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| Broken
Sword 1 - Shadow of the Templars
Publisher original version: Virgin Publisher trilogy 03/2008: CDV Game language: German
USK: ages 12 and up
A review by Jehane August 27th 2008
„Paris in the Fall. The last months of the year, and the end of the millennium. The city holds many memories for me: of cafés, of music, of love and of death." These few words, combined with the atmospheric Broken Sword Theme, are enough to excite nostalgia in adventure lovers and make their eyes shine like those of children looking upon a christmas tree. It’s very rare that the adventure gamers’ community agrees wholeheartedly on quality and popularity of a game to such a degree as is the case with Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars. Even though more than 12 years have passed since the first chapter in the series has seen the light of day, Broken Sword still is one of the most popular and fascinating games around. Since the first three games in the series have been re-released on a single DVD, we thought it was about time to take a closer look at the original game.
Installing the Game/Tech Stuff It comes very close to science getting such an old game to run smoothly on your computer. If you still own the 2-CD-version of the game, you won’t get far by trying to install it the common way – just inserting the CD into the drive and running autoinstall won’t work. Instead, you’ll have to use ScummVM, an emulator for older games. Installing the game via ScummVM is a lot of work but it’s worth it – if you get through it, the game will run smoothly on your computer afterwards. Also, you won’t have to switch between CDs. The only downer is that cutscenes look rather grainy and slightly blurred; this, however, could also be due to the flatscreen I’m using. If you’re of the impatient sort and don’t want to fool around with ScummVM but still desperately want to play Broken Sword, there’s a new version of the game available on DVD – ok, so it’s not exactly a new version but it will play on modern computers using WindowsXP. The DVD also includes the first two sequels; when installing, you can select and install each game seperately or you can install all three of them. Note, though, that for playing the first two Broken Sword games, you’ll still need to install ScummVM (but without the fooling around); the programme will start up automatically as soon as you launch the game. During playing, the DVD does not have to be in the drive. Also, the trilogy is available at a very reasonable price so if you still haven’t met George and Nico, here’s your chance! Ok, enough advertising, let’s get on with the review. Broken Sword is one of those rare games that are almost free of bugs, with one exception: In chapter 1, you have to decide between telling the truth to the inspector about the murdering clown and lying about it. Even if you make George tell the truth at this point, he might tell a policeman later on that he has seen the clown. This only makes sense if George has lied before; not that this bug is very disturbing. Maybe it’s just a case of fawlty dialogue-scripting because during the course of the game it happens quite a lot that George can choose between various topics that don’t seem to make sense at first glance – you can make George ask about topics that haven’t even been introduced yet. In one case, George even uses the wrong name when talking to another person – and switching back to the real name in his next dialogue. If this is due to George’s clumsiness or due to a small sloppiness in the script is not for me to decide. Crashes or other technical problems have not occured while playing the game – "an oldie but a goldie" is definitely a proverb that applies to Broken Sword. The manual for both the 2-CD-version and the DVD-version is included on CD/DVD. It provides a short survey of the most important operations in the game; controlling George, however, is very intuitive – you won’t need the manual at all. If you want to access the main menu during playing, just hit ESC; the main menu allows you to save/load a game, activate/deactivate subtitles, manipulate the sound and leave the game.
