[orient]

My first venture into the Broken Sword series was a bit of an odd one. I borrowed the GBA version of the original and really loved the gameplay concept and style, but I had to give it back rather quickly so I didn't get very far. It was probably the first point and click adventure I had played and I remember loving the idea of finding items to unravel a mystery. Ever since then (possibly a good 5 years ago) I've periodically thought about playing it again, but it wasn't until recently when I saw Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon as a budget title for PC that I got back into the series.

After completing The Sleeping Dragon I was convinced that The Angel of Death would be the better game, but now that I've completed both titles, I can't say that's the case in my opinion.

I thought that BS3 had a better sense of adventure and was generally more exciting, well-structured (clearer goals) and better polished all round. Both had nice graphics, but BS4 was quite bare with extremely limited animations, odd glitches and some poor character modeling. I also thought the ending of BS3 was much, much more satisfying, as it actually had a reasonably fleshed out conclusion. Also, despite the game having generally good voice acting (gotta' love George), Nico's voice in BS4 (or role in general) wasn't very good at all. Archie cracked me up, though! Great character.

I've recently purchased Broken Sword I & II from eBay so I can't wait to play them to compare the 3D and 2D titles. I was always under the impression that the Broken Sword series was held in really high regard, but unfortunately I didn't really get the feeling of such excellence (despite enjoying them both) while playing BS3 & 4...so, high hopes for the 2D games.

What are your general thoughts on the series and how would you guys rate the Broken Sword games, from best to worse?

[Grimbold]

Well, first off 3 is the only one in the series that I haven't played, so thanks for letting me know that it's worth getting - I too felt that BS4 was somewhat lacklustre (Though still quite enjoyable).

Personally, I think that The Shadow of the Templars is the highpoint of the series, though I'd only just rank it above Smoking Mirror - they're both amazing games as far as I'm concerned. For a genre that so often seems obsessed with fantasy, it's great to have such an everyman as George Stobbart in the lead and, improbable as it may now seem, the game was before the Templars were boring. They can't keep the pace up of a cinema thriller, but definitely keep the atmosphere.

Design of both games is great - death adds a lot to the game but danger is flagged up very well, the puzzles are pretty much all logical, and production values are, in short, brilliant - great animation, top-shelf voice acting. The level of interaction in conversations is something that sticks with me, allowing for some real conversation-based puzzles for a change. Nothing beats wandering around a third-world country in BS2 and showing an erotic pair of panties to EVERYONE you meet. Plus snacking on dog biscuits.

I was also very impressed by the way that BS2 is an entirely new adventure - it avoids feeling like a shadow of it predecessor by taking you to a completely different side of the world, and also expanding on the original by letting you play Nico. That and the lack of recurring villains and minimal continuity (I think none once you leave France..). This does, however, make the title of the series even more mysterious, given the fact that the eponymous sword is only mentioned once in passing in the original game..

Anyway, BS4... well, I liked it on the whole but I can't endorse it much. Puzzles were quite frustrating, that new sidekick irritated me, and a lot of the levels felt empty. Bad programming in some of the sneaking bits, and the hacking mini-games got quite old. Also the big problem of the massively goofy plot. (I'm sure you know what I'm talking about)

[orient]

Ah yes, the hacking mini-games. I thought that was a fine example of a puzzle that should have been used maybe once...twice if you're pushing it. I suppose they were well-crafted brainteasers but when put into a "hacking" context, it felt a little silly to me. Hacking the Vatican server and a US military base didn't seem very "George Stobbart" to me -- or maybe I need to play more Broken Sword games first.

It's funny because the plot in BS4 is goofy, but so is the plot in BS3, in a different sort of way.

In both games, I wish there was more of a sense of travel and scope. Everywhere seems so easy to get to and so small or empty. Maybe that's asking too much from a traditional adventure game? I don't know.

[AndreaDraco83]

Somewhere in the dark, Misslilo is gonna hunt me for saying this again but I've only played the first game, half of it, and I was totally letdown so I quickly uninstalled it.

[Gabe]

BS series bygone already Cecil going to make a movie out of em
Btw try 2.5 free if you like old style.

[DustyShinigami]

I'm not going to rant on about all the reasons why i love the Broken Sword series. I've done that enough already. Besides, Grimbold has already made some good points about the games that i agree with. But i will rate them as such:

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars - *****
Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror - ****
Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon - ****
Broken Sword: The Angel of Death - *** (possibly 3 and a half)

Either way, orient, i hope (and reckon) you'll enjoy the originals. The third one is a good 3D adventure game but the first two (especially the first) are even better imo and have more depth.

EDIT: Anyhow, you said you've played the first on the GBA and loved the gameplay and style. The PC version's gameplay and visual style is more better than that.

[MoonBird]

My ratings:

BS1 = 4½ stars
BS2 = 4½ stars
BS3 = Didn't even got me interested. (I hate direct control adventures - RPG's are different matter...)
BS4 = Hardware requirements were too much for me, so I couldn't play it. Tried the demo - everything was like a slideshow...

Conclusion: 2D adventures are much, much better. Their interface is brilliant, and they run on a low-budget computer.

[misslilo]

Originally Posted by AndreaDraco83

Somewhere in the dark, Misslilo is gonna hunt me for saying this again but I've only played the first game, half of it, and I was totally letdown so I quickly uninstalled it.

You're darn right Andrea - I wil every time I see you post something like this!

