Broken Sword Shadow of the Templars Directors Cut

17th May 2009 • 0 Comments

The Broken Sword series returns to retell the story of the first game. Is this directors cut worth your money though or just a rehash?  ......

If you were to ask me to name my top five games then the original Broken Sword would probably be on that list. It was probably one of the first adventure games I had played in which the story was told in a serious way rather than just resorting to comedy. With its great story and good gameplay it kept me playing the game multiple times.

This was a decade ago and a lot has changed since that time. More games now focus on storytelling and the adventure game genre has taken a beating over the last 10 years and seems to be no longer a viable choice of genre on todays modern consoles.

This was until the Wii and DS came along and with their methods of control it seems that adventure games are a perfect fit for these consoles. It seems Revolution and Ubisoft agreed and have released Broken Sword The Directors Cut for Wii and DS.

As the name suggests this isn't just a port of the original game some new content has been added to keep things fresh for fans of the original. Broken Sword is a traditional point and click adventure game in which the story of the original was based around an American tourist named George Stobbart whom witnessed the bombing of a French cafe by a sinister looking clown. This led to him meeting a French photojournalist named Nicole Collard and they set about an adventure across the globe.

This story is still in the game but more backstory has been added. In these new sections you play as Nico, whom you couldn't play as in the original, trying to solve the mystery of a series of murders which were mentioned in the original version. Having played the original game these new sections stand out for me, however they are linked into the original story rather well so I would presume a new player would not notice what parts are the new content.

The historical adventure story remains in tack which is excellent as this one of the best parts of Broken Sword. If you haven't played this before then it is a story that should be experienced.

As well as new story, new gameplay has been added as well. This is mostly in the Nico sections however some puzzles in the original game have also been re jigged. These new features take advantage of the Wii and DS's features and have a very Professor Layton vibe to them. Some puzzles of note involve translating notes into English and finding Bible verses on a grave. Other parts of the game have also been re jigged where instead of just examining an object you get a close up of the item/body and are able to search specific points. An example of this is examining a dead body at the start of the game, you are able to check the pockets etc.

All of these new puzzles have integrated the Wii/DS mechanics really well. Some of the puzzles can have weird solutions but there is a intuitive hint system in place if you get stuck and a diary which keeps track of any key points in the game. There is a slight issue on the DS where highlighting characters in the translation puzzles can be annoying but that is the only gripe. On the Wii you only use the remote and point at object and press the A button to perform the default action or the B button to examine it. The DS version is controlled with the stylus and when you select an object you drag the stylus to the action you wish to perform.

Both control systems work very well and anyone can pick it up. The final addition is the new character artwork when you talk to a character. This was done by Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons and adds a bit of personality to the game. It's a shame the lips don't animate but to be fair this would take a lot of work. The Wii version comes with voice acting, in which some has been rerecorded. It is shame though that these new lines stand out as it is a bit jarring.

The DS version does not come with voice acting, this is slightly disappointing but if you're a hardcore fan you can imagine the voices in your head. If you haven't played the games before you won't miss the voices too much. The soundtrack is great in both versions of the game. The graphics retain the look of the original and due to being 2D and cartoony they have stood up the test of time.

In terms of which version to get, both are great. If you miss voice acting too much then the Wii version is for you, however it is a great portable game so out of the two I would recommend the DS version.

In summary The Directors Cut is still an amazing game and now with even more content. It can be played and enjoyed by anyone and is a brilliant experience for both systems.