Story and historical background George Stobbart from the USA just wants to spend a quite holiday in autumnally Paris but things go not as planned: A bomb is placed in a café where George happens to sit and sip his coffee; he barely escapes the devastating blast and decides to investigate the matter, and not just because he has unfinished business with the assassin – no one tries to kill George Stobbart and gets away with it! During his investigations, George not only meets gorgeous photo reporter Nicole Collard; he also discovers traces of the Knights Templar or rather: of a mysterious group following in their footsteps in order to – yes, you guessed it! – take over the world. It’s up to George to stop the conspiracy. The numerous clues lead him to Ireland, Spain, Syria and Scotland; he meets lots of strange and crazy characters, has to solve difficult riddles and learns a lot about the history of the Knights Templar. The history of the first military order is well-researched; history and fiction blend easily and the result, an elaborate entity, has the player spellbound. I know what I’m talking about; I’ve replayed the game at least 5 times over the course of the last four years and have also done some research on the Templars for my Master’s thesis. The historical informations given in the game are watertight and names like Pierre Plantard have not been chosen randomly. Pierre Plantard was the guy who set off authors Baigent/Linclon/Leigh on the track of the Prieure de Sion which in turn is connected to the secret of Rennes-le-Chateau. Nowadays, we know that Plantard was a trickster who made up the list of "grand masters" of the Prieure as well as the documents coming with it; also, there’s not much to the "secret" of Rennes-le-Chateau – sorry, Dan Brown. Details like names are proof of the accurate research the developers put into the game. The story of the assassins is accurate; the Club Alamut has been named after a mountain of the same name which is mentioned in Marco Polo’s writings. The "old man from the mountain" is none other than assassin Raschid al-Din (1133-1193) who was able to strengthen the assassins’ position of power in Syria around 1150. The book "The Holy something and the Holy something else" mentioned by Pearl Henderson is, of course, an allusion to Baigent/Lincoln/Leigh’s "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" – anyone who has already done some research on the Templars and/or read the book will be delighted when stumbling upon these allusions. The developers have been a little less accurate when choosing the places the story takes place – as far as I know, there’s no village called Marib in Syria but one in Yemen, and I wasn’t able to find out if Lochmarne in Ireland really exists. Bannockburn in Scotland, on the other hand, really was the site of a bloody battle between Scots and the English in the year 1314; there are rumours that the Scots were aided by the Templars in this battle – Templars that had been able to escape the prosecution by King Philip the Fair of France. There’s no proof of this theory but it’s as good a basis for the story as anything else. A small inaccuracy has sneaked its way into one dialogue taking place in Spain: George refers to the 14th century as "the early Middle-Ages", a term that is usually applied to a period of time spanning roughly five centuries up to the middle of the 11th century – far from the 14th century indeed. Broken Sword hasn’t lost any of its fascination, thanks to an exciting, perfectly told story full of details. Thanks last but not least to the hero of the game, George, who with his loveable, slightly naive and humorous nature makes you want to accompany him on his journey which might last 20 hours – even if you’re replaying the game for the umpteenth time.
Handling and Inventory Broken Sword is a classical point-and-click-adventure with a highly intuitive set of controls. You make George walk around using the mouse only, all actions are being performed by clicking the left mouse-button. The cursor changes its shape when different actions are possible: pointing resp. grabbing hands indicate that you can go somewhere resp. pick something up. If you can carry out an action, the cursor changes to a set of gears; if you can interact with an item in the inventory, an additional set of gears is shown. In order to talk to other persons in the game you’ll need – yes, that’s right, a mouth! A magnifying glass indicates that we can have a closer look at something. If you want to be really exhaustive, press the right mouse-button additionally; George then will provide you with additionall comments on items and people. This also works with items in your inventory. Not every hotspot you’ll find will be relevant to the game; some just enable you to interact more intensly with your surroundings without letting you move on with the game. The same is true for conversations – not all topics will provide another clue. But the closer investigation of hotspots and exhausting all dialogue topics will result in really thick atmosphere; thanks to George’s witty comments you’ll never have the feeling that you’re wasting your time, quite on the contrary: It’s actually great fun trying what George will have to say about a certain item or person. By the way: There’s no pixel hunting in Broken Sword, all hotspots can easily be detected – even though they are not really set off against the background. The people at Revolution Software have done a great job here. Freedom of movement is naturally restricted; you can only visit and investigate places that are relevant. A map enables you to travel faster between places in Paris; places that are no longer needed can’t be visited anymore. A second map enables you to travel to other countries once the game demands you to do this – you can go to Ireland, Spain, Syria, and Scotland. Some sequences can be played in arbitrary order; the game is not always stricly linear. The inventory can be found on the upper part of the screen; just move the mouse over that section. Items George collects during the course of the game can be combined with each other or with items in the game’s world. They can also be used as topics in conversations. This, however, will not always trigger clues but most of the time incredibly funny comments. Once you’ve used an item, it won’t necessarily disappear from the inventory even though you might not need it any longer. Useless items, that is items you never use at all, are not in the game. My favourite item in the inventory, by the way, was the buzzer – not necessarily being the way to success but very funny to use.
