Ratings by gray pierce

After having to endure the Broken Sword series go to waste with the awful The Angel of Death I was extremely nervous for this releases and not at all confident it would turn out fine. However fears were proved completely unfounded about 15 minutes into the game.

Let’s start with the obvious: Broken Sword - The Serpent’s Curse looks breathtaking. I quite liked Broken Sword in 3D. Especially The Sleeping Dragon I thought looked quite nice. However I will say that Broken Sword 5 is definitally the best looking Broken Sword thus far, This is most evident in the second half of the game as you get to explore the magnificent scenery of Catalonia. But also in the Northern European section of the game it’s mind boggling just how much detail has been put in the visuals alone. I loved just walking around the locations, admiring the view.

But of course a game is more than just visuals. The puzzles too are really well done. Especially the ones at Montserrat are great. But most others are a lot of fun as well and provide just the right amount of challenge to keep you going but not scare you off. I found myself needing a walkthrough only on one occasion and despite that I still quite like that puzzle as well.

The writing is good as well for the larger part. For starters the plot is just absolutely marvelous. It’s as complicated and as epic as ever you’ve known Broken Sword to be and after The Angel of Death’s very lacklustre plot that’s a gigantic relief. It’s not all that deep but then I don’t expect nor want Broken Sword to be very thought provoking. When I’m watching an Indiana Jones movie I don’t want to ponder the nature of my existence either. The characters are not extremely well developed but they certainly serve their part and I actually laughed out loud talking to some of them. Like in the first three titles they’re all quite special in their own way. The dialogues are a bit of a hit and miss. Sometimes they were just brilliant. Other times I felt like they really missed an oppurtunity there. The return of some fanfavourites I felt could’ve been made more of with funnier banter than what we got.

Also a minor quibble I have is that the end is quite short and the final puzzle is really very easy. I know this was a stretch goal so I shouldn’t have expected that much but it still left me a bit wanting.

That being said. Overall I enormously enjoyed this game. It exceeded my expectations by far. I expected something of a “for old times sake” last ditch attempt at the developers behalf just for the fans and got a worthy entry in the series. Personally I can’t wait for the next Broken Sword game. Especially if it’s as good as this one was.

Read the review »

Time Played: Over 20 hours
Difficulty: Just Right

Spent an entire weekend playing this game and I have to say I really, really liked it. It’s a darker more mature game than Chains of Satinav and at times very different in terms of mood and feel. And that unfortunately is also it’s weak point. Memoria is a very uneven game. So much in fact it almost feels like two different games. Sadja’s story is dark, emotional and very epic. Geron’s story on the other hand is more like an afterthought to Chains of Satinav. It lacks the substance or the excitement that Sadja’s tale has in abundance. It’s almost like the writers had made the bold but very good decision to make a game that was hugely different from Chains of Satinav in just about every respect but in the end thought that the change would be too great and constructed a slim framework to give it more it’s recognisable feel. So basically in my opinion the game is very much worth playing for Sadja’s story alone which is one of the best, most original stories I’ve ever come across in an adventure game. It’s rich, moving, filled with nuanced characterisation and occasionally takes you utterly by surprise. Geron’s story on the other hand is just dull, marked by poorly developed characters and a very thin storyline. The only redeeming bits about it are the wonderfully designed sixth chapter and the ending which is a great puzzle and a wonderful way to end the game. It’s especially wonderful because it sets things up for what I think will be a truly outstanding third installment. I really hope Kevin Mentz will be involved again as he has managed to change my views on this series from “disapointing but still fun” to “very good and very promising” It may not be the best game ever but Memoria is a wonderful game that I would defintiely recommend playing.

Read the review »

Time Played: 10-20 hours