You deserve to be slapped for saying stuff like this - it should be against the law to NOT play this game

[AndreaDraco83]

Originally Posted by misslilo

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!

[JackVanian]

When i played Broken Sword in 96 i enjoyed and liked it, eventhough it was far away from completely blowing me away or completely dragging me into it´s world like the GK games.

I finished Broken Sword 2 aswell, but i have to admit that i constantly had to force myself to keep playing until the end. Not because i´d say the gameplay wasn´t good, but somehow the visual side wasn´t mine, since it was a lot more colorful and brighter than the visuals of the original game. I guess i prefer more seriousness when it comes to storys like these, still i couldn´t rate this as a bad comment about the game, but rather personal taste.

When it comes to part3 i have to say, that i enjoyed it a lot more than part2, and i didn´t really have a problem with the new gameplayelements (despite of the "sneak sequences"), eventhough i´m glad not every game is doing the things BS3 did. But the story was entertaining, i liked the atmosphere, so my final opinion was definetely positive, even though just like with part1 it didn´t completely blow me away.

As far as part4 goes. I started it, but stopped quite early , started again, stopped again. Somehow the game didn´t manage to really get me interested , no matter if it came to story or gameplay. Who knows... maybe one day.

[Milad241]

Broken sword 1 is the my favorite adventure game of all time after TLJ. It has great story great visuals and one of the best soundtracks i have heard in games. I loved it.
but other games in this series......I didn't like them

[CharteredStreets]

Broken Sword 2 is one of the games that got me into adventures; I played the demo (the bit at the docks with Twenty the dog) on my friend's Playstation and as soon as possible got hold of it for the PC (having not played the first). I was about 11, I suppose, and played it obsessively, occasionally getting hints from a friend who had completed it. At the time I found it totally absorbing and capable of stirring the imagination rather than numbing it, like most computer games probably do. There was something about the locations - which are much more evocative in 2D - that made it all sort of mesmerising. I later played the first and loved it too.

The latter sequels have been average, as said. After a number of technical difficulties I gave up on BS4 without having completed it, and haven't really had the urge to revisit it. The third one I liked more, but it was still a little disappointing considering how excited I was about that game.

Regardless, the first two Broken Sword games are in a league of their own; some people are a bit sniffy about the second one, but I love it in some ways more than the first just cause I played it at such a young age (the first one is, when I play them now, a slightly better game). Until I played the first Gabriel Knight game, years later, I considered them my favourite computer games.

[orient]

Awesome. It's good to know that I'm not alone on the BS3/4 front. I've heard so many stories of people having technical difficulties with BS4 and THQ's support being nothing short of useless. I had the hardest time getting it to run on my computer and it's high-spec machine...and the annoying screen-tear

I can't wait to play the 2D one's now though I hope the puzzles are more logical than in the 3D games.

Do BS1/2 have voice acting for all the dialog or just select scenes?

[D.C.]

Yeah, they're both fully voiced. Enjoy, man.

[orient]

Cool, cheers dude.

On an off-topic note, I made a list of all the games that I own but haven't completed yet...25 games Broken Sword's jumping to the head of that list

[Methodical MaN]

I dont know how you can like Gabriel Knight so much and not broken sword. They are two of the most similar adventures in plot and story telling i can think of. both great games.

[AndreaDraco83]

I assume you're talking about me, Methodical Man.

The answer is quite easy: Jane Jensen's writing is inimitable.

Then, I've only played the first BS, and only for a half of it. When I'll have the time, I'll play through the whole series and then I can have a more thorough thought about it.

[kinetickyle]

I just spent the last few days replaying the entire series and now I remember why it's my favorite series of all time. I love the dry humor and the fact that poor George and Nico are just average people that get swept up in these events.

I thought the first and second games were pretty much even, although I think I liked the first one a little more. If it weren't for the funky controls, I would have enjoyed BS3 the best. I think BS4 had the best control system, but I missed the ability to fast forward through conversations that you had in the previous games. I also thought the ending of BS4 was just kind of weird, but the game did a really good job of rounding George out and keeping him in the Average Joe position.

All in all, I'd say you can't go wrong by spending some quality time with George and Nico.

[Penguin In Bondage]

I've only played the first three, and would personally rate them in order of release.

The third looks lovely, but the controls are slightly annoying. The puzzles range from decent to repetitive and uninspiring. The plot and voice acting are reasonable. Overall I liked it and enjoyed catchng up with George and Nico but I didn't love it.

The first one, and I hate the triteness of this expression, but, it's a magical game. The music, the voice acting, the detailed plot and the beatifully realised settings give it a beautiful and memorable atmosphere.

The second is more of the same, and brilliant for it, but with just a little bit less spark than the first.

Great series and I'm tempted to try the fourth, though I understand the are a lot more disappointments about it than with any of the others.

[kinetickyle]

Originally Posted by Penguin In Bondage

I
Great series and I'm tempted to try the fourth, though I understand the are a lot more disappointments about it than with any of the others.

If you're a fan of the series, you'd be doing yourself a grave injustice by not checking BS4 out. Especially if you found the controls of BS3 to be annoying, since they've brought the point & click interface back. The only real gripe I have about BS4 is the ending - it just seems kind of tacked on. Other than that, it was great to see George back in action. Then again, it might just be my attachment to the characters. After all, I loved Indiana Jones 4 and X-Files 2 for the same reason.