|
|
|
Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's CurseIt is spring time in Paris and once again George Stobbart finds himself witness to a horrific murder. This time it takes place at a gallery exhibition with the murderer making off with a single painting. Unfortunately, George's presence at the exhibition was business and not social as he works for the company that insured the exhibition. His mission to uncover the reason for the theft starts out as a job but it is not long before the plot thickens and George is sucked back into a world of murder and mystery.
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars was released in the late nineties and despite the waning popularity of the point and click genre it still made a huge impression. Ask any fan of the genre to list some of their favorites and you can bet that Broken Sword will be near the top of the list. Three sequels followed but apart from the second, none really captured the spirit of the original that well. Broken Sword 5 promised to be the game that returns the series to its roots and provide an uncompromising adventure featuring a team given full creative freedom. It also meant lush 2D backgrounds and a return to the classic point and click interface. Judging by the highly successful kickstarter campaign I'm not the only one that was excited by the news and looking forward to joining George and Nico on their latest adventure. Right from the opening scene it is obvious that all the talk about Revolution returning to their 2D roots and delivering a "classic" Broken Sword title was no idle boasts. The high resolution visuals are simply stunning and each location is jam-packed with detail. Everything is brought to life with vibrant colors and that trademark Charles Cecil attention to detail. At one point someone walked past my desk as I was busy playing the game and exclaimed that they actually recognize the scene from their own visit to Paris. This goes to show how expertly the team at Revolution has managed to capture the look and feel of the locations in the game. I was a bit concerned when I heard that 3D character models would be used instead of 2D sprites but honestly the effect is quite good. The pre-rendered 3D characters were saved as 2D frames and blend into the gameworld quite nicely. There were a few odd occasions where the animations seemed a bit stiff or characters didn't blend in quite as well but overall the effect is good and certainly saved a lot of time. I did encounter two scenes, a flower shop and artist's loft that were a little prone to crashing the game but nothing that prevented me from making progress and hopefully this issue will be addressed in a patch. Rolf Saxon returns as the voice of George Stobbart and he slips back into character without missing a single beat. It's hard to believe that nearly eight years have passed since the release of the fourth game in the series. Nico is voiced by a new actress but she does a decent enough job with the character. Barrington Pheloung , the composer for Shadows of the Templars make a welcome return with another great soundtrack. The game also features a song called "Jasmine" by a fictional band called "The Hairy Lobsters" which is catchy enough that I found myself humming it even when not playing the game. The heart of the Broken Sword games have always been the plot and puzzles so I was eager to see if The Serpent's Curse would deliver. The painting called La Maledicció is at the center of the mystery in the game and in Broken Sword tradition is associated with ancient religious orders. Throw in a shady Russian, priest that is convinced the painting is evil and some familiar faces such as Hector Laine and Lady Piermont and you have a game that will have Broken Sword veterans smiling from ear to ear. Of course you don't have to know the series inside out to appreciate the game but it certainly adds to the experience. I found the puzzles to be quite logical and never encountered anything too obscure. Quite a few of the puzzles can be solved simply by asking the right questions during conversations or using objects that are found at the scene. There is a bit of pixel hunting at times but thanks to the beautiful scenes that are so packed with detail this is more of a pleasure than annoyance. I also loved how George can once again show off his entire inventory of bizarre objects to anyone in sight in order to get their opinion or prompt a reaction. This is also the reason why it took me more than eight hours to complete the game. If you don't mess around or abuse the built-in hint system the game can probably be completing in less time but you will be robbing yourself of the experience. The game automatically switches control between George and Nico so while they sometimes work together you are only in command of one of them. In what might be a blessing or a curse, depending on how patient you are, Broken Sword 5 is actually split up into two acts. The game ends on a cliffhanger with the second part promised to arrive in January of 2014. The good news is that it is included for free with your purchase of the game so you don't have to worry about shelling out extra to complete the adventure. This first act sets things up nicely and delivers plenty of intrigue but I am hoping that the second act will really blow me away. If you are a fan of the series or found yourself drifting away when the titles started shifting to 3D then you owe it to yourself to check out The Serpent's Curse. It has all the classic Broken Sword elements and while nostalgia obviously plays a big role it is a damn fine game in its own right. 
|
System Requirements
TAGS: Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse, George Stobbart, Nico Collard,
|
|
|
Copyright © 2013 GAMERamble. All rights reserved