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 The simple point-and-click controls have been replaced by awkward tank controls with fixed cameras, Resident Evil style.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: September 28, 2013

Ingsoc85

Verified owner

Games: 565 Reviews: 6

Worthy successor to the series

When I first heard about this game I had my worries - the turn of the millennium weren't a good time for adventure game, the new 3D graphics seem to ruin many good series (Simon 3D is an excellent example) fortunately the third Broken Sword game manage to escape that fate. The first thing that got me worry was the total absent of mouse interface, the whole game is controlled with a keyboard. Surprisely after getting use to it it's became rather good and not at all clumsy. Like many 3D quests there is a small action and stealth element which mostly don't harm the game. The really annoying thing is the addition of boxes arrangement mini-games. The plot is similar to the other games, a conspiracy threaten the world and George and Nico need to sort it out. The plot stretch in a slow and believable form and like in the previous games the dialog is full of humor. I myself thought we could do with more parts playing Nico, but that criticism apply to all the games in the series. The graphics is just fines, sometimes there are glitches here and there but in all it didn't damage the enjoyment from the game.

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Posted on: September 23, 2010

Lhademmor

Verified owner

Games: 656 Reviews: 6

A grand, exciting and surprisingly beautiful adventure

I must confess that The Sleeping Dragon was my first Broken Sword game, but regardless I was immediately drawn into the story, the intricate conspiracies and last, but not least, the lovable characters. As lawyer-turned-adventurer George Stobbart and journalist Nico Collard, you must stop a grand plot that could endanger the entire world. Of course, you only slowly realize the grand scheme of things, but overall the progression of the story is good enough, although with the game often leaving one of the protagonists at a cliffhanger to return to the other sometimes makes it hard to keep track of what happens when. Regardless, you almost always just need to fix "the next" puzzle in order to see what happens now. And, yeah, the puzzles... Well, as a puzzle game this almost boils down to "Sokoban 3D". You push a hilarious amount of boxes (and stones) around in this game. Trouble in a plane? Push boxes! Need to trespass into an enemy base? Pile boxes! In the end, this tends to break the immersion of the game, and you could have wished for Revolution to have downplayed the box puzzles a little bit... As for other puzzles, they range from logic to damn-near-illogical. While most puzzles are probably on par with most point-and-click adventure games, some of them are utterly strange. Like melting facepaint in a nigh-invisible stage lamp or using a silver coin as a screwdriver. Furthermore, the "take everything" concept makes it even harder to figure out what item you need to use when, and often caused me to simply try all of my items on a certain object (which was very annoying since you cannot skip the 'I cannot use that here'-comments) BUT The one huge selling point that The Sleeping Dragon has is its characters. The 3D rendering of George and Nico is surprisingly well-done - especially Nico, who sports some of the most advanced facial expressions I've seen in games in a long time. When I first played this game, I really grew to love the characters, as they are filled to the brink with personality and charm, and the way they work together, commenting and joking with each other is simply spectacular. That kept me going, because I needed to know what would happen to them. In comparison, most of the secondary characters are stereotypes with VERY stereotypical voices, ranging from acceptable to downright annoying (God, I can't stand that goth chick!) All in all, if you love adventure games, you'd probably feel right at home here. Just be ready for at least a few fairly difficult puzzles - and lots and lots of boxes!

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Posted on: October 3, 2010

ardentlyenthused

Games: 108 Reviews: 3

Best Adventure Game

I picked this game up out of the barging bin back when I had a Radeon 9800. Touting "Game of the Year" and other acclaims, for $9.99 I figured I couldn't go wrong. I didn't. I can't say enough good about this game. The mere act of writing a review is an insult because no review could ever capture this game. Nonetheless, perhaps it will persuade you to experience the game, which is the only real way of understanding. This is one of the best games ever made period and was way ahead of it's time. The graphics are great, the voice acting and animation are top-notch, the strong is engaging, and the controls are fluid. I usually play alot of FPS, but this game reminded me of the power of Adventure games to immerse in an environment and captivate with story. Since this game, I have continued to search out Adventure games (Sam and Max, Monkey Island), but all pale in comparison to this game. But before praising this game to much, first a word of defense. A lot of people complain about the controls because they don't use a mouse in the traditional point-and-click adventure sense. I didn't have a problem with them. As a diehard PC gamer, I usually demand my mouse to be taken advantage of, but I didn't even miss the mouse when I played this game. Once you realize the controls are relative to the camera, they feel natural and are intuitive. Furthermore, the games doesn't require precise control. The game is very forgiving in terms of piloting the characters. It will not let you fall off ledges or jump off into abysses. This game is not a platformer. The controls connect you to the character, placing you in their shoes, but they don't punish you for it. The game is not about being agile fingers, or careful keystrokes. The beauty of the game is story, atmosphere, and characters. All aspects of the game add to one of these. The graphics are extremely well done, especially for the time. As what you might call a graphics afficiando ( I'm screaming for developers do use directx 11), the fact this game not only doesn't bother me, but profoundly pleases me, is saying something. Sure it doesn't have bump mapping or HDR, but somehow the lack of these extreme details adds to the games art style and actually enhances the graphics rather than detracts from them. It takes you back to a time when graphics weren't about being 100% realistic, but rather being beautiful in spite. The characters are beautifully modeled, and the environments are varied and intriguing. This graphical development of the characters coupled with voice acting translates right into story development. The voice acting and animation are superb and way ahead of their time. They immerse you in the game, and serve as one of the smooth mechanisms with which the game seamlessly delivers it's story. The story is powerful. It does not feel like a series of puzzles strewn together with excuses. It is purposerful, well-developed, and based on real myths. This gives it an added level of believability further conencting you to the story. Reading the background information in the "Extras" section of the menu further helps connect you to the plot without spoiling it. Though, you might read it after at least getting through the introduction of the game. Do yourself a favor buy this game. It's 5.99. You could go to Subway and get a five dollar foot long. That will last 30 minutes. Or you get this game that will last days and hours. Come for the graphics. Come for the characters. Come for the story. Come for the heart.

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Posted on: June 19, 2016

Sir_Eric

Verified owner

Games: 767 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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