Graphics and Sound It’s true: The look of Broken Sword might be outdated today but it’s still among the best things I’ve seen in an adventure. George moves through a detailled 2D-world, designed with much care – it’s a feast for the eyes without ever looking lifeless or sterile. The tracks that lead George to the conspiracy are scattered throughout Europe and Syria; each location has a distinct atmosphere, unmistakable ambience and sound as well as unmistakable – and unforgettable – characters. The look is colourful without ever being trashy and gloomy when the story demands it. Cutscenes, also comic-style, provide additional diversion even though on a modern flatscreen they might look slightly grainy and blurred. When talking to another character on the telephone, a splitscreen is used – you’ll have seen this in movies, I’m sure. The characters easily blend with the beautiful surroundings – the developers have done an awesome job here and you hardly ever have the feeling that this is an old game. Broken Sword is harmonious in practically every aspect; the graphics are nothing to be sneered at because they are a little oldfashioned, quite on the contrary: The graphics are part of what makes Broken Sword such a charming game. It is dearly held by the fans of the series – you can get an impression of that by reading negative comments about the 3D-graphics used in episodes 3 and 4 of the series. The sound also is in a league of its own. The beautiful main theme, used throughout the game, has already been mentioned; it still gives me goosebumps. Additionally, there’s a broad variety of music that has been composed to fit the various locations and atmosphere without ever losing sight of the main theme. Background noises fit in beautifully whenever necessary; if you use ScummVM to play the original game (not the XP-version mentioned above), you’ll have to download the soundfiles from the Scumm-website and get additional sounds not featured in the original game – e.g., honking cars, dripping water. Great idea because it makes the locations even more lively than in the original game. However, you’ll have to do without these additional sounds when playing the XP-version. The actors lending their voices to the characters have been carefully chosen. In the German version, Alexander Schottky does a wonderful job as George; Nico’s erotic and slightly smoky voice is that of Franziska Pigulla which fans of "The X Files" will easily recognize as the German voice of agent Dana Scully. The rest of the cast is equally wonderful – each character comes to life in the blink of an eye, each character is believeable, loveable, and some of them are just wonderfully cranky. You won’t forget a single one of them once you’ve finished the game. The only downer: Sound quality is not always perfect, probably due to the game’s age; loudness oscillates between really loud and hardly audible – sometimes the music is a lot louder than the dialogue spoken. You can change this using the options menu.
Puzzles and Tasks The puzzles in Broken Sword are of a broad variety, manifold and not too difficult – Broken Sword was my very first adventure and I managed to play through it using only small hints in the second half. There are no really hard tasks even though there are puzzles that might take you a little longer and have you thinking. The dominating kind of puzzles are inventory-based tasks – take an item from the inventory, show it to another person, combine it with another item. There are also tasks that count on your dexterity and quickness, e.g. when crossing the path of a grumpy goat that you need to pass by. One puzzle requires knowledge of chess but you can also solve it by simply trying and trying and trying... when first accompanying George on his adventure, I spent about half an hour on this puzzle and honestly speaking, I still don’t know what logic is behind it. But I don’t play chess, so there you go. Very often it’s a conversation that helps you move along or provides you with clues as how to solve a puzzle – you have to listen very carefully to what is being said, especially since there’s no diary like in modern games. Sometimes you’ll have to distract another character – either by talking a lot or by taking a good look around; there are hints virtually everywhere and you’ll never have the feeling of being left all alone. If you put some thought and effort into it, you’ll find the solution to every puzzle and task. I promise. Puzzles and tasks are a logical part of the story; you never get the impression that the developers try to stretch the game a bit by introducing a particularly illogical and nasty puzzle. If you should get stuck, try visiting all the places you’ve already been to first – you might have missed something, either an action or a conversation. Sometimes, George will provide you with a hint as what to do next. Be sure to always know what’s in your inventory and take a closer look at every single item by using the right mouse-button. Also, show every single item in your inventory to every person you meet – you never know what will come from it. In Paris, you can move between locations using a map. There are no dead-ends but some scenes in which George can die. These are few – George’s death either occurs because you’ve been careless or because you’ve been too slow resp. too clumsy. Note: If someone points a loaded gun at you, don’t think twice – jump! Otherwise, there’s a nice game-over-screen preceded by a short cutscene. After that, you’ll be transported back to the main menu where you’ll have to choose: load a previous savegame, try again or quit? I’d advise saving frequently especially when the music swells to a threatenting tremor or if you’re not sure what’s around the corner. Otherwise, you might have to replay some sequences. If this is the case, you can cancel conversations by pressing the left mouse-button.
