Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars is the first in the acclaimed point-and-click adventure series by Revolution Software. With a handsome protagonist, plenty of exotic locales and copious amounts of intrigue, is there any reason why this classic title shouldn’t be on every gamers’ to-play list?
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In 1992, Cecil and Noirin Carmody met with Virgin Interactive’s Head of Publishing, Sean Brennan, to talk about how the Knights Templar would make an interesting subject for a video game. The publisher agreed and four years later in September 1996, Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars was released on PC. In North America, the game was renamed to Broken Sword: Circle of Blood, although Cecil Carmody was uneasy about the change as he felt it gave the wrong impression about the kind of title it was.
Ubisoft then released a Director’s Cut version in March 2009 and Dave Gibbons, with whom Revolution Software had worked previously on Beneath a Steel Sky (review coming soon), created additional artwork for the game. This update contains a new narrative thread and around two hours extra gameplay on a multitude of platforms, but if you’re looking for the original version of the title you’ll need to head to Mastertronic or GOG.com.
Never trust a clown…
One of Carmody’s goals was to make something different from the humorous adventures that were popular at the time, such as the Monkey Island series by LucasArts. He wanted to create something with good pacing and a complex storyline and certainly succeeded with the first Broken Sword. I first played this title just after it was released sixteen years ago and, although Guybrush Threepwood will always be my first love, I found the difference in style and gameplay to be instantly captivating.
Players take on the role of George Stobbart, a young American who is literally blown into an adventure while on holiday in Paris when the café he is sitting in is ripped apart by a bomb. One dead body and a suspicious-looking clown later, his vacation is transformed into a quest to uncover the party responsible. After teaming up with savvy photographer Nicole (Nico) Collard, George quickly discovers that there’s more to the blast than meets the eye…
George teams up with Nico to discover who’s behind the bomb blast.
While the majority of this epic plot is the result of highly-creative storytelling, it does contain some elements of fact. The Knights Templar, the ancient society that George stumbles across, actually existed in the 11th century but very little is known about the chivalrous group who mysteriously disappeared after the 14th century. In this case, fact is definitely stranger than fiction and adds some excitement to an already entertaining story.
Broken Sword plays very much like a standard point-and-click adventure, although the interface is somewhat different than the SCUMM engine utilised by LucasArts’ games popular during the same period. Instead of verbs, players are presented with a ‘smart cursor’ that changes into an icon whenever an action can be performed at a ‘hotspot’. For example, the pointer will change to a gears symbol if you can operate something in the area. This has the fortunate effect of removing some of the typical pixel-hunting frustrations that can be experienced with titles of this genre; but it does unfortunately take away some of the mystery also, as clicking will operate an object before you’re even sure what it is.
Conversations are quite lively and do a good job of allowing characters’ personalities to shine through. There are some sequences where you have no control over what’s being said and these usually progress the story, but once players initiate a conversation the interface changes: subjects you’ve learnt about appear as icons at the bottom of the screen and your inventory is displayed at the top. Clicking on a topic will result in George asking about it in his own way as there are no pre-set questions. While this interface looks a little archaic nowadays, it’s actually very simple to use.
Broken Sword rarely leaves you in the position where it’s necessary to combine every item in your inventory, regardless of how absurd, in order to produce some kind of result. Most of the time you’ll have a fair idea of what you’re supposed to be doing in order to progress – the challenge lies in working out how you’re meant to do it. Perhaps you may need to distract a workman so that you can get at his toolbox (no pun intended); so give him a newspaper to read and he’ll wander off, leaving you free to raid his supplies.
Who would use a branch and a towel to climb down a chasm?
That being said however, there are of course the few obligatory illogical puzzles that a 1990s adventure just wouldn’t be a classic without. At one point it’s necessary to combine a tree branch with a rotary hand towel in order to climb safely down a chasm; this one had me stumped even though I’d completed the game before! It’s worth noting that some incorrect choices in item or conversation puzzles can result in George’s death, meaning that players will have to reload from their last save point. But Nico is always at the end of a telephone and can be called for suggestions about what to do next if you need a bit of advice.
Broken Sword’s backgrounds for the numerous locations are lovely: from the dark sewers of Paris, to the green hills of Ireland, to the arid mountains of Syria, each new area is a delight to explore. Additionally, animations such as other characters, flowing water or leaves swept along by the wind add a dynamic component to the scenery. You won’t encounter a completely static screen and it’s obvious that the developers paid a lot of attention to detail. The graphics may be somewhat cartoon-like but they really set the tone of the game and disguise a complex story.
Everyone who plays Broken Sword will end up remembering the goat.
Over two hours of original music have been incorporated into the title and themes are influenced by the cultures of the countries visited. The soundtrack dynamically accompanies the gameplay, lessening slowly during dialogue and raising to a crescendo to highlight certain events. It feels as if a great amount of work went into making special sounds, such as a truck passing from left to right, realistic and the numerous accents from a cast of over sixty characters are hilarious. Particular highlights are the lusty Lady Piermount (I’ve never heard so many sexual innuendoes in one conversation) and the Geordie football fans that have missed their train stop (com’n join us, mon!).
Most of the memorable games in the classic point-and-click genre were produced by LucasArts and, with the exception of Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, there are no games from this developer in which it’s possible for the main character to die. Broken Sword is a therefore a rare exception and one that takes on a more serious tone. It includes several instances where death occurs if you don’t complete the correct action quickly enough; while some might find this a bit harsh, for me it added a sense of reality to the story and rewarded quick-thinking.
Kind of like an old school The Da Vinci Code – but much better.
This title may not have a lot of replay value – the plot is linear and puzzles only have one solution – but it’s something that every gamer should try at least once. There’s a reason why it remains in many ‘top’ lists even to this day and is generally considered a classic. Broken Sword is kind of like an old school The Da Vinci Code but much better: more intrigue, better characters, and the promise of a wonderful sequel.
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