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Sloane · Mar 13, 2009

"Paris in the fall, the last months of the year, and the end of the millennium.
The city holds many memories for me. Of cafes, of music, of love and of death."

General Info
Published by: Ubisoft
Developed by: Revolution Software
Genre: Adventure game
Available for: Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, iPhone / iPod Touch
Coming Soon: PC & Mac

FAQ

An adventure game, huh?
More than that: An extended version of one of the best adventure games ever created. The original was released in 1996.

So it's a lame port?
Not at all. Revolution Software, the developer of the series, has put over a year of work into this.

I haven't played the original version. What's so great about it?
Pretty much everything. Story, characters, humor. Atmosphere, especially. It's thrilling and funny, often at the same time. You'll travel around the world, search for an ancient artifact, solve a series of murders, unveil a conspiracy, get a girl. What else could you ask for?

But you have to think, right? There are puzzles and stuff!
True, but most puzzles come very naturally. If you were George Stobbart, if you had to achieve in real life what he does in the game -- well, you might find yourself having to overcome the same obstacles in the same way he does. It all makes sense.

Uhm, did you forget the goat?
Yeah, they've fixed that.

About that extended version...
There's plenty of new stuff: Locations, characters, puzzles, controls in general, a 2-player-mode on Wii. You get to play Nico before she met George, experience her side of the story. Also, Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, BASS) created new facial animations for the characters.

How much of the content is new?
After playthrough, I'd say about 15 percent.

Did they cut any of the original content?
Nothing, except for a few bits of dialogue.

Doesn't that mean the game is pretty long?
It does. Broken Sword is not only one of the best but also one of the longest adventure games I've ever seen. Without getting stuck, finishing it took me about 20 hours the first time, I believe. So expect the Director's Cut to last 20+ if you haven't played it before.

Sounds cool but why a Director's Cut? Couldn't they have done an entirely new game?
Sure they could have. If you had given them the money.

Okay, I'm sold. But which version should I buy? Wii? DS?
The content is exactly the same, except for the lack of speech on DS. (And keep in mind, Broken Sword is a talky game with great voice acting.) Graphics look obviously better on Wii, and you can play it together with your girlfriend, or boyfriend, or goat. But it should work well on the DS, too.

Screenshots

Wii:

DS:

Boxart

Videos
-- Comic-Con Gameplay (GameTrailers)
-- Montage (IGN)
-- Cecil & Gibbons Interview (Videogamer)
-- Launch Trailer (JV247)

Previews
-- IGN Hands-on
-- IGN Q&A

Reviews
-- ONM UK: 86%
-- IGN UK: 7.5
-- NowGamer: 9.0
-- Videogamer: 8 (Excellent review!)
-- PALGN: 7 1/2
-- IGN US: 7.6
-- Eurogamer: 7/10
-- GameSpot: 8.0 (DS)
-- IGN UK: 8.0 (DS)

Why should I buy it?

1. It's a great game.
2. If it sells well, we'll likely see more adventure games on Wii and DS.
3. You support an independent developer that has been in the industry for 20 years.
4. Ubisoft doesn't seem to promote this at all, so nobody else is going to buy it.
5. Revolution might be able to get funding for BASS 2 or BS 5, if this does okay.
6. Its characters don't shout "Holy Shit!" nor do they fire machine guns.
7. You show Ubisoft (and everyone else) that putting some effort into Wii & DS games is actually worth it.
8. It's a great game!

dollartaco · Mar 13, 2009

yesssssssssssssssssssssss!

Google · Mar 13, 2009

I still have the GBA version somewhere.

But this is being purchased on Amazon as I speak.

_PsiFire_ · Mar 13, 2009

I have this pre-ordered..

somesayyea · Mar 13, 2009

Really looking forward to this...instant purchase.

Yazus · Mar 13, 2009

Holy Shit!

Lets show Ubisoft that putting some toughts on the Wii and DS with decent games is actually worth of it!

lopaz · Mar 13, 2009

OK I played the game ages ago and loved it, but I don't remember any goat. What was this goat about, and how did they fix it?

