Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - The Director's Cut (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

The point and click genre of games seems to have found a new home on the Wii. With the likes of Sam & Max, Secret Files and the soon to come Tales of Monkey Island and Another Code R, the genre has really seen a rejuvenation as of late. But all of those are new and players still pine for the classics to be brought to this generation of consoles. So steps in Ubisoft who have brought a re-envisioning of the classic Broken Sword title for both a new and the old generation of gamers to play on the Wii. But is a re-envisioning enough to warrant another play through of the game by old hands or does it bring enough new content to make it worthwhile?

Gameplay

13 years after its initial release on the PC, the title has garnered quite a fan base purely because of the gameplay and the story. These kind of titles make it or break it based on the story and luckily this has a great one. Starting out as an ordinary interview, Nico Collard has been asked to interview influential statesman Carchon. But all doesn't go as planned and he is murdered by none other than a mime setting off a chain reaction mystery that is intertwined with Nicole's previous articles on a villain known only as the Costume Killer. Eventually, Nicole will cross paths with the main antagonist of the game, George Stobbart who is in Paris on vacation and is abruptly introduced into the story through the bombing of a cafe outside of which he is sitting. The story contains many of the staple ingredients for any point and click title: murder, conspiracy, and mystery provided by not only the killings but also the connections to histories past. It's a very interesting story that doesn't take long to get off of the ground and will grip those that play it till the end, driving them to continue and solve the mystery.

The game focuses on the investigation of environments for clues to what has happened or to the greater mystery of the game and how the Templars fit into it all. This means you'll be piloting your character around various towns, buildings or caverns looking for clues and solving puzzles, many of which are simple but others require a considerable amount of thought to complete, such as the decrypting of coded messages, and these really come down to trial and error but, luckily, there is a helpful hint option that will push you along if you get stuck. Purists may not like this inclusion as it seems to have been included purely for new gamers but even someone who has played the genre many times will get trumped and it's great that it's been included as it minimises the amount of time the player will be stuck on a puzzle.

The game retains all of the original features, with the majority of your time spent in control of George but new to this version of the title is the ability to play through some new scenarios as Nico, which serves to fill in the blanks as to what see does while George is off investigating. These scenarios often focus around the mystery of her father's work and how he came to be involved with Carchon. It's a great inclusion for both those new to the game for those who have played it before because it adds new content that fills in the blanks that the original left, adding to the length of the title. Along with the new content involving Nico, there has been a 2 player cooperative mode implemented where two people can play through the game. The only problem is that only one character can truly control the character and his or her interactions with the environment and items and as such, the second player merely acts as a helpful hint for things to be inspected. It's a nice inclusion but doesn't really bring anything to the game. Perhaps the developers could have worked in some coop puzzles and that would have been good but alas, they haven't.

Controls

The game utilises the Wii-mote on its own, with you pointing and clicking the A button to move you character around the environments and using the same button to interact with objects or using the B button to examine them. It's a simple but effective setup that won't confuse anyone and makes for a streamlined and accessible experience. The games does make use of some motion, mainly for the new story elements for Nico and these involve twisting and turning the Wii-mote to do things such as piecing a torn up picture together or a safe cracking stile game where you have to turn a dial and listen for the click to unlock a door. They do carry some problems, mainly to do with the turning of the Wii-mote and it not detecting after you've turned it a certain amount, but other than that they work well and enhance the experience, bringing something new that is greatly appreciated.

Graphics

The game has had a complete face lift in the graphics department with a new hand drawn style being implemented and it looks amazing, with Ubisoft having wrangled in renowned artist Dave Gibbons of Watchmen fame. It looks like you're playing a cartoon with large colourful environments to look around, with an incredible amount of detail going into the objects you can inspect and even those that are merely there for aesthetics, and the characters are equally impressive in the look and the animation is incredibly fluid. Even with the new content to the story, the graphics are really the main selling point of the game and they are superb and really suit the game. There's really nothing quite like it on the Wii and it's something that I'd personally like to see used in other games not only in the genre but outside of it.

Sound

The entire game is filled with voice work so every line of text is spoken and for the most part it's done well. However, there are the occasions when the sound isn't as consistent as it should be and the voice work will sound like it's been moved from a recording studio to a garage. It detracts somewhat from a really well done job of providing a game that is fully voiced. The score accompanying the game is also well done giving soothing melodies and just the right amount of ambience to offset the mood of the game and its scenarios perfectly.

Final comments

13 years on, Broken Sword is still a fantastic title that any console should be grateful to have grace it. This Director's Cut version is by far the definitive one, packing enough new content to excite even those that have played through it previously. With a truly amazing graphics presentation and some great music, the game's ability to remain as good now as it was previously, transcending the generation gaps, is a testament to not only the game but the genre, where many of its associates also manage this feat. If you're a fan of the genre, then this is a must have.

Pro: Truly fantastic artwork and score, some great new content adding to the already great existing stuff
Con: Some of the voice work is a little off, the coop mode isn't fully realised
Final score: 8.2

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