Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon

[Gr0ver]

Just picked it up for the PC.

Anyone got stuck into it yet?

I had no idea it was out.

The press seems to have been non-existant.

But it seems to have just popped out today.

I'll install it later....I'm officially Rather Excited .

George Stobbart is clearly a genius.

[PeteJ]

This is out already?

Blinin eck I need to pick up the Xbox version of this tomorrow.

[2097]

I rushed out and got it today and its great so far

There has been advertising, press releases, magazine coverage and for some reason they've sponsored Star Trek on Sky One to promote the game..

the only bad thing so far is that its a really horrible PAL version. As in the boarders are worse than Onimusha and there is no 60Hz mode. Which is shocking for a game developed in the UK that isnt even being released on the PS2 outside europe!! Burnout and Burnout 2 written in the same engine both had 60Hz.. its madness.

[Gr0ver]

The logo's gone a bit FF .

All that advertising must have past me by, 2097. I need to read more magazines .

But yeah. I didn't actually see it on any other formats when I was in the shops today. Just the PC version, which I bought, obviously.

If I was at home, I might favour a console version, but I only have my PC at uni so the decision was made for me really.

I wonder which actress is playing Nico...

[Sketcz]

Loved BS 1 and 2

Nervous about 3 since its not sprite based anymore.

I got burned with suikoden 3, I loved the first 2 being sprite based, made them great, but 3 lacked something in the trasition to 3d.

So Im a little apprehensive about BS3.

So, how does it compare? the puzzles? the story? the controls?

in footage it looks like a 3rd person platformer almost.
so, details my good man.

[Concept]

I rushed out and got it today and its great so far

There has been advertising, press releases, magazine coverage and for some reason they've sponsored Star Trek on Sky One to promote the game..

the only bad thing so far is that its a really horrible PAL version. As in the boarders are worse than Onimusha and there is no 60Hz mode. Which is shocking for a game developed in the UK that isnt even being released on the PS2 outside europe!!

Brilliant. The logic some UK developers show never ceases to amaze. Well done chaps.

[Leynos]

There's a review in Xbox Gamer this month, and they say that it's not as good as the original. The puzzles are too simple apparently, and a lot of the game just degenerates into block pushing. Also, they don't like the way that the game holds your hand by highlighting interesting objects.

Later.

PS, Xbox Gamer is significantly improved this month.

[Gr0ver]

Absolutely fantastic so far.

The music is brilliant, and the cut scenes, especially the openers, are class.

Wonderfully sharp script too, so far.

"Weather like this, the plane flies itself!"

"How about weather like that?"

At the moment, I'm trying to work out how the **** I get the safe in Vernon's apartment open. I'm sure I'm missing something obvious, as I've exhausted all talking/picking-stuff-up possibilities.

I shall have to have a good think.

Update -

Ah. I just had to talk to the skater boi about the Jaguar E-type. Sorted. In Glastonbury now, with George. The characterisations are typically hilarious .

[Duncan]

It's great. Got X box version so none of those annoying borders, BUT, the loading times are a touch OTT. Sometimes a bit annoying when it's only for a little cutscene, but most of the time it's for a reasonably sized scene. If you like the other games, you'll love this, and it's a nice change to have a slower, more relaxing game to play, if you know what I mean.

[Gr0ver]

For those who are interested in any major additions to the gameplay over the previous 2 games, Revolution seem to have added Shenmue-esque Q(uick) T(ime) E(vent)s to the proceedings.

For me, these haven't really been a success so far, as you get shockingly little time to react to them, and they ALWAYS seem to result in your instant death and the scene simply replaying until you make the right button-press. I seem to remember that not only did Shenmue give you more of an indication that a QTE was coming up, but the player's failure to execute the exact manouvre wasn't always greeted with death - just a different story path. That's not the case in BS3, sadly.

Having said that, they are very rare, and when you do pull them off, immensely satisfying.

It's worth pointing out that I am playing it on a PC, which is definitely not suited to this kind of twitch gaming. I imagine if I was playing it on a PS2 or Xbox, the QTEs would seem more fluent, as you instinctively know where the button you've got to hit is. Playing it with a keyboard, it's much less intuitive, in that respect.

But that's really the only negative.

4 hours in, and I'm enjoying everything else. The visuals are lush. I've cranked the antialiasing and anisotropic filtering on my card to the max, and the shadows and lighting are simply stunning. Some of the best I've ever seen.

Some of the reviews have mentioned an abundance of box/block puzzles as one of the few negatives of the game. There are box/block puzzles in the game, but they're fabulously integrated into the scenarios, so I've, in fact, found them incredibly enjoyable.

The way the story is branched is incredibly clever too, but I won't go into that.

Enjoy!

[2097]

the action bits arent that bad tho, if you die there is no game over it just instantly repeats the last bit of gameplay and gives you a longer time to find out what you have to do each time you fail.

i think broken sword's move to 3D works and is a lot better than games like Worms 3D and Escape From Monkey Island because they've thought about, perfected and modernised the gameplay as well as the graphics.

although shadow of memories on the ps2 did the same thing two years ago, with better graphics and no action bits, even if it was short and even easier than BS3.

[Gr0ver]

I don't think they're bad.

I just wish I was playing them with a pad .

Anyway. Back to breaking into theatres with Nico.

[Adam]

I'm playing the PC version with a dual shock and I love it Load times are very small on my comp so, looks like I picked the right version. I can't stop cracking up at the ozzy driver bloke who slipped of the wing of the airoplane while saying "wahhheeyy!" like it was fun

I'm in Glastonbury now 8)

[Rabasaurus]

Well Ive just finished this game. Which in itself is already a good point as I dont seem to finish games that often now.

Not bad, not brilliant. I enjoyed it, not a game Id really want to go back and play through again though. Story isnt bad, although it has a tendancy not to tell it very well in times such as...

George would fall off a cliff screaming, then after the loading scene he is standing in a chamber, no explanation to how he got there, even a cut scene of him grabbing a rock or tree would have helped immensly.

But the loading times are pretty bad (Xbox version). You will be walking across a room the you will get the loading screen, so you instantly know something is going to happen so you get ready to press a button in response when the game finally loads up. Its especially frustrating when you have to run back and forth between rooms and it has to load every single time.

Music is excellent, nice scores and effects really set the mood in some locations, especially when....

Bruno dies

The graphics arent bad, although there was a slight glitch when you go to open some doors, the character would flicker a bit, and I noticed quite a bit of tearing in places, textures are great and quite detailed though.

Puzzles were a tad obvious in parts with the answer pretty much in front of you. Only once or twice did I actually have to put some thought into one. Other times I was stuck on puzzles because of the dam backgounds. One occasion requires you to move a block around (that happens on many occasions) but I was stuck on this one particular puzzle for ages. I ended up turning it off and leaving it for a while. When I loaded it up I tried the same thing and it worked, you just have to line the bloack up exactly right when trying to push for they seem to get stuck on invisable walls.

All in all it was an entertaing, if a little short adventure. Having not played any other Broken Sword games I cannot compare them.

Oh and the extras gallery that unlocks once completed has some very nice bits of artwork.

[mr_sockochris]

^ Are there borders like in the PS2 version, or does the Xbox make it full screen?