Mifune · Mar 13, 2009

Totally gonna get this. Unfortunately, with the flood of games right now, I don't know when I'll get to actually play it.

Metal Gear?! · Mar 13, 2009

lopaz said:
OK I played the game ages ago and loved it, but I don't remember any goat. What was this goat about, and how did they fix it?

Code:

5.3: The Lochmare Castle Bug (Thanks to Natasha at tomiko@t-online.de for 
this one!)

This bug occurs after the goat gets caught. You simply can't go down into
the archaeoligical area. It's a very random bug that you can't really
avoid.

StuBurns · Mar 13, 2009

I'd bite if the DS version had VOs. I hope it comes to PC.

I never got that goat bug, but I did get a progression stopping bug in BS2. There's a fat kebab seller that's using a toilet brush to put sauce on his kebab or something, and you have to give a kid a red ball, but he'd never ask for it, so I could never get the brush. I had to replay the whole thing about a year later.

stuminus3 · Mar 13, 2009

Has the art been redrawn to allow widescreen support? The screens seem to imply that the game does indeed display correctly in 16:9, but they may just be cropped to hide the black bars the inventory appears on or something.

Also is the voice acting just pulled from the original game, or is it all re-recorded?

Sounds like a really great remake either way.

Sloane · Mar 13, 2009

lopaz said:
OK I played the game ages ago and loved it, but I don't remember any goat. What was this goat about, and how did they fix it?

Remember Lochmarne, the ruins of the castle? There was a goat blocking your way, and you had to run to get past it. Thing is, it was never mentioned that you could run (by double-clicking) and it was the only time you could / had to run.

lopaz · Mar 13, 2009

Metal Gear?! said:

Code:

5.3: The Lochmare Castle Bug (Thanks to Natasha at tomiko@t-online.de for 
this one!)

This bug occurs after the goat gets caught. You simply can't go down into
the archaeoligical area. It's a very random bug that you can't really
avoid.

Ah, thanks... I remember that. Damn thinking about it there were lots of areas in the game I completely forgot, it was reaaally long. Anyone who's not played it should!

soldat7 · Mar 13, 2009

This is a really great interview with Charles Cecil about the game's background and the development surrounding the Wii and DS versions of the game (soon to be released Director's Cut).

TomO · Mar 13, 2009

We got to speak to Charles Cecil and Dave Gibbons last month. They're both really nice guys, the kind of people you could talk to for hours. Anyway, you'll find a video interview with the pair at the link below.

Edit: Beaten to it.

Timber · Mar 13, 2009

Sloane said:
one of the best adventures games ever created.

true dat!

there weren't many adventure devs who could compete with lucasarts back in the day, but revolution was one of the very few that did. with steel sky and broken sword 1&2 they made three unmistakeable classics in a row.

this isn't a day one for me as i own the pc version, but i'll pick it up sometime down the road. for everyone who likes adventures and hasn't played it yet... DO IT. it's mandatory!

Google · Mar 13, 2009

stuburns said:
I'd bite if the DS version had VOs. I hope it comes to PC.

It's been available on PC for over 10 years.

StuBurns · Mar 13, 2009

Google said:
It's been available on PC for over 10 years.

The directors cut hasn't.

Fuu · Mar 13, 2009

I'm very interested, never played the original but been hearing good things about it for a long time.

Voices + better graphics versus portability... I guess I'll wait for impressions on the DS version. It's unrelated to this game but the interface problems I had with the Runaway 2 DS port left a bad taste in my mouth.

Minsc · Mar 13, 2009

Never played the original, definitely considering picking this up for Wii. Nice work on the OP/FAQ.

Sloane · Mar 13, 2009

stuminus3 said:
Has the art been redrawn to allow widescreen support?

They haven't been redrawn but the original game had black bars in which the inventory appeared, so the aspect ratio might have already been almost right.

Also is the voice acting just pulled from the original game, or is it all re-recorded?

It's pulled from the original game. They obviously had additional recording done for the new parts though, with the original actors.

stuminus3 · Mar 13, 2009

Thanks, Sloane.

