In late 1996, British game developer Revolution Software released what is perhaps their most well-known game. That game, of course, is Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars, a masterpiece in the point-and-click genre. Not only does it possess gorgeous visuals and tried-and-true gameplay, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (then known as Circle of Blood in some parts of the United States) also has an engaging story and interconnected characters. It is one of my favorite games of all time, and I was elated when I first heard that a director’s cut was being developed for the Wii and Nintendo DS. I purchased the Wii edition, and I am happy to say that time has been kind to this relic.

 

 

The game’s main character is a young American man named George Stobbart. George was touring in France and enjoyed his time, and one morning he drank coffee outside of a café. A strange gentleman entered, and said gentleman was soon followed by a sinister-looking clown. Alas, the clown replaced an explosive accordion (and who says the accordion is a deadly instrument?) with the strange gentleman’s briefcase, and fled the area. The café exploded, killing the strange gentleman inside, but fortunately George survived. He soon meets a struggling, pretty French journalist named Nicole “Nico” Collard, and the two work together to unsolved this enormous mystery, which focuses heavily on the costume killer (the clown) and the famous Knights Templar. I’ve intentionally left the story description vague because much of this game’s charm is unraveling the secrets and mysteries at one’s pace. Trust me, though, when I say that this game has a fantastic story that still holds up very well over ten years later.

This event sets off George’s adventure, an adventure that spans much of Europe, but mostly takes place in Paris. At first the story is a murder mystery, but it later develops into a grandiose and epic tale, with many interconnected characters. Like most adventure games of this genre, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars features dozens of interactive characters, and most of them are humorous and memorable. This game would have suffered critically if George Stobbart and Nico Collard weren’t likable protagonists, but this is fortunately not the case. With Goerge’s biting sarcasm, slick wit and admirable determination, it’s almost impossible not to find George endearing. Although Nico isn’t quite as important as George, she still manages to be respectable in her own right. Besides these two leads, the game is filled with many supporting characters, and even the thoroughly pointless characters are worth talking to at least once.

 

 

As I mentioned before, this is a point-and-click adventure game. Broken Sword was frustrating as hell to play on the PlayStation because of the lengthy load times and the awkward, clunky controls (a standard game controller is [italics]not[/italics] ideal for point-and-click adventure games!), but on the PC it was a delight. Happily, the Wii is the one console that is perfectly ideal for point-and-click adventure games of old and new, and Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars fits the Wii mechanics like a glove.

Although the game focuses on George and Nico, you actually literally take control of the cursor, so this game uses the Wii Remote for everything. Certain buttons perform certain tasks, such as pulling up the menu screen and registering character action. Oddly, once you activate the menu screen while playing the game, you cannot press the B button to close it.

Most of the game is spent talking to amusing characters, going to locations, and combining and/or using items. As is the case with many point-and-click adventure games, the gameplay is very simple: you just point… and click. With that said, there are a few puzzles in Broken Sword where the game briefly shifts gears in gameplay. These instances are infrequent, but they help to keep the gameplay from going stale, though some of the sliding puzzles feel slightly awkward until you get the knack of it. The inventory system is simple, but it is possible to inadvertently close it just because you accidentally moved the cursor away from the inventory window, which can get annoying. The same applies to the item system: there were times where I tried to use selected items with objects, but I would miss those objects by mere pixels and my item would go back in