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Saturday 9 February, 2008
“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.
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