Back to Adventure-Archiv starting page
| Broken
Sword 2 - The Smoking Mirror
Publisher original version: Virgin Publisher trilogy 03/2008: CDV Game language: German
USK: 12 years and up
A review by Jehane April 1st 2009
After the sweeping success of "Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars" one thing was for sure: A sequel was needed. This sequel was able to pull off something that is not to be taken for granted: It’s almost as popular as its predecessor; there are even adventure fans who claim that Broken Sword 2 is the best game in the series. The sequel is included in the same XP-box that was reason enough for us to review the original game.
Installing the game, technical stuff, appearance If you own the original game coming on 2 CDs, you’re quite lucky: Unlike the first Broken Sword game, the sequel can be installed and played using WindowsXP without having to fiddle with configurations, and without using ScummVM at all. If you want to be dead sure, you can of course grab the box including the first three games which also includes an XP-compatible version of Broken Sword 2. Additionally, you’ll need ScummVM which is launched automatically when doubleclicking on the game’s icon. The obvious advantage with this version: You won’t have to change CDs during playing, and you can play without inserting the DVD into the DVD-Rom-drive. The high quality of this game classic becomes obvious when it comes to technical stuff: BS2 runs smoothly and without problems even on modern systems; it even is alt-tab-friendly. The re-release, however, has some sound issues, manifesting occasionally in unattractive hissing noises. The 2CD-version, on the other hand, might crash at some point; I’d advise saving the game frequently and use compatibility mode just in case. Both the two CDs and the DVD come in a plain DVD-case, the manual is a .pdf-file on CD/DVD. However, handling the game is, again, very intuitive so you won’t hardly need the manual.
Gods, pirates, and a lot of suspense – the story As part 1 of the series, part 2 is based on historical resp. religious facts that I will explain below. After having been seperated for almost half a year, George and Nico meet again – George had to leave Nico due to a cause of death in his family but he obviously still feels emotionally connected to her. The smart French journalist is already working on another explosive story – she wants to nail down some drug dealers and find out about a mysterious stone made from obsidian. In order to get some information, the dynamic duo sets out for Professor Oubier’s house where the story is kicked off: Nico is being kidnapped during the spectacular opening sequence while George is being tied up and left in a locked, burning room, facing a poisonous spider. The fast-paced opening sequence is interrupted by images of a gruesome human sacrifice taking place in front of an old Mayan pyramide – the attentive player will instantly know that both events will be tied up during the course of the game, the Mayans thus replacing the Knights Templar. And of course, our heroes once again will have to save the world from certain destruction. This time, Nico also gets a part to play in saving the world, a decision I really liked about this game because I think Nico is just cool and, with her dry humour and sarcasm, she acts as a wonderful counterbalance to George’s quick tongue. To save the world, our heroes have to split up. While George meets some pirates deep in the caribbean as well as some really bad actors, Nico snoops around wet and cold London, doing some research there. The game thus has two storylines that are tied up later. Unfortunately, dramaturgy suffers a lot – as soon as George resp. Nico have solved their missions, they’re catapulted back to a previous location to set off on their next task. What happens in between, you need to figure out yourself – not a big deal, really, but some cutscenes would have been nice nevertheless. The main theme of the game revolves around the already mentioned piece of obsidian and a myth linked to it; the myth is closely linked to the God Tezcatlipoca. According to the myth, Tezcatlipoca was locked up in a mirror in order to prevent him from bringing death and destruction upon the world. Three pieces of obsidian serve as "watchers" and have to be reinstalled in time – otherwise Tezcatlipoca, aided by a total eclipse and a human sacrifice, might escape and walk the earth once more... Tezcatlipoca was the God of Night and Matter; he was worshipped by the Aztecs, not the Mayans as the game wants us to believe. As far as I could find out, he wasn’t the God of Death. The game’s subtitle, "The Smoking Mirror", is not an invention the developers came up with – the dark God actually did have the sobriquet "Smoking Mirror" because he was depicted holding a mirror in his hand. This mirror emitted smoke, thus killing the God’s enemies. Also, Tezcatlipoca was enabled to take a look at the future and peek into people’s hearts using the mirror. Additional attributes: a gown made of jaguar skin and a ceremonial knife made of obsidian. One of the chief ceremonies honouring Tezcatlipoca consisted of sacrificing a male youth symbolising the deity; the heart was cut from his body while still beating – a scene we can witness in the opening sequence of BS2. Everything else is made up. There’s no old legend accounting for Tezcatlipoca’s desire to destroy the world; also, there are no three stones made from obsidian keeping him in check. However, there was a God of this name worshipped by people – but Aztecs, not Mayans -, there were human sacrifices, and according to myth, he created the world in an effort of teamwork with the God Quetzalcoatl. These few facts are enough for the developers to create an exciting game that lets us travel around the world, solving mystery after mystery. It’s just a shame that the ending sequence is very short, very unsatisfying; other than that, the story is almost as good as the story of BS1. Again, the developers have done some accurate research which is shown in a number of details, e.g. names. There is, for example, a pirate called Ketch – George follows his tracks in the caribbean -, "Ketch" being a technical term for a ship with two masts. The name Oubier, on the other hand, is French for a certain species of hawks; also, the name of the Southamerican general is not without meaning: "Grasiento" means greasy or oily – a perfect choice, given the general’s character. Glease, the owner of the small art gallery in Paris, also has "talking name": "glease" comes from the language of the Chinook, a native American tribe, and means "grease" or "oil" – a very fitting name indeed. Additionally, the developers have included some easter eggs as well as a lot of references to part 1.
