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Review  Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars
- By Michael Loewer
[Senior Editor]
NSports' recent review of Tony Hawk 3 brings to light an unfortunate yet realistic view of the Game Boy Advance: a great many of the games are completely worthless. This has become so common, in fact, that we NGenres editors rarely look forward to that next review. We desperately want to write how this new game has made our gaming lives yet again complete -- but more often than not, we end up writing a multitude of reasons why it sucks. I realize that this rant has little to do persay with today's review of Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars, but I felt it was necessary, for a single reason...
Broken Sword does NOT suck. In fact, it is the polar opposite of suck. Bam! Entertainment has made an excellent game for the Game Boy Advance, and they deserve some credit...
Aesthetics:
The graphics of Broken Sword began to excite me when the very first screenshots were released. I'm not even sure where to really begin, because I'm not sure this type of graphical viewpoint has been yet used on the GBA and so in that respect, it's somewhat revolutionary. Without going into the gameplay too much, as George Stobbart (your character, discussed later) travels through different locations, each "screen" is viewed through a static camera. Basically, think of Myst, just with the hero and a few other moving characters on the screen at any given time. The screenshots to the right should really help here. This will be discussed more in the Gameplay section, but for now, just know that the in-game graphics are just as good as those seen in promotional screenshots. I was highly concerned that as usual, the actual graphics would be far dimmer and less crisp than what I was led to believe, but luckily this was not the case. Bam! Entertainment really deserves brownie points here because apart from just being crisp, the graphics are also complex, which in the past has caused excessive blurring. Other developers should take note on whatever Bam! Entertainment did to finally correct these problems.
Control:
Like the Aesthetics, this is an area that could have easily been wraught with problems, but luckily the development team saw such difficulties ahead of time. Basic control is pretty simple: the control pad moves George Stobbart around the screen, B shows a text examination of an object, A forces George to try and interact with an object, L opens up the inventory menu, and R opens the Vista "Menu." Everything is pretty straightforward except for the Vista Menu, which deserves a closer look. These types of games can become frustrating since often one has no idea what objects on the screen can be interacted with. The Vista Menu makes this far simpler. After pressing R, a blue icon appears next to the object closest to George, may it be a clue (a pointing hand) or a person (open mouth). They appear automatically when you get close to an object, but instead of wasting time while you hope to stumble upon something, the Vista Menu allows you to see all interactable items and characters ahead of time.
Gameplay:
In my eyes, there are two type of true RPGs. One, you've got the level-raising turn-based system found in such famous series as Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior. Two, there's the story-based puzzle system a la King's Quest. Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars falls into the latter category, and is nicely adapted for play on the Game Boy Advance. Basically, you're walking your character, George Stoddart, through a murder mystery, along the way collecting items for simple puzzle use and speaking to other characters in an attempt to solve the crime. Here's a summary of the prologue:
This is a story of an American abroad, George Stobbard, who -- by a single twist of fate -- is given the opportunity to turn from tourist to detective, and becomes the one person who can thwart the devilish plans of a band of megalomaniac fascists. And who knows, he may even get the girl in the process. Sipping his coffee as he sits outside a cafe in Paris, George can't help but feel that the French are treating him with a certain amount of disdain. The bizarre antics of an accordian playing clown catch George's eye as it enters the cafe. Upon exiting, however, George notices that he's no longer carrying the accordian. Instead, another customer's briefcase is in the mad clown's clutches. Before George can even make sense of what's happening, a massive explostion rips through the cafe, throwing Stobbard into the street. Never in his most fevered imaginings could George predict the dark events to follow, and only with your help will he ever succeed in unraveling the mysteries of Broken Sword.
This is the essence of what makes Broken Sword so excellent. The gameplay is by definition simplistic -- these type of RPGs are normally filled with nothing more than easy puzzles, so it's the story and the way the story interacts with the gampelay elements that must capture the gamer's attention. As you travel throughout the game, spanning multiple continents, the player is continually hit with new twists and turns in the plot. Puzzles normally involve nothing more than using one of your items on an object (like a metal tool to move a sewer grate), but require enough though to remain interesting, without becoming frustrating. Basically, the player is forced through the game -- it's nearly impossible to get stuck anywhere but at the same time it's not so easy as to be boring. You can speed up the gameplay by keeping notes and thinking about new information and where it could be best used, but at the same time, walking about randomly will eventually get you that next plot twist or next piece of evidence.
Broken Sword achieves that perfect balance of difficulty and fun for this type of RPG -- and at over 70 HOURS long, I'm thankful it did.
Sound:
It's scary, I know, but the background sounds and sound effects in Broken Sword are just as good as every other aspect of the game. The background sound specifically is exceptional. It's not at all harsh or muddy like a lot of GBA titles, and can be downright spooky. I recall laying around about 30 minutes into the game, thinking about how I was trying to find a stupid little clown, and BAM, a horror-flick theme starts in the background. Apparently, clowns can be spooky bastards with the right music. The sound effects are just as crisp, although there's nothing that really blew me away.
Multiplayer:
None.
OVERALL:
As one can see from the above review, Broken Sword is set to receive a rather high-scoring review. The graphics are exceptional and even somewhat revolutionary for the Game Boy Advance, the music is perfect, and the control scheme's Vista Menu is an excellent help for this type of RPG on the GBA's small screen. To top it off, the plot is highly engrossing and the 70 hours of gameplay make this a very worthwhile purchase. However, keep in mind that this is not a game for everyone. Even fans of traditional RPGs need to understand that this is a classical RPG at heart. It's in the same genre as King's Quest, but somewhat dumbed down for the Game Boy Advance. The game is excellent, don't get me wrong -- just know that if all you like is high-speed, high-action gameplay, this might not be the one for you. I'd recommend you give it a chance just the same.
Editor-in-Chief Michael Loewer, out.
E-mail the NGenres Design Team
The Lowdown on  Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars
| Aesthetics: Awesome |
Control: Awesome |
| Gameplay: Very Good |
Multiplayer: |
| Sound: Awesome |
Innovation: 5/6 |
| Lasting Appeal: 5/6 |
Rating Explanation |
Overall: Awesome!
"Top of the Genre"
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This game is:
Awesome
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INFO |
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Release Date:
1st Quarter 2002
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IN A
NUTSHELL: |
| Everything about Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars is exceptional -- the graphics, control scheme, music, everything... |
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