Conversations When having one of the numerous conversations – and Broken Sword has a lot of them – icons will be shown in the lower part of the screen. They symbolize the topics provided. If a topic is exhausted, the corresponding icon will disappear; however, this does not mean that you cannot go back later and talk to the person again about this topic. Sometimes you’ll have to decide whether you want to tell the truth or lie to a character. I don’t think this has a lot of influence on the story – unless, of course, George is dealing with a gangster. Making the wrong choice can result in death. Otherwise, truth or lie decide how much information a character is willing to give resp. if the character wants to talk to George at all. Even if you should annoy somebody by picking the wrong answer, don’t worry – you’ll be able to finish the game nevertheless! Having to decide between truth or lie also provides some degree of replay value. George can also use the items in his inventory to communicate with other people – just click on the item you want to use and see how the character reacts. Most of the time you’ll have to do just that because inventory items and the resulting conversations will let you progress in the game and/or provide new clues. Sometimes, other characters will only talk to George when shown a certain item like, let’s say, a business card. It’s amazing how talkative some people can become when you wave around a small piece of paper or plastic... Other characters are very talkative to begin with and virtually flood you with information on their lives – not that George can use any of this. Others demand a favour before they’ll talk to George. Generally speaking: Every bulk of information might contain a small hint that you should keep in mind. Most of the time, you can try to talk to characters even when all topics have been exhausted. Conversations are funny, lively, varied and allow you to get a glimpse of the personality behind them. They are full of a special humour – another reason why Broken Sword still has lots and lots of fans all over the world. George always has something saucy to say; Nico also has the gift of the gab. George additionally has some standard sentences he utters when he doesn’t want to do or touch anything but these standard quotes are not as annoying as in other games and are often delivered with a lot of sarcasm. Especially funny: other character’s reactions to various inventory items – try, in any case, to show the buzzer to everybody you meet. Do the same with the dirty handkerchief or the red nose – there are a number of funny reactions to be witnessed, and I must admit that I laughed out loud more than once when playing Broken Sword. Even though the game can be very funny, it never loses sight of the dramatic story; sincerity and humour are equally balanced.
Summary Broken Sword is an adventure classic you are eager to take from the shelf to play it again and again. Even when knowing the solution to every single puzzle and task, the game doesn’t become boring. George Stobbart, our hero, is a very loveable guy you’d love to take out for a beer or two – provided he’s not out there again to save the world. Nico, who gets more screen time in the sequels, is an equally likeable, very determined, sometimes sarcastic young lady. The historical facts have been researched thoroughly, fiction blends easily with history – the symbiosis is perfect. Logical, well-integrated puzzles keep your brain busy, a variety of locations and characters make this game a special treat. The wonderful 2D-graphics are an eyecatcher even after 12 years; unlike some modern 3D-games, they contribute to the game’s flair, atmosphere and charm. These are aided by the wonderful music and well-chosen actors. However, I have to subtract some points because sound quality is not always perfect and installing the game can be a tedious task. Other than this, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars is among the few games I’d call perfect. Best proof of its quality is the esteem gamers hold the game in even after all these years and the delight it generates when replaying it. When meeting the individual characters, you have a feeling of coming home, of meeting long-lost friends you haven’t heard of in a long time. To sum it up: If you haven’t played Broken Sword yet, you are in for a real treat!
Rating: 93%
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System Requirements 2-disc-version:
System Requirements XP-version:
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Copyright © jehane for Adventure-Archiv, August 27th 2008
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