Handling and Inventory The handling via point-and-click hasn’t been changed much – waving hands indicate we can go to or exit a place, a doubleclick on the exit speeding things up a bit; the mouth is again used for talking to other characters. Using the grabbing hand, Nico and George can pick up items. A new feature is are the crosshairs that is used for looking at items, for combining items or for using something. Pressing the right mouse button enables you to take a closer look at things and will provide you with additional information. Once again, freedom of movement is rather limited; George and Nico can only go to places that are relevant. There’s no map like there used to be in part 1; instead, small icons popping up in the lower part of the screen indicate that you can go to another place. A simple click will take you from Oubier’s house to the Glease’s art gallery or Montfaucon. Travelling is a lot less trouble than it used to be – if there’s need to enter a plane and go somewhere else, George and Nico will do so automatically as soon as they have concluded all their research in the current location. The inventory can be found on the lower part of the screen and is opened by moving the mouse cursor over this part of the screen. Using the right mouse button enables you to take a closer look at the items you have stuffed into your pockets – a feature I strongly advise you to use as often as possible because sometimes there’s more to that item than meets the eye. Inventory items can be combined with each other and items in the scenery; they can also be given to other persons. Again, there are some items you’ll keep until the end without ever having to use them. Whenever you use an inventory item with something in the surroundings, the item will stick to the cursor until placed properly. This also works with other inventory items and other characters. The upper part of the screen hosts the main menu which consists of various icons: To the left there’s the options menu; here you can switch on/off descriptions of objects resp. subtitles. Also, you can fool around with graphics and sound a bit. The windows icon is used for leaving the game and returning to desktop; a disc icon with an arrow is for saving, another disc icon with two arrows is for loading the game. Last but not least there’s a twisted arrow which allows you to interrupt an action and return to the game.
Graphics and Sound The game’s world, again completely in 2D, is as gorgeous and detailled as in the predecessor. Again you can visit lots of locations that are beautifully embellished; and of course there’s a lot to discover. This time, the adventure takes you from Paris to Marseille as far as Latin America and London. Each location has been provided with a unique ambience and equally memorable characters. Some characters you’ll remember from part 1; you also get to revisit Montfaucon, also known from part 1. The look, though a little outdated, is very colourful without being clownish; the scenery becomes gloomy whenever necessary. At no point in the game is atmosphere lost, quite on the contrary: You really feel lost in the jungle; the old Mayan temple feels creepy while a sunny beach in the caribbean makes you want to spend your holidays there. Cutscenes, also in 2D, can look slightly blurred on modern systems; other than that, they’re of the same high quality as the rest of the game. As in part 1, characters easily blend in with the beautiful backgrounds – to cut it short, everything works out nicely as before and it’s just great fun to accompany George and Nico on their adventure, meet old acquaintances and explore new locations. The catchy main theme from Shadow of the Templars has been used for the sequel as well, though slightly modified. Various themes that fit the various locations enhance the atmosphere and make for unmistakable Broken Sword feeling. Wherever necessary, background noises make for additional depth. For example, at the beach you’ll hear birds twitter whereas at the old abandoned metro station in London, trains will rush by, in Quaramonte a goat bleats and so forth. "Never change a running system" may have been the thought behind using the same actors as in part 1. Once again, Alexander Schottky does a wonderful job as George’s German voice. Franziska Pigulla as Nico has more dialogue than in part 1 and does a great job as well. Keeping the well-known voices for the main characters but also for some of the minor characters was an excellent decision – it generates a feeling of coming home resp. meeting old friends after a long time. All actors do an amazing job and bring life to their characters – a little girl in the Caribbean sounds as annoying as her character is supposed to be, gallery owner Glease is your stereotypical arrogant Brit, the Indios talk with an accent, Lobineau is the same old boring square he was in the first game while Pearl Henderson keeps chattering away without a pause and without any respect for her fellow human beings. To cut it short, thanks to the excellent actors, each character in BS2 comes to life and stays with the player long after the game has been finished.
