Broken Sword

This article is about the video game series. For other uses, see Broken Sword (disambiguation).

Broken Sword
Genres	Point-and-click adventure (BS: TSOTT & BSII: TSM) Adventure (BS: TSD & BS: TAOD)
Developers	Revolution Software (1996-2004) Sumo Digital (2006-present)
First release	Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars September 30, 1996
Latest release	Broken Sword: The Angel of Death September 15, 2006

Broken Sword is a video game series created by game designer Charles Cecil of Revolution Software. The game series revolves around the adventures of Idaho-born George Stobbart and the French Nico Collard in several fictitious stories based on history and mythology. The first two games in the series are controlled by a traditional point and click interface. The third and fourth installments are based on a 3D graphics engine, with the third game using a direct control mechanism. The fourth game, Broken Sword: The Angel of Death, returns to the standard point-and-click interface but within the 3D environment.

Official games

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

Main article: Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars

See also: List of Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars characters

The first game in the series was released on September 30, 1996, published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment world wide. George Stobbart is an American tourist on holiday in Paris in the autumn. The story opens with George's quiet coffee at a café rudely interrupted by the explosion of a bomb planted by a man dressed up as a clown. He sets off investigating the explosion and, gradually, he and photo-journalist Nico Collard are drawn into a globe-trotting adventure involving conspiracies, cults and murder, all revolving around the Knights Templar.

The game, which was a critical and commercial success^[1], was released as Circle of Blood in the United States.

Ports of the game were released on the PlayStation, Game Boy Advance and Mobile phone.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars - Director's Cut

The Director's Cut is a remake of the original Broken Sword by Ubisoft, and was released on the Wii and Nintendo DS in March 2009.^[2]

Broken Sword: Director's Cut for iOS logo.

The game includes extra story elements and settings dealing with Nico and her investigation of a murder and the truth about her father. It also features hand-drawn illustrations and animations by artist Dave Gibbons.

The game uses the Wii Remote and DS stylus respectively to deliver both point-and-click styles and new puzzle-solving elements specific to each platform.

In January 2010, the Director's Cut was released on the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPod touch. A PC release was announced simultaneously and was finally released on September 2, 2010 on various digital distribution services. In May 2010, a version with higher resolution graphics and a digital comic was released for iPad.

Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror

Main article: Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror

See also: List of Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror characters

The second game in the series, released in 1997, opens with George Stobbart witnessing the kidnapping of his now girlfriend Nico Collard. It is up to George to break Nico out, and uncover a secret drug ring that relates to the redemption of a sinister Mayan god. It is also the only game in the series that does not follow the Knights Templar story line.

The game was released as Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror in North America.

Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror - Remastered

Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror - Remastered is a remastered version of the original, it was announced by Revolution Software in December 2010 and is available for Apple iOS.

The game includes an exclusive new interactive digital comic from Dave Gibbons. It will also feature fully animated facial expressions, enhanced graphics, high quality music as well as a context-sensitive hint system, and diary.

The game also features Dropbox integration which facilitates a unique cross-platform save-game feature, enabling players to enjoy the same adventure simultaneously on multiple devices, and full Game Centre integration – including in-game achievements.

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon

Main article: Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon

See also: List of Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon characters

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, released in 2003, is the third game in the series. At the start of the game, George and Nico are no longer together. However, as the game progresses, George and Nico realise that they are uncovering the same mystery, and begin working together again to stop the evil that threatens the world once again.

Broken Sword: The Angel of Death

Main article: Broken Sword: The Angel of Death

See also: List of Broken Sword: The Angel of Death characters

Broken Sword: The Angel of Death, released 2006, is the fourth installment in the Broken Sword series. Since the events of the third game, George Stobbart has hit an incredible low in his life. He can no longer find decent work as a patent lawyer, and so he now works as a bail bonds clerk. When a mysterious woman, Anna Maria, enters George's life, he is thrown into another adventure. This fourth installment returns to the point 'n' click system used in the first two games.

The game was released as Secrets of the Ark: A Broken Sword Game in North America.

As a gaming first, the game allows the soundtrack to be purchased, from a direct link in the game to iTunes.

Broken Sword 5

Main article: Broken Sword 5

Broken Sword 5 is the upcoming fifth installment in the Broken Sword series, announced to be released in 2011 or 2012. Charles Cecil announced it in an interview with Pocket Gamer. Cecil also confirmed that Revolution will start making 2D games again in a video interview with Adventure-Treff.

Unofficial games

Broken Sword 2.5: The Return of the Templars

Main article: Broken Sword 2.5: The Return of the Templars

Broken Sword 2.5 The Return of the Templars, released 28 September 2008, is an unofficial freeware Windows game by MindFactory, created by fans of the original series, and explains the story between Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror and Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon. Originally voiced in German, an English voice pack was released on 18 October 2010 with voices (except George) directed by Dennis Keighron Foster. The game had a development cycle of eight years starting in 2000.^[3]

Technical information

The first two games use an enhanced version of Revolution's in-house Virtual Theatre game engine. While these games were originally produced for DOS and Windows, it is now possible to play them on a variety of operating systems using ScummVM. Both games were also released for PlayStation, and the first one for Mac OS and later also for the Game Boy Advance, Palm OS and Windows Mobile. The Sleeping Dragon is based on the RenderWare engine. The Angel of Death runs on Sumo Digital's own graphics engine, while scripting of the game utilizes a tweaked version of its predecessor.

Film

On May 21, 2007, it was announced that Charles Cecil had begun the work of bringing the game franchise to the silver screen.^[4] There have been no more developments since.

References

1. ^ "Broken Sword Review". Bright Hub. 
2. ^ Ubi.com, Ubisoft - Broken Sword
3. ^ "Broken Sword 2.5". mindFactory. 
4. ^ "Broken Sword Movie Begins". Comingsoon.net. http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=20540. 

External links

• Revolution Software Ltd.
• Revolution Software games fanbase
• Official Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon website
• Official Broken Sword 2.5 website
• Broken Sword on DotEmu