Broken Sword
Broken Sword is an adventure game series created by game designer Charles Cecil of Revolution Software. The game series revolves around the adventures of George Stobbart and 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 that the player uses to interact with the cartoon animated backdrops. The last two games are based on a 3D graphics engine that the player operates through a direct control system. The latest game, Broken Sword: The Angel of Death, is also using a point-and-click interface similar to the first two. A movie, based on the first Broken Sword game, has been planned and is ready to be written.
Official games
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars
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 cafe 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,[citation needed] was released as Circle of Blood in the United States, Baphomets Fluch (Baphomet's Curse) in Germany, Les Chevaliers de Baphomet (Knights of Baphomet) in France, Il segreto dei Templari (The Secret of the Templars) in Italy and La leyenda de los Templarios (Legend of the Templars) in Spain and Сломанный Меч: Тень Тамплиеров (Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars) in Russia.
Ports of the game were released on the Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Palm OS and Windows Mobile.
Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror
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 god.
The game was released as Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror in the United States, Baphomets Fluch II: Die Spiegel der Finsternis (Baphomet's Curse II: The Mirror of Darkness) in Germany, Les Boucliers de Quetzalcoatl (Shields of Quetzalcoatl) in France, Broken Sword II: La Profezia dei Maya (Broken Sword II: The Prophecy of Mayans) in Italy and Broken Sword: Las Fuerzas del Mal (Broken Sword: The Forces of Evil) in Spain.
Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon
Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon, released 2003, is the third game in the Broken Sword series. At the start of the game, George and Nico are no longer together, obviously separating between this game and its predecessor. 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.
The game was released as Baphomets Fluch: Der schlafende Drache (Baphomet's Curse: The Sleeping Dragon) in Germany, Les Chevaliers de Baphomet: Le manuscrit de Voynich (Knights of Baphomet: The Manuscript of Voynich) in France, Broken Sword: Il Sonno del Drago (Broken Sword: The Sleep of the Dragon) in Italy, Broken Sword: El sueño del dragón (Broken Sword: The Dream of the Dragon) in Spain, Сломанный Меч 3: Спящий Дракон (Broken Sword 3: The Sleeping Dragon) in Russia and 断剑：沉睡之龙 (Stands: The Sleeping Dragon) in China.
Broken Sword: The Angel of Death
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. Broken Sword 4 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 the United States, Baphomets Fluch 4: Der Engel des Todes (Baphomet's Curse 4: The Angel of Death) in Germany, Broken Sword: Les Gardiens du Temple de Salomon (Broken Sword: The Guards of the Temple of Solomon) in France, Broken Sword: L'Angelo della Morte (Broken Sword: The Angel of Death) in Italy, Broken Sword: El Ángel de la Muerte (Broken Sword: The Angel of Death) in Spain, Broken Sword: Anioł Śmierci (Broken Sword: The Angel of Death) in Poland and Сломанный меч: Ангел смерти (Broken Sword: The Angel of Death) in Russia.
As a gaming first, the game allows the soundtrack to be purchased, from a direct link in the game to iTunes.
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.
Other media and petitions
Broken Sword 2.5: The Return of The Templars
Broken Sword 2.5: The Return of The Templars is an unofficial Broken Sword game created by the fans of the series and it is planned for an underground release in 2008.[1] The story takes place between Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror and Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon.Two versions of the demo are available online; one in German with English subtitles and one with English subtitles and no voices. The game is designed in 2D trying to follow the steps of the first two games.
Broken Sword games on the Nintendo DS
Revolution Software is currently attempting to gauge interest in bringing the Broken Sword series to the Nintendo DS handheld gaming system. To that end, Tony Warriner posted a link to an online petitionat the Revolution Chat website. The petition is an attempt to gauge interest in such titles on Nintendo's handheld in a more traditional 2D format. It isn't clear if this would lead to a port of the first two games, or entirely new games in the series.
The movie
On May 21 2007, it was announced that Charles Cecil had begun work of bringing the popular game franchise to the silver screen.[2]
Trivia
- Every game takes place in two continents:
- The Shadow of the Templars - Europe and Asia;
- The Smoking Mirror - Europe and North America;
- The Sleeping Dragon - Africa and Europe;
- The Angel of Death - North America and Europe (however, the intro sequence shows Egypt in Africa).
- There is some religious ritual at the end of every game (in The Smoking Mirror and The Angel of Death there are also rituals at the beginning).
- Only George and Nico make the physical appearance in every settlement. However, André Lobineau and Duane Henderson appear in three of them.
External links
- Revolution Software Ltd.
- Official Broken Sword: The Angel of Death website
- Official Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon website
- La Legende De Baphomet French
- Revfans
- Broken Sword Planet
- Broken Sword Sanctuary
- La Legende De Baphomet French
- Broken Sword 2.5