The next stop on my slowgoing playthrough of all the Broken Sword games, for a sequel that I'd checked out years ago but did not at all enjoy. I got quite close to the end, to the deeply tedious wheel turning puzzle in the temple, but I had gotten so frustrated that even being aware of the (admittedly hilarious) skip, I threw in the towel and didn't go back to it until now.
It had been long enough that I couldn't quite remember why specifically, other than a vague memory of aimlessly wandering through the jungle maze of Zombie Island. Coming back to it and finally pushing my way through, I think I have a better idea of why. Basically, the pacing of the adventure completely grinds to a halt after the midway point, when George and Nico head off to different locales and you cut back and forth between them.
Nico's sections are super brief, only lasting one room that you can sort out in 10 minutes each, while George's adventures are lengthy excursions that stick to the same tropical theme for ages. By the time you do that, the game's already on the way to its climax and it all happens very quickly. While individual parts of the game allow for plenty of time to breathe and chat to characters in the way Broken Sword 1 did so well, overall it moves at such a breakneck pace that nothing has much time to sink in. A lot of the new characters feel underdeveloped, especially the villains who might as well be cardboard cut-outs.
This is likely due to how quickly the game was developed, being made in just one year (and apparently with half the budget of the first game); according to Wikipedia and Mobygames, that first game had barely been out a year before this came along! That short dev time also resulted in a bunch of bugs and technical issues which have since been cleaned up for the Remastered version I'm playing. It also throws in the hint and diary systems from Shadow of the Templars' Director's Cut, though there aren't any new sections and you're still able to die.
It's a shame that this wasn't allowed more time to cook, because it manages to be as cozy and enjoyable as before when given the room. But stuff like the fewer locations which you spend either loads or very little time in, the lack of optional conversations where you can show characters most of the junk you're carrying, and the abruptly told story make this feel more hollow than it wants to be.
I wish I liked this one more, cuz this is the end of the old style of Broken Sword. The series will soon return to the traditional point-and-click look, but not with this artstyle (unless you'd like to count the fan game Broken Sword 2.5 which I might try at some stage). For now, we're heading into the 3D games of the early-mid 2000s: starting with the biggest mechanical departure (and the first game in the series I ever played), The Sleeping Dragon. If all goes well, I'll hopefully be back to report on it.
It had been long enough that I couldn't quite remember why specifically, other than a vague memory of aimlessly wandering through the jungle maze of Zombie Island. Coming back to it and finally pushing my way through, I think I have a better idea of why. Basically, the pacing of the adventure completely grinds to a halt after the midway point, when George and Nico head off to different locales and you cut back and forth between them.
Nico's sections are super brief, only lasting one room that you can sort out in 10 minutes each, while George's adventures are lengthy excursions that stick to the same tropical theme for ages. By the time you do that, the game's already on the way to its climax and it all happens very quickly. While individual parts of the game allow for plenty of time to breathe and chat to characters in the way Broken Sword 1 did so well, overall it moves at such a breakneck pace that nothing has much time to sink in. A lot of the new characters feel underdeveloped, especially the villains who might as well be cardboard cut-outs.
This is likely due to how quickly the game was developed, being made in just one year (and apparently with half the budget of the first game); according to Wikipedia and Mobygames, that first game had barely been out a year before this came along! That short dev time also resulted in a bunch of bugs and technical issues which have since been cleaned up for the Remastered version I'm playing. It also throws in the hint and diary systems from Shadow of the Templars' Director's Cut, though there aren't any new sections and you're still able to die.
It's a shame that this wasn't allowed more time to cook, because it manages to be as cozy and enjoyable as before when given the room. But stuff like the fewer locations which you spend either loads or very little time in, the lack of optional conversations where you can show characters most of the junk you're carrying, and the abruptly told story make this feel more hollow than it wants to be.
I wish I liked this one more, cuz this is the end of the old style of Broken Sword. The series will soon return to the traditional point-and-click look, but not with this artstyle (unless you'd like to count the fan game Broken Sword 2.5 which I might try at some stage). For now, we're heading into the 3D games of the early-mid 2000s: starting with the biggest mechanical departure (and the first game in the series I ever played), The Sleeping Dragon. If all goes well, I'll hopefully be back to report on it.