Gamertell

Title: Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (Director’s Cut)
System: Wii (DS)
Price: $49.99
Release Date: March 24, 2009
Publisher (Developer): Ubisoft (Revolution Software Ltd.)
ESRB Rating: “T”
Pros: Great story, good acting, interesting puzzles, unique look
Cons: Feels too old to appeal to young gamers, two player controls are pointless, inconsistent recording quality, too expensive for a nearly 13-year-old adventure game
Overall Score: One thumb up and one thumb down, 78/100, C+, **1/2

Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (Director’s Cut) for Wii may be a remake but I won’t be reviewing it that way. I never played the original (released in 1996), nor any of the follow-ups it spawned, the latest of which was released in 2006. I guess there’s something to be said for that sort of longevity, especially considering that Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars has already been remade for GBA, Palm and Windows Mobile.

Qui ils est?

As far as I can tell, this is the first Templars to feature the “director’s cut,” which here means they’ve created new content specifically for this release. It’s not as if there were secret levels lying about on the programmer’s floor or that lost code was recently discovered in the Revolution Software vault. The new levels were created to entice those who have already played it through, and that’s fine, especially since the story was fluid and natural. I couldn’t tell the new content from the old, aside from some audio problems I’ll cover in a bit.

The story centers around two characters - George Stobbart and Nicole Collard - both of whom seem like caricatures from your Pierre Capretz textbooks in high school French class. George is your typically loud, goofy American tourist (I’m surprised they didn’t just put a cowboy hat on him), whereas Nicole is the refined, quietly sexy French photo journalist with the awesome haircut. And why not? Although the subject matter is quite serious (indeed, George and Nicole each start the game by witnessing a murder), the writers injected the proper amount of humor to keep the tone light throughout the game.

George and Nicole largely work separate of each other but are occasionally brought together for mystery and romance! (How so very French.) Guess what else the game features? Exploding cafes and murderous mimes!

Ils sont les Templiers, bien sûr!

It sounds pretty over-the-top, and I suppose it is, but it works. This is due largely to the story, which is well written and flows along at a nice pace for a video game. It’d make for a fairly boring movie, but as an adventure, the puzzles are presented logically and there’s nice balance between them and the exposition. Plus, when it wants to be, the game is actually quite funny. Not in a cheap, parodic sort of way, because Broken Sword is smarter than that. Rather, you get the feeling that the characters are just funny people who happen to be caught up in a murder investigation and a very, very large conspiracy.

Of course, all the puzzles and movement are handled by clicking about the screen. You use the Wii Remote to guide George and Nicole and interact with the environment and inventory items. When you can speak with someone, place the cursor on him and it’ll turn to a mouth. If you can use something, the cursor turns to gears. It all behaves just as you’d expect, although some of the puzzles require a degree of precision that’s difficult to obtain with the Wiimote. It gets very frustrating when you know what to do but can’t execute it because of control problems, and that makes a good case for trying this game out on the DS instead of the Wii if you have the option. However, that will negate the added benefit of allowing a second player limited control of the game with another Wiimote. Or is that a drawback? I suppose it depends upon how well you play together. I played this with my wife and we found it easier for just one person to control the Remote while the other helped with only the ideas.

That’s actually one of the benefits to adventure gaming on the Wii, and it’s why I’d like to see more old games remade and new games developed. Adventure games can be a lot of fun for people to play together, but it was always hard to gather around a computer monitor. Here, there’s room. You can get comfortable for prolonged puzzle-solving sessions. The question is, will gamers want to do this with Templars? It’s a tough sell for a few reasons.

Quel Dommage

First, although the 2D animation is quite well done in a cartoony sort of way, the game looks and feels like something from the ‘90s, which will likely put off many young gamers. Wii owners don’t expect their games to look like something from the PS3, but we’d prefer they not look like a Windows 95 title, either. Second, the inconsistency of the voice recording gives the game a cheap, rushed feel. At times, and for no readily apparent reason, the audio quality drops significantly, as if the actors are reading their lines from the next motel room over. This is something that should have definitely been addressed when updating the game for the Wii, as it does pull you out of the environment. And speaking of that, another sign of the game’s age is its static, picture frame presentation. You never really feel as if you’re exploring Paris, it’s more like you’re just moving images around a Colorforms Playset.

This will not be an issue for old school adventure gamers but it’s likely to put off younger players. And finally, just because a story is well told, that doesn’t mean it’s terribly interesting. Templars is likely to appeal to mystery fans but not many others.

Which leaves the puzzles to pull the game through. There’s a decent variety, and none of them require ridiculous leaps of logic. Also, a built-in help system is included in case you get stuck (meaning you won’t have to keep going to the other room to access a walkthrough on the computer). This all makes Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars a nice bit of nostalgia for seasoned gamers but likely won’t win anyone over to the genre especially for $49.99. At best, a game of this type (with little to no replay value) and of this age shouldn’t be moving anywhere above $29.99. If you find it closer to that price, go for it. Until then, I humbly suggest Zack and Wiki for your adventuring, puzzle solving fix. No mimes there, but maybe you can hire one to perform next to the TV while you play.

Site [Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars]