Games review: Broken Sword: Shadow Of Templars, iPhone, £2.99 (From Prestwich and Whitefield Guide)

Games review: Broken Sword: Shadow Of Templars, iPhone, £2.99

4:25pm Friday 29th January 2010

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They usually say, ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’. But what do “they” know?

Not much at all judging by the incredible job Revolution Software has done with the remastering of its 1996 gem of a game, Broken Sword.

The game caused a huge stir when it was released for the PC 14 years ago.

With its in-depth plot about the Knights Templar, its American hero George Stobbart and French assistant Nico Collard, it was years ahead of Dan Brown and his similarly plotted novel. It was also immensely gripping and funny, drawing on a wealth of intelligently crafted characters and it blasted off with one of video gaming’s most explosive openings.

In some respects, I could be seen as being rather biased. I adored this game back then and I simply love it today. In its transfer to the iPhone, it has lost none of its charm. Gone are the days of fiddly installs and instead we have a game that makes full use of the Apple phone’s touch screen with intuitive controls that more than beat those of LucasArts’ Monkey Island.

It seems a shame that the big-bang opening which introduced Stobbart to the gaming world is now preceded by a backstory involving Nico. And yet the new part of the game works seamlessly with the old and you can’t be angry at an attempt to give old fans something new.

The game also introduces mini-puzzles — the same as those included in the Nintendo versions released last year. Although initially sceptical that it would jar with the point-and-click nature of the rest of the game, they do provide for solid brain-teasing.

Newcomers may find the game rather difficult. Over the years, gamers have come to rely on some element of hand-holding but back in the day, you would spend days getting stuck and mulling over the solution.

A happy medium is struck here with a hint system that works on progressive levels.

5/5

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