<3 George's VA.

jon bones · Mar 13, 2009

well fuck me, i told myself i wasn't going to buy any more retail games this year :lol

lopaz · Mar 13, 2009

soldat7 said:
This is a really great interview with Charles Cecil about the game's background and the development surrounding the Wii and DS versions of the game (soon to be released Director's Cut).

Easier puzzles eh... I don't see the point in that given they've put in the hint system.

StuBurns · Mar 13, 2009

soldat7 said:
This is a really great interview with Charles Cecil about the game's background and the development surrounding the Wii and DS versions of the game (soon to be released Director's Cut).

Nico's new VOs don't match very well, that's going to be jarring I think.

Hive · Mar 13, 2009

I can play with my goat??

SOLD!

BluWacky · Mar 13, 2009

stuminus3 said:
Has the art been redrawn to allow widescreen support? The screens seem to imply that the game does indeed display correctly in 16:9, but they may just be cropped to hide the black bars the inventory appears on or something.

Sounds like a really great remake either way.

The inventory no longer appears on the black bars in the same way that it did for the PC game. If you watch the videos, your inventory is now accessed by opening a "satchel" from an icon on the bottom right - your inventory then displays in a translucent box towards the bottom of the screen. You can see the effect in the screenshot from Nico's apartment in the OP.

I'm not sure about the artwork - I think because the game itself was originally widescreen (thanks to the black inventory/options bars) it's just been upscaled or something, but it's hard to tell as I'm comparing direct feed screenshots with Youtube videos.

Mystery-white-boy · Mar 13, 2009

I have the Wii version pre-ordered. Never played the original, but I think I'm in for something good.

StuBurns · Mar 13, 2009

It's the original art I think, because in the interview he said they could use them in higher quality, it's now 16bit (or did he say 24bit? Can't remember) as appose to 256 or whatever they were.

Mystery-white-boy said:
I have the Wii version pre-ordered. Never played the original, but I think I'm in for something good.

It's my favourite point and click adventure by no small amount. It's so big as well, it was really surprising at the time. When I got to disc 2 I assumed I was half way thru. No where near.

lopaz · Mar 13, 2009

BluWacky said:
I'm not sure about the artwork - I think because the game itself was originally widescreen (thanks to the black inventory/options bars) it's just been upscaled or something, but it's hard to tell as I'm comparing direct feed screenshots with Youtube videos.

He said they went back to the original source artwork and got better quality for this version, so maybe they had big versions all along.

jibblypop · Mar 13, 2009

I will be getting the wii version for sure. I prefer to be sitting on the couch for long adventure games. I had a blast with Sam & Max so I'm really looking forward to this.
I never played it the first time around either so I'm going in fresh!

firehawk12 · Mar 13, 2009

Hrm. Was there already a remake for the PC? Yeah, I'm too lazy to play this with waggle. :lol:

StuBurns · Mar 13, 2009

firehawk12 said:
Hrm. Was there already a remake for the PC? Yeah, I'm too lazy to play this with waggle. :lol:

Nop, just the original, and it's not easy to get it running perfectly on modern computers either.

They should port the Wii version to PC, pop it on Steam $35 = mega profit.

Sloane · Mar 13, 2009

stuburns said:
Nico's new VOs don't match very well, that's going to be jarring I think.

Yeah, I guess 13 years can make quite a difference. I'm a bit worried about Ubi's handling of the international versions, too. Haven't heard the German version yet which originally had superb voice acting...

SabinFigaro · Mar 13, 2009

Holy shit, I didn't realize this was coming out so soon.

Bought.

BluWacky · Mar 13, 2009

stuburns said:
Nop, just the original, and it's not easy to get it running perfectly on modern computers either.

ScummVM supports the first two Broken Sword games with 98% compatibility - "no known issues, game is completable". So not that hard to get running, surely?

StuBurns · Mar 13, 2009

Sloane said:
Yeah, I guess 13 years can make quite a difference. I'm a bit worried about Ubi's handling of the international versions, too. Haven't heard the German version yet which originally had superb voice acting...