Puzzles and Tasks A broad variety, diversity, and medium difficulty are typical for the puzzles in Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror. Only a maze really got to me and annoyed the hell out of me – probably due to the fact that I hate mazes in general because my sense of orientation is pretty weak to begin with when it comes to finding your way through an elaborate system of aisles or, as in this case, the jungle. The good news on this maze is: You can bypass it if you act quickyl when reaching a certain point in the game; I don’t want to spoil this for you so that’s all I’m going to say about it. Puzzles and tasks can be divided into various categories. First, you have numerous dialogues and conversations that you need to click through in order to extract information. Then there are inventory-based puzzles – you have to combine inventory items, give/show them to another character oder combine an item with another item nearby. As in the predecessor, this type of puzzle clearly dominates the game. Another puzzle demands that you match various symbols – at first glance, this puzzle might look a little weird and confusing but it’s really very logical and not very hard to solve. You’ll also encounter some situations in which you have to be very fast; it’s your dexterity that’s being called upon here. Also, you’ll have to distract other characters and pull the occasional lever. Freedom of movement is even more restricted than in Shadow of the Templars – you can leave a location only if you have solved all puzzles and concluded all tasks. Each location offers only a limited amount of places you can visit; thanks to this limitation there’s no real danger that you’ll miss a hotspot. Talking of hotspots: Their number has slightly decreased; while you were able to explore a lot in Shadow of the Templars – you could even interact with hotspots that were not relevant at all -, most hotspots you’ll find in The Smoking Mirror are relevant for the game. There are no dead ends in the game; however, there are some quite dangerous scenes – if you’re not careful, your character might die. Usually you’ll figure out pretty quickly when danger is afoot; you should save your game then and reduce the risk of surprises a la "Sorry, you’re dead, replay the whole chapter". Whenever your character dies, it’s definitely the result of carelessness and/or slowness – in dangerous situations, you have to be quick both in mind and with the mouse.
"Stobbart – with two Bs and two Ts" – the conversations Numerous dialogues are typical for Broken Sword 2 – without extensive chattering, you won’t get far. Topics for conversations are shown in the lower part of the screen, including inventory items that might make good topics for a dialogue – you won’t have to use every single inventory item in an conversation, the game selects the ones that are necessary/helpful. Some topics shouldn’t be mentionend when talking to certain characters – this might lead to an, uhm, unhealthy ending. Occasionally, you’ll have to decide whether your character should tell the truth or lie – two hand icons, one with the thumb up, the other one with the thumb down, wait for you to make your choice. As in the predecessor, truth or lie decide how much information you’ll get from another character. By the way: You don’t have to click through all the dialogue in order to finish the game – I noticed this on my third replay of the game. Humour, esprit, and verve are characteristic for the conversations. The typical humour surfaces in George’s witty remarks even in tough situations. While George still is a bit of a jester, Nico is rather serious and sarcastic; dialogues are a wonderful means of bringing the characters to life. They’re also full of allusions to 20th-century-culture, be it movies, students’ lifes, literature, or superheroes – everything is being used and commented on. And all the time the conversations never feel overblown.
Summary Broken Sword 2 – The Smoking Mirror is a worthy successor to Shadow of the Templars even though the game is not equally good. Although the developers put a lot of effort into the story, sometimes the excitement is missing; at points, the story feels a little as if the scriptwriters have made a bit much of an effort. The unspectacular ending degrades the player to an on-looker; after 20-25 hours, you’ll see the credits rolling, if you’re more experienced, you’ll finish the game quicker even though some puzzles can really keep you on the go. All puzzles are a logical part of the story, the difficulty level is a little below Shadow of the Templars and can be described as medium. Optically and acoustically, everything has been done right. Even though the graphics are outdated, the look and style of the game, in combination with the excellent actors lending their voices to the characters, displays a lot of charme, flair and atmosphere, thus inviting the player to replay the game over and over again. Sound quality is a little instable at times; this is, however, an exception and thus not really bothering the player. The game deserves additional points due to the fact that it plays nicely on modern computers; if you use the version with 2 CDs, you may encounter an occasional crash whereas the XP-version displays no technical problems at all. By the way: Savegames are not compatible with each other, meaning you cannot use savegames from the original version with the XP-version. All in all, the sequel doesn’t quite live up to the original game’s quality; however, it should definitely be part of any serious adventure collection.
Rating: 87%
Adventure-Archiv rating system:
Minimal System requirements 2CD-Version:
Minimal System requirements XP-Version:
Played with:
Copyright © jehane for Adventure-Archiv, April 1st 2009
Back to Adventure-Archiv starting page
|
 A ticklish situation marks the beginning of a new adventure
|
|
