I need to agree with the rest of the people about the ending...
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING!?

Even more... this is supposed to be THE LAST game in the series?!
I mean... just WOW! Someone should get his butt kicked bigtime cause of this.

The game was enjoyable, a bit difficult on some parts but
the ending did spoil the overal experience a bit...

P.S. Didn't George meet Duane in Syria back in BS1??
In the steam room he says he met him in south America,
and that's BS2... Think he got bumped on the head way too much

your right about duane in bs1, and i think we mostly all agree about the ending roll on bs 5 is all i can say and with so many other supposidly finished games coming back just maybe just maybe. All in all it was a great game certainly better than 3 tho 3 is enjoyable still i did like bs4 better.

[orient]

It's definitely my least favourite Broken Sword game. To sum up the quality of the game's puzzles, let me ask you this:

If there was a precious, one-of-a-kind manuscript locked in a steel cupboard, would you think that...

Spoiler:

...tossing said cupboard into a MEATGRINDER would be a wise idea?

Seriously -- one of the most illogical, idiotic puzzles I've ever witnessed in an adventure game, and that's sayin' something. Give me crate-pushing any day over those silly hacking mini-games.

The story is paper-thin, too. The only redeeming factor in all honesty is George. He never disappoints. Archie was a funny character, too.