13.12.2003

First up, a word to the three reviewers who have given this game 1 star reviews for reasons such as 'being a linear, on-rails game' and for 'having to interact with everything in the level to proceed': Broken Sword is an adventure game! That is the nature of the genre and you should have know that before buying it. People's own misconceptions are not a fault of the game.Right then, it's been six long years since Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror hit the shelves; six long years in which only a couple of decent adventure games have been released, leaving a huge gap in the games market and leaving games players pining for a return. Well here it is, or is it?When Revolution announced that the third game in the Broken Sword series would not be a point n'click adventure, many fans wrote back in dismay, saying Revolution had folded to the pressures of the industry to conform to technology. But they need not have feared, as during the development of The Sleeping Dragon, the designers at Revolution had devised a way of combining the classic puzzle solving gameplay elements of the first two Broken Sword Games with a brand new interface, suited to the new 3D environments.For the most part, the new system is a success, as the player can now choose one of four modes of interaction when they approach an object of interest, which are displayed on the screen, corresponding to the layout of the buttons on the keyboard/game pad, making object usage extremely quick and easy. This system completely removes the use of the mouse from the game, thus also placing the control of the character on the keyboard; unfortunately, this does not work so well, as due to the frequent camera changes, it can often be tricky to navigate the environments. Fortunately however, your character is not able to fall off high ledges or into perilous areas, so you will never die as a result of a control mishap.So with a control system established, Revolution did what they do best and set about crafting a storyline of epic proportions, spanning several countries and introducing lots of key new characters. The plot once again revolves around the Templars as a new enemy threatens the world, and the player, as George and Nico, must attempt to foil this plan. The storyline is good and nicely links the different setpieces together, but I did find that it lacked the attention to detail of the first two games. The characterisation however is simply spot on. In my oppinion, George Stobbart has to be one of the best computer game characters ever created; he is incredibly witty and has some amazing dialogue (made even better by Rolf Saxon's awesome voice acting), but he also displays a mortality that is often missing from the more current games characters. Similarly, Nicole Collard is also fantastic and the chemistry between the two leads REALLY works; in fact there are no badly realised characters in the whole game.But there are also not enough characters in the game. This, for me, was where The Sleeping Dragon pailed most significantly compared to it's prequels, as in changing the style of game to incorporate more action setpieces, they removed a lot of the deep character interaction that is typical of point and click games, which really detracted from the overall atmosphere and personality of the game. What I would have given to have seen another Harry and Pearl cameo...Following on with this theme, certain other aspects of the game, such as the persistent (relentless) block pushing puzzles which, although cleverly intergrated, did get tiresome quickly and the stealth sections were quite painful, especially if you got killed repeatedly and were forced to start the same section over again. Also the fact that you could not skip lines of dialogue or cutscenes was an oversight.But these are only moderate criticisms of an otherwise very well rounded game. The graphics are beautiful, creating a much better impression of '2D in 3D' than any amount of Cel-Shading could ever achieve and the voice acting and music was similarly brilliant. It's a shame though that they didn't get Barrington Pheloung back for the score. Therefore, with Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, Revolution software have defied the critics and sparked the rebirth of the adventure genre, albeit in a slightly different guise. The Sleeping Dragon is not quite as good as its predecessors, but given that both Broken Sword 1 and 2 were masterpieces, it still stands high above the competition. If they make a fourth game, it may well be the adventure to top all others; I just hope we get a chance to find out.

13.11.2003

Ok .. in 3 words!! FAN TAS TIC!!Broken sword is not a game.. it's a virus that becames part of our lives.. It started has a pretty well-drawned adventure game where you play the role of George, an American turist visiting Paris. You're caugth in the middle of an explosion in a street caffe and start you own private investigation..It soon leeds you to the misterious templars, their descendants and their new plans.. It's up to you to finish their plans..In the second game you are taken to central america to explore the mysteries of aztec civilization! once again you're into a lot of troubles but someone comes with you from the first game!

15.11.2003

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon (aka Broken Sword 3) has everything it's predecessors had and more...in bucket loads...It's not a particularly difficult game, the plot line is very linear (as is your exploration through the game), and it took me only 11 hours in total to complete...but although it won't have experienced adventurers scratching their head (most of the time anyway)...there is one thing that should make this game a must buy for even the most experienced adventure game player...it's just so enjoyable to play.It retains the previous games love of mystery, secret passages and ingenuity, and ties it all in with a very well thought of plot.For a long time adventure games have been stuck around the 800x600 pixel resolution,

18.11.2003

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon (aka Broken Sword 3) has everything it's predecessors had and more...in bucket loads...It's not a particularly difficult game, the plot line is very linear (as is your exploration through the game), and it took me only 11 hours in total to complete...but although it won't have experienced adventurers scratching their head (most of the time anyway)...there is one thing that should make this game a must buy for even the most experienced adventure game player...it's just so enjoyable to play.It retains the previous games love of mystery, secret passages and ingenuity, and ties it all in with a very well thought of plot.For a long time adventure games have been stuck around the 800x600 pixel resolution,

