Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon

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Patent attorney George Stobbart was on his way to visit a client out in the Congo when he arrives to find the man dead. In Paris, Nico Collard was about to visit a man who talked about the end of the world when she arrived to find him dead. These simple murders lay the foundation for our two adventurers to team up and save the world…again. A sequel to The Circle of Blood and The Mirror, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon combines insane graphics, beautiful sound and unique gameplay into one solid package of game.

No Mouse Interface?

Let's begin with the character controls and movement of the game. I opened the box, expecting a nice point and click game like Star Wars: KOTOR. Instead, I was left with a VERY annoying interface, no mouse required. What kind of computer game doesn't need a mouse?! Granted, the controls could be changed and everything controlled from bubble icons, but the interface used is rather difficult to get accustomed to at first. The only cure for this that I was comfortable with was the little controller I hooked up to use. Reconfiguring buttons was just too much of a pain. With my new controller attached, I could feel the old console nightmares coming back to me.

Easy and Hard Puzzles

Once you get used to the character, the puzzles presented by Broken Sword throughout gameplay are easy, but hard at the same time. Most puzzles are different and fresh, while some, like crates, keep reappearing. Plenty of times in the game I encountered one of these crate puzzles. What this means is that you'll have to maneuver crates to accomplish different tasks. One is nice, 300 isn't. If you can deal with these annoying crate puzzles or anything similar, you will be able to enjoy the game. If you can't excuse the painful, boring, and pointless puzzles found in Broken Sword, you should really just look the other way.

Brilliant Graphics and Sound

Graphics are probably the strongest part of this game. Period. Cut scenes are fantastic; the in-game details are beautiful, and characters are wonderfully modeled.

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I was shocked at how brilliant all of the environment details were, and how detailed each map was. Every new level had something beautiful about it, which was one of the major reasons I was able to continue playing the game. If you would like to take a glimpse at some of the newest 3D graphics available to date, Broken Sword may be able to fulfill your wishes. Another cool part of the game was the voices! Yes, voices actually made this game exciting. Characters have unique voices, and even the stuff they say is witty. I wouldn't be surprised if you sat there for some time, just listening. It really is a wonder what The Adventure Company did to get these results. Yet another obscure reason for me to keep playing.

Good AI!

Another good part of the game is the AI. Characters respond to all of your actions, enemies will react to any moves you make, making the game seem more real. The combination of awesome graphics and realistic AI gives Broken Sword a nice edge to it.

Can you guess? No multiplayer

Like most adventure games of this sort, there is no multiplayer. Unfortunately, I would have really liked to see some multiplayer for this game. Considering how good the graphics are, I think it would have really been nice to play with your friends online.

Overall

Broken Sword was an interesting game. If you can stand the interface, go out and buy Broken Sword. If not, consider the awesome graphics and sound. But then add in the fact that there is no multiplayer. Hmm… tough decision. If you are into the genre, go ahead and buy it. If not, wait for Half-Life 2.