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jpgamelog's Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (GBA)

[February 9, 2008 01:13:08 AM]

“Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars" (Game Boy Advance)

GameLog entry #2:

GAMEPLAY

Playing the game more, I realized that I was becoming wrapped up in the story, and the story is what drives me to play most adventure games, not the gameplay. While impatient gamers may be turned off by the lack of action, I enjoy games that take their time to immerse the player in the game world. Yes, as a traditional adventure game, it is almost slavishly linear. It is a game of progression, but it's not the destination nor the progress that is compelling, but the journey. As such, like a good movie, I like to revisit the adventure games I have played in the past from time to time, to re-experience the unfolding of the story.

The gameplay of "Broken Sword" is so familiar to me from countless other adventure games it almost feels like second nature, and so it is harder for me to be as objective, I admit, about it as a result. That said, I feel confident that what "Broken Sword" does well, and what any good adventure game does, is the same as what a good story does: allows the player/reader to identify with the main character, thus making the events in the story more interesting and involving. When I was in Paris, less than a year ago, I could have been George, sitting there in that café!

DESIGN

One of the most significant differences from the PC original is that there is no voice acting in this version, again due to space limitations of the cartridge format. While this is a significant loss, I don't believe it really hurts the overall game. Some may complain that this means there is too much reading (and there is a LOT of reading in this game), but I don't see that as a bad thing. Actually, I see it as a good thing--this videogame is one of the more literate around. The dialogue is well written, and the vocabulary of the characters is not limited to Basic English, unlike the vast majority of game characters.

The other significant difference is that cut scenes use key frames from the fully animated original's, again due to the limited space on the cartridge. Because the original cut scenes were so well done to begin with, this is another lamentable loss, but the essential narrative remains soundly intact.

I really enjoy games like "Broken Sword," and so I had a hard time coming up with much to criticize about it. One thing I always appreciate in an adventure game, which is lacking in this one, is a speed control. Sometimes it can be a bit trying to watch George traverse the screen from right to left or left to right for the umpteenth time. Some games allow the player a shortcut key so the character movement animation is skipped, and some have a speed control. I think either of those might improve the game slightly.

I grew up with "King's Quest," "Gabriel Knight," and many other classic graphic adventures. Call me old fashioned, but I wish the industry would produce more of them. Whatever design or gameplay problems or limitations they may have had, their foremost goal--which they achieved, by and large, spectacularly--was to immerse the player in a good story, something that I enjoy diving into more than getting itchy trigger fingers.

This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Feb 9th, 2008 at 01:22:40.

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[February 9, 2008 01:11:01 AM]

“Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars” (Game Boy Advance)

GameLog entry #1:

SUMMARY

"Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars" (2002) for the Game Boy Advance is an adaptation of the 1996 PC third-person graphic adventure "Circle of Blood," the first of what now constitutes four installments in the "Broken Sword" series. This release for Game Boy Advance, one of the few traditional graphic adventure games available on hand held consoles, reflects the original title of the 1996 UK PC edition (it was developed there by Revolution Software Ltd.).

The player controls George Stobbart, an American tourist vacationing in Paris. One day, while sitting outside a quaint, idyllic café, he sees a clown enter the building behind a man with a briefcase that he later discovers held an ancient manuscript dating back to the Knights Templar of the 14th century. Soon after, a bomb detonates, destroying the café's façade. George barely escapes with his life, and the game begins...

GAMEPLAY

I had played the original game many years ago on the PC, and remember enjoying it immensely at the time. I have always liked story-driven games, which is one of the reasons many of the games I own are traditional graphic adventures, and I was curious to know if this Game Boy Advance version of the game made a successful transition to the hand held system.

I was pleasantly surprised. Rather than the point-and-click interface of the PC original, the D-pad is used to control George, and one of the things I particularly like about the gameplay of this edition of the game is that the dreaded pixel hunting of mouse-driven games has been eliminated by what Revolution calls the Vista menu. By hitting the R button multiple times, the game will cycle through the various "hot spots"--the things in the game world that George can either look at or interact with. This makes for far less frustrating gameplay. I wish the original PC game had a similar feature!

I love the conventions of the adventure game genre, nearly all of which are present in "Broken Sword." There is the inventory (seemingly unlimited--George must have large pockets), puzzles that need to be solved by using inventory items on people and objects, and much observation about the game world made by George, etc. When I picked up this game, I knew exactly what to expect, and it delivered. It's the same reason I eat pizza.

Other observations:

The graphics are done as well as can be expected on the Game Boy Advance, and Revolution has done a respectable job of translating the more detailed original PC graphics to the smaller screen of the hand held system. At times, it almost feels like I am controlling characters in a doll house, and I mean that as a compliment.

The MIDI music is well done too, and sounds very much like the original. The original game, as I recall, had a full orchestral score, but obviously, for space reasons owing to the cartridge format of the Game Boy Advance, it could not be carried over.

This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 9th, 2008 at 01:18:29.

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