Broken Sword 2: Remastered (2010)

A few weeks ago I picked up Broken Sword II from GOG, not quite knowing what to expect. Having been a fan of point-and-click adventures ever since playing Day Of The Tentacle when I was a little gamer, Broken Sword II had me pretty excited! The work the GOG team did is excellent - the download is a nicely packaged ScummVM game, with no glitches or bugs whatsoever, as far as I could tell. The graphics were good - nothing earth-shattering, but well-done. The dialogue and voice acting are very good - I've enjoyed listening to the conversations. A proper balance of storyline, humor and clues on how to proceed. The storyline, as you can read in the other reviews and description, is focused around Mayan religion and history - it manages to teach the player about this interesting culture, while providing an enjoyable story. The one thing that bothered me about the game was its extreme linearity - hardly any chance for moving back and forth between scenes. As with all games in the genre, I sometimes found myself frustrated at not being able to progress due to missing a certain item, or not being able to piece together the clues I'd been given yet... this is of course the whole point of the game - the feeling of accomplishment after 'getting it' is what we play for. Overall, I'm very pleased with Broken Sword 2, and happily recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre. While not a must-have, for this price it's a very sweet deal!

My PC gaming life started out late, and Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars was one of the first PC games I've ever played, back when computers came with vendor-installed games. Just like the original The Legend of Zelda got me hooked on console games, the Broken Sword saga did the same for me with PC titles. While the first one was amazing when I first saw it, the second one was prettier, seemed larger, fixed a few minor issues regarding gameplay, and had quite more "talking to people" puzzles, which was something I felt the first one was lacking. What's good about this edition is that, while you can play the remastered title, requiring more of your computer, you can also stick to the original game if you have a really old machine, like I do, and play it all the same (plus, the improvements the remastered game brings to the table are nothing worth writing home about, basically being an inventory design overhaul and character animations every time you engage in conversation, with some minor graphical improvements overall, albeit barely noticeable). For fans of the adventure genre, believe me, it doesn't get any better than this. But, then again, if you're an adventure game kind of gamer, you already know this. If you only played more recent adventure games and think of yourself as an adventure fan, then, by all means, do yourself a favor and buy this gem of a game, completely DRM free, with lots of extras to boost and dirt cheap, GOG-style.

Story: 4/5 Worldbuilding: 3/5 Art Design: 3/5 Graphics: 4/5 Sound: 4/5 Gameplay: 3/5

There are some weaknesses here, like pacing, graphics, and such, that are just what you get with a point and click game of this era, so please be clear that I am not docking any points for that. As with the predecessor, the graphics and animation are charming, the characters are well-executed, and the globe-trotting adventure story reminiscent of Indiana Jones and Tintin is definitely present. The music is excellent. The first half of the game is more of the same from the first installment, a shadowy conspiracy, ancient artifacts, secrets, etc. That's great. There are less out and out puzzles in the game. There's something like a half-dozen in the first installment and only a couple in this. That's a consideration, but not the biggest failing. The bigger issue is actually missing content. George, the main character, walks out of a scene and it says he returns to the village. But the next time we see him he's heading for the beach. Then Nico shows up at the village and the whole thing has been burned down(!) offscreen, with zero explanation. We arrive at the pyramid that has been teased from the beginning without a big reveal. All of a sudden we're at the base and we missed an opportunity for a nice big establishing shot. This is, to me, an excellent example of sophomore slump. I don't think they intentionally half-asssed the game, I think they were surprised they had as big of a success as they did and so they hurried the product. You see it in novels and records all the time. They had a much longer dev time for the first installment, and they rushed the second. Is it bad? No. But after they crafted a gem the first time out, accepting something that is significantly less, in both content and experience, is disappointing.

This review is for the original GOG English version. After surviving a Templar conspiracy, George Stobbart and Nicole Collard are once again drawn into an international adventure spanning continents, this time involving a Mayan prophecy that will destroy the world. On the way they will encounter a diverse cast of characters, some good, some bad, some in-between. The gameplay is typical for the adventure game genre, which includes talking to characters, interacting with items and the world and solving puzzles to move the story forward. In this game you will have the chance to control both George and Nico in separate parts of the story. I must impart a warning: you CAN die in this game, in several instances, so save accordingly. The interface won't get in your way and is easy to use. Everything you need is a mouse click away and you can easily combine and use items or interact with characters or the scenery. No pixel hunting, if you know what you're doing. The difficulty of the puzzles varies, although you will encounter no problems if you keep a clear head and take your time to think them through. There are a couple of interesting ones, such as finding the right path while wandering through a jungle to get to an important location for another puzzle. As I said before, you can die in this game. There are a couple of intense scenes where you have to think and act quickly to solve a problem. This adds some needed tension to the game. It is, after all, an ADVENTURE game! The graphics are good, with some locations that are just beautiful, such as a Mayan pyramid and its interiors. The music and sounds add to the game in terms of atmosphere and the voice acting is competent. The story is well written, with some supernatural elements added, the main characters are likeable and even relatable, the gameplay is good enough to recommend this game to individuals who like adventure games. Five obsidian tablets out of five.