"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!