Broken Sword: Director's Cut

I'm not a big fan of Point-n-Click games, but I enjoy a good one sometimes. Broken Sword DC really hooked me in and kept me playing until the end. I really like the Don Bluth-like animation and characters. The controls work well with no problems. The music is subtle and lets you focus on the game and doesn't distract you. The best part of the game is the story and puzzles. The base story of the Knights Templar is mysterious in its self and pulls you into the main story. The characters are very distinct from each other and likeable. It has great voice acting and character building. I also like the puzzles compared to many other point-n-click games. They are logical, so you'll be rewarded for actually figuring something out. I really felt like a detective when solving the interesting puzzles for example, the deciphering codes and combination lock. There were some minor complaints though. I didn't like the compressed grainy graphics on some parts. Some of the animations when you do an action becomes pixelated or jagged. It really breaks the flow of the atmosphere, quality and polish. The animations of the FMV were also jagged quality. For a Director's Cut, I think it should have had better quality animation or replaced with new polygon cut scenes. And that takes me to my next con. The mixing of new 2D animations/images and polygon cut scenes with the jagged FMV really makes the overall polish seem sloppy. I wish all of the cut scenes and animations were consistent quality and style. Overall, the game may not feel like a real director's cut, but is a great experience for its intresting story, characters, humor and puzzles.

I love Broken Sword. I've played every iteration of Broken Sword Shadow of The Templars that I can get my hands. I can't say that I don't like the Director's Cut, because I do. However this is getting 5 Stars purely because it comes with the original version of the game as well and not because of the additional DC content I would strongly reccommend that people consider playing the original version of this game first, which as mentioned is included with the DC version. Imo; Nico's additional parts feel kind of contrived and throw the pacing off at points. Which is a real shame as I personally love Nico but feel that the additional scenes in a way kind of detract from her as a character. That said, it's a good update, just perhaps uneccessary in places and something the BS2 HD remaster handles much better.

This is one of my all time favorite adventure games. I've played both the original version and the director's cut, and both are good in their own right. The story of this game is simply amazing, and the way it gives context to a lot of the puzzles is great. The voice acting is excellent and the soundtrack is timeless. It's been a few years since I last played it, but as far as I can remember this game has less problems with "moon logic" puzzles than some of the others of its time. The art is excellent and it's a joy to go through the different locations, which are pretty varied. My favorite section is Spain, and I'll say that it made me cry at least once. Wherever the series ended up going, it's worth looking into how it started.

Next to the Monkey Island series, the Broken Sword series is arguably the most classic franchise in the entire point-and-click genre. The original Shadow of the Templars from 1996 has aged very well. The hand-drawn backgrounds by the masters of the Walt Disney studio have been in no need of remastering. However, the Director's Cut does offer a few graphical tweaks. Dialogue now features close-ups of the faces of those speaking, and the subtitles got a better resolution. I liked this comic-like style and found it made the dialogues more attractive to follow. The Director's Cut also includes more content! It adds the brand new missions for the Nico that take place before the bomb attack in the coffee shop. It is kind of like a prequel to the main story. That's right, Shadow of the Templars is the only title in the series where the player doesn't have control of Nico. But there is one case that makes me wonder: does the Director's Cut make it easier to solve the puzzles? I mean, the goat puzzle is already legendary amongst point-and-click fans. There are rumours of hours and hours of play time with the goat before the puzzle was solved. And in this edition, I solved it on the first go. So... are the puzzles easier or was I just incredibly lucky?

I'm not sure which parts are included in the original game and which are only in the director's cut; I only played the director's cut. I was immediately immersed while playing as Nicole--I found the story engaging and the puzzles challenging. There was a good balance of puzzle solving and dialogue scenes that kept me interested in both. Then, enter George Stobbart. George ambles around Paris for a good long time, meeting all sorts of quirky and loveable characters... and that's about it. I came to a realization shortly after flying to Ireland that each scene left me less and less motivated to continue. The story, while interesting, contained either too little suspense or too little action. I will praise Broken Sword for the writing, the funny dialogue and the endless supply of oddball characters. Unfortunately, I need more than just conversations with likeable people to keep me intrigued. With the sudden disappearance of any and all puzzles after I took control of Stobbart, what started as an effervescent delight steadily lost its fizz, until I altogether lost interest in finishing.