29.2.2004

Years after the Smoking Mirror incident, young Mr. Stobbard has abandoned the skinny student look to become a slim but athletic action hero type who pushes boxes and climbs walls. He has also given up language studies and graduated from a law school, apparently wishing to imitate Ms. Kate Walker of Syberia. And the world is again in danger, this time threatened by a cross between Christopher Walken and Quentin Crisp. So George turns to adventuring and is joined by Ms. Nicole Collard, his perfect-bodied but ill-tempered ex-girlfriend who still substitutes French phonemes for English ones. They meet a host of other characters,

28.12.2003

Before buying this game for my girlfriend for Christmas (she is a big fan, introducing me to the first two games!) I read the reviews for this game. Some slating others loving it hmmm.... Well This is the review to believe! Having enjoyed the ease of the controls of the previous two, this new system was a bit of a worry, but it really is not a problem, it's very easy to get the hang of. Unfortunately much of the game is decided for you as your actions are limited to what the controls suggest, taking away the mystery of the first two, but also the frustrations, as often I was stuck for ages trying to work out what I was meant to be doing in the previous games!On the plus side the graphics are brilliant,

24.11.2003

Once again revolution have created an absoloutely fantastic game. The change to 3-D has given the game a real egde over the competition. It continues on from the first two incorporating the storyline about the templars. My only complaint was that the interface and general gameplay is becoming too much like tomb raider. Although there is still loads of interaction with other characters and the new action sequences are good. I was a big fan of the previous games and still am of this one. I think that this game will appeal to people who didn't play the first two as they might be used to the interface more. I was deeply saddened when i heard that it was going to be made without point + click,

12.2.2004

Very good game! The plot is carried on from the last 2 games, which is great, same type of game you dont have to shoot loads of people to complete the game, you have to think your way through it. Although the cartoony graphics of the other 2 i was fond of, the 3d graphics, which are suberb also, no blocky graphics, are alot better making Broken Sword a lot more realistic.Now the reasons for not gettins a 5 star rating, controls take some time to get used to they aint click and go like the others you have to usethe keyboard or a control pad if you've got one, i thourght the game wasnt aslong as the others took me around 3 days to complete, the others took me around a week or so,

18.12.2006

The third installment of Broken Sword trys to bring the series up to date with a whole new interface system and realistic graphics. Innitaly for those of use who are die hard fans of the game the new look and the fact that you now have to wander around the screen as well as look for point and click clues and puzzles is a bit daunting and it makes everything that little bit more difficult. That being said once you get the hand of the new fangled moving chararacter thingie you can get back to engoying the same standard of excellant plots, puzzles and humour that everyone has come to expect from the Broken Sword series.I would definatly recommend this game to anyone who is an adventure fan or

22.12.2003

Broken sword: the sleeping dragon is just one of the most thrilling and exciting games i have played all year. It might not have the greatest graphics but gameplay and the story-line is just genius. I brought the first two broken sword games and thought the games were brill, but this junts beats all adventure games ever brought into this world. Ad also unlike other games this one lasts for more than one hour, it took me about two weeks to complete, but what a two weeks it was. I hope this review makes you buy the trilogy and get as much enjoyment out of it as i did.

29.3.2004

I am a great lover of the first two broken sword games and this one was no exception. There is a big improvment in the graphics and I am finding the play interesting and a challenge.The only major downside to this game is that I had no end of problems getting the game to work. It took a lot of hours on the internet trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, I was not the only one. So be warned you may have to spend a few hours or even days to get started, but I think that it is well worth the effort.

29.3.2005

I am no adventure game expert, but I am an avid Broken Sword fan. I loved the first two games (the first game especially), and the third is an excellent addition to the series. It took me about 16 hours to complete (I said I was no expert!) but I certainly think that makes it worth the money. The plot is well thought out, the animation is ace, and the dialogue is as funny (and sarcastic) as ever. Well done THQ, please start working on Broken Sword 4.................

22.12.2003

This game is just as good as the first and second, if ot better. The broken sword trillogy is the best trillogy i have ever played. The graphics might not be the best, but the gameplay and the story- line are just amazing. The thrilling, chilling adventure game is out of this world, it is almost life like. I have never played an action adventure game quite like this, it is just genius.

15.11.2003

Having had initial doubts about the new look of the 3rd Broken Sword game, I am happy to report that those doubts were unjustified - the game is awesome. Fans of the first 2 games will love it, it even has the same guy doing the voice of George Stobbart!!Excellent stuff!

15.12.2012

Bought a long time ago. I loved all the Broken Sword games and really wish that they had produced more in the series. If they ever do I'll be first in the queue

Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon (PC) - Reviews

Info

Analysis

Detail