Broken Sword: Shadow Of The Templars [DS]

06 Apr 2009 at 12:02:52 by Spanner Spencer
Systems used to review this title: (DS)

Did you even notice how lucky George Lucas was that the storyline of the first three Star Wars films allowed for a whole new trilogy to be conveniently slotted in before them, without conflicting at all with the events that took place in the original movies?

Well, regardless of how much you may or may not have enjoyed that new saga, to George’s credit it wasn’t luck that gave Star Wars the room for nine hours of prequel, but great writing back in the ‘70s. The characters of a story are the most important factor, and when they’re properly developed, the scope for expanding on any of their stories is always available.

Which brings us to Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – The Director’s Cut (forgive me for chopping it off and calling it Broken Sword from here on in). You’d be quite right to be curious as to how a game can pull off a director’s cut, but thanks to the sterling work done when developing the game’s characters 13 years ago, this all new DS iteration of the classic adventure game does indeed host the scope for extra, unobtrusive content.

But let’s go back to the beginning, so we can learn about the new game properly. Broken Sword was a PC game released in 1996 that was celebrated for its artistic flair, audio accompaniment and unfailing approach to logical problem solving. There’s since been a steady stream of sequels, ports and re-imaginings for a variety of platforms, the latest being this DS iteration that reboots the series very effectively.

I’m forced to keep biting my two typing fingers as I write this review (four paragraphs have been deleted immediately before this one), as a good adventure game hinges on the gradual uncovering of its plotline. To give away even the smallest hint can sour your enjoyment of what’s to come, so we’ll try to veer away from anything not already hinted at on the game box.

You step into the well-travelled shoes of American tourist George Stobbart (who, unfortunately, doesn’t arrive in a big green lorry) as he takes in the heady, chocolate box beauty of Paris. No sooner has he taken his first sip of Espresso on the boulevard, however, a clown sets of a bomb that almost kills him. Naturally the inquisitive Stobbart attempts to hunt down this mysterious bomber, and a plot unravels – wonderfully organically – that reveals a much grander conspiracy.

As the title suggests, this storyline reaches back as far as the Crusades, and the Knights Templar, and as more and more characters rush onto George’s epic stage, you’re drawn into an expansive world of intrigue, espionage, danger and adventure. Admittedly, this could be lifted directly from the back of the box, but bear in mind this is an unsolicited synopsis from someone who genuinely went without sleep to uncover the next clue, and the next, and attempt to wiggle off the razor-sharp hook of Broken Sword’s story.

Fans of the original will undoubtedly have had personal experience of this when playing though the original PC title, and will be eager to get to the bottom of the Director’s Cut qualifier. Indeed, this is the exact same game as you remember, so there aren’t going to be any surprises in the grand and exotic tale for you.

What you are being given – that newcomers won’t necessarily notice – is a sideways glance into the lives of the ancillary characters, most notably the female lead, photo journalist Nicole Collard. We originally learnt about her tragic past in conversations she held with George, but now we get to experience them first hand as the death of Nico’s father is explored through extended gameplay.

It’s this voyage through character biographies where Broken Sword is expanded, and is only possible due to the full and professional development of these characters some 13 years ago. Learning more and more about their past enriches your experience of the entire game, giving you a very real sensation of knowing these vibrant characters, yet it never intrudes on the already established story of Shadow of the Templars.

The DS has always proven to be a great substitute for the mouse, and Broken Sword makes subtle adjustments to the control system to bring the stylus into full effect. Pulling icons about the touch screen, and working the puzzles of Broken Sword (picking locks, and so forth) are intuitive and immediately accessible.

Which is a vital necessity of the adventure game, as battling against irksome controls get in the way of the challenges you really want to take on – the logic puzzles. Too many adventures resort, even if it’s only occasionally, to the ‘try everything on everything’ method, which can seriously sour the flavour of a good point-and-click.

Broken Sword is one of the few examples in the adventure genre where this never happens. It feels quite remarkable - in the face of having grated gaming nerves against so many unsound solutions in similar games – that the cerebral tasks of Broken Sword remain, at all times and above all else, logical. That’s not to say they’re easy, but there’s a wonderful sensation after finally figuring out a puzzle that it suddenly seems obvious. Why you couldn’t see the answer before is a question you’ll laughingly ask yourself throughout.

A stepped hint system is in place to help you around any particularly tough stumbling blocks, but this should be used with extreme caution so as not to inadvertently spoil the game for want of rushing ahead.

Graphically, we’re seeing something of a mixed bag. These appear to be pretty much pixel perfect backgrounds from the original – which is fine, considering they were pretty spectacular to begin with. But the sprite work has been completely stripped out and replaced with new imagery from the pencil of Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons.

Now, as unworthy as I am to criticise the work of Gibbons, the characters and general foreground art do appear to clash against the slightly more detailed backdrops. It’s definitely not a deal breaker, and everything looks undeniably beautiful (and that helps a lot with the lack of voice acting in this DS version), but personal preferences leave me wondering if a slightly more sedate pixel smith might have forged a close bond between foreground and background.

As great as it is to revisit the Broken Sword franchise, and to get to know the characters a little better, stalwarts of the series will probably feel as though they’re treading a lot of old ground. The DS does honourable justice to the source material, but the game’s essential repetition of the old Shadow of the Templars story will be very noticeable.

The added novelty of taking your old favourite out on the road is an easily justified incentive for buying the game, mind you, so don’t feel too bad if the lack of much new content isn’t enough to keep your cash in your recession-addled wallet – you’ll still have a great time following George’s journey through a good ten hours of gameplay.

It’s an unavoidable aspect of the genres nature that once the game’s completed, you’ll be unlikely to return to it for a long time, if at all. But adventure gamers are generally very forgiving of this fact, so despite its overt similarity to the original, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars – The Director’s Cut comes highly recommended.

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