Posted on: October 29, 2017

CynicMimic

Games: 324 Reviews: 19

Blocky Characters Pushing Blocks

I'd call myself a fan of the series, but I've only played this one once before (way back when it came out). Now I've tried to play it a second time, I'm remembering the reason it took me this long. The switch from 2D to 3D was, to put it bluntly, an uninspired decision based on trends at the time of release, that adds nothing of importance to the game, and takes a lot away. The visual style set up in the first two games was gone, and most of the series' charm went with it. The game was a little blocky and ugly even at the time of release, so today just imagine that amplified ten times over. The archaic 3D means that every area looks bland, is devoid of detail, and feels empty to explore, which was definitely not a problem with the detailed 2D style of the last two games. The simple point-and-click controls have been replaced by awkward tank controls with fixed cameras, Resident Evil style. All of this just feels... pointless. The series didn't need this. There's no value in this. What were they thinking? The puzzles in this game are mostly very simplistic compared to the last two, it feels like they really dumbed it down, and there are so. many. crate puzzles. Crate puzzles involve either monotonously pushing crates around, or restacking them into the right positions. You have to do it in almost every single area you visit. It's like they needed to find one thing that wasn't possible in 2D, and then use it over and over again to justify making the game 3D, regardless of how boring that thing is. There are also many more moments where it's possible to die in this game, which you avoid by doing a single-button-press quicktime event that you need almost precognitive reflexes to get right on the first try; and, you guessed it, it's not fun. On this playthrough, I got half way through the game when I realized I wasn't enjoying myself at all. I won't be finishing it, and I won't be playing this one again. Skip it.

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Posted on: June 19, 2016

Sir_Eric

Verified owner

Games: 752 Reviews: 3

Flawed gameplay saved by its story.

Compared to its predecessors, Broken Sword 3 is a disappointment. The change to 3D is a significant step down compared to the beautiful 2D art of the first two parts and leads to changes in the gameplay that are not to the advantage of the game. Because the gameplay was changed to make "the most" out of the possibilities of 3D and the awful new controls, classic puzzles are quite weak (for example the old and worn out "newspaper under door to get the key") and mostly fairly easy (with some illogical ones thrown into the mix) and are paired with far too many tedious crate pushing puzzles and jump-and-"run"-sequences that are significantly hampered by the awful camera and the slow controls. But, if you manage to work through that and accept that you will run into some walls after camera changes... there is a decent game to find here.. The story is interesting and fits the rest of the "Broken Sword" universe, the presentation isn't pretty anymore but still decent and the voice acting is - apart from some henchmen - quite good. Especially George and Nico work quite well and manage to save the game from being a complete failure. Just don't expect anything as good as its predecessors. (Two freezes btw. So remember to save.)

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Posted on: March 3, 2018

caetydid

Verified owner

Games: 170 Reviews: 3

Not perfect but very enjoyable

I've finished this game together with my 8yrs old daughter and we enjoyed it a lot! While many of the critical points which other reviews point out are true this has been probably our favorite game for a long time and kept us going on until we had finished it. We occasionally peeked at walk throughs since some riddles stroke as not exactly as very logical. On the other hand this does not usually keep us from enjoying a game. Just the box riddles were a real nuisance. This game seems stable. I was running this under Linux with Wine 3.0 and experienced like two freezes or so. Also the graphics requirements seem low - I had no troubles with my integrated Intel HD4400. Sound-Gfx-Music and overall artwork are outstanding (if you consider how old the game is and how low the requirements are) and lead to a beautiful atmosphere with a intriguing story. Can recommend for dark, cold, recreational winter days. Easter Egg: Once you have completed the game there is a message that additional features are enabled. I did not find anything except there is now a artwork gallery of concept arts available under extras... maybe that is what they mean ... :)

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Posted on: September 14, 2023

Barangolo

Verified owner

Games: 35 Reviews: 4

You cannot open this door, it is locked.

The developers for some reason decided to jump on the 3D bandwagon as it seemed popular at the time. It did not improve on the series, as the strength of the Broken Sword series is the cartoon-like point&click aspect, the artwork and the humor. Turning it into a wannabe "parcour" game that is zero skill based as you just have to click on whether to climb a wall or drop from it, while at the same time the running around is quite clunky with the controls, it basically makes zero sense. Especially since the 3D design takes away any quality artwork that made the first two parts strong. Sure, there are some funny dialogues in Glastonbury, but the humor has lost a lot of its touch as well, the characters have fallen flat and the tedious running around from door to door in search of clues or between characters does not make the adventure exciting but quite tedious. I was getting PTSD from the concrete buildings just to find out how to enter a building in a slightly different way. Skip this part of the series, you will hardly miss a thing.

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Posted on: January 10, 2024

hrvi

Games: 36 Reviews: 1

Budget went missing???

When I first played demo in 2003 I was amazed with the beauty and played it many times all over again. When I later bought the whole game I was negatively astonished to see the effort was put arguably in only the first third of the game. The rest falls flat completely. Today, when I am explaining it to me I can only come to the conclusion that the ambition was too high and the budget insufficient to decorate each location properly in the new 3d world. I really think 3d was a bite too much to chew. Last boss missing and empty locations with little characters (savings on acting) support this theory. Escape from Monkey Island, although much more difficult is better with 4.5 stars rated by me. This barely, and I mean barely, only on account of its first third, gets 3 stars.

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