Yeah, I wasn't criticizing the actress at all. I just wish they'd have rerecorded all the voices, or at least all the characters that have new lines.

The VOs in the first two BSs were really great I thought. In that interview in this thread they talk about the new close ups helping the characters emote, but it's almost unnecessary with this game, the actors did so much to project character.

BluWacky said:
ScummVM supports the first two Broken Sword games with 98% compatibility - "no known issues, game is completable". So not that hard to get running, surely?

I'd never tried the Scumm emulator thing, I meant natively. I have the old mac version running on my MacBook fine, because the PC version gave me a lot of crap with graphical errors and things.

Sloane · Mar 13, 2009

stuburns said:
They should port the Wii version to PC, pop it on Steam $35 = mega profit.

I believe, Revolution said a PC version is essentially done but Ubisoft hasn't shown much interest so far. Maybe that'll change if the Wii and DS versions are a success. We'll see.

Dragona Akehi · Mar 13, 2009

Caaaaaan't waaaaaait.

epmode · Mar 13, 2009

stuburns said:
Nop, just the original, and it's not easy to get it running perfectly on modern computers either.

Of course it is. SCUMMVM is wonderful. edit: beaten

And yeah, no sale unless there's a PC release.

StuBurns · Mar 13, 2009

Sloane said:
I believe, Revolution said a PC version is essentially done but Ubisoft hasn't shown much interest so far. Maybe that'll change if the Wii and DS versions are a success. We'll see.

Excellent news.

I'll wait for that.

Aurelius · Mar 13, 2009

Can't wait. I used to love adventures, especially the old Lucasarts ones, but I've never played Broken Sword.

itxaka · Mar 13, 2009

Why did they put the inventory in the middle of the screen? They are covering Nico. Not liking that but...it's revolution, we have to support them.

Sloane · Mar 13, 2009

stuburns said:
I'll wait for that.

Maybe. I wouldn't bet on it.

itxaka said:
Why did they put the inventory in the middle of the screen? They are covering Nico. Not liking that but...it's revolution, we have to support them.

Not sure if that screen is from the final version, but in the original you could ask everyone about every single item you've picked up. My guess is, they just couldn't put it anywhere else, especially not near the border since the Wiimote tends to lose "connection" there.

itxaka · Mar 13, 2009

Sloane said:
Maybe. I wouldn't bet on it.

Not sure if that screen is from the final version, but in the original you could ask everyone about every single item you've picked up. My guess is, they just couldn't put it anywhere else, especially not near the border since the Wiimote tends to lose "connection" there.

I know, that is why I asked. It seems so...blocking everything? Just a bit to the rigth will have fixed it.

Well, just one week left. Let's hope that it's not final.

firehawk12 · Mar 13, 2009

Sloane said:
I believe, Revolution said a PC version is essentially done but Ubisoft hasn't shown much interest so far. Maybe that'll change if the Wii and DS versions are a success. We'll see.

That's so idiotic. A PC remake seems so obvious. Ugh.

StuBurns · Mar 13, 2009

Sloane said:
Maybe. I wouldn't bet on it.

Well I don't have a Wii anymore, and no VOs makes the DS version a little unappealing. Especially since I could put the PS1 version on the PSP I guess.

I'll wait out and hope they put the PC version out.

lopaz · Mar 13, 2009

itxaka said:
I know, that is why I asked. It seems so...blocking everything? Just a bit to the rigth will have fixed it.

Well, just one week left. Let's hope that it's not final.

You click the satchel at the bottom to get the inventory out, it's not there all the time.

jon bones · Mar 13, 2009

people complaining about the lack of VOs on the DS actually make me a bit concerned...

i've heard so many good things about this game over the years, are VOs so well done that they're a make it or break it feature?

StuBurns · Mar 13, 2009

jon bones said:
people complaining about the lack of VOs on the DS actually make me a bit concerned...

i've heard so many good things about this game over the years, are VOs so well done that they're a make it or break it feature?

For me they are.
Check it out on YouTube, they're exceptional, even by today's standards, at the time they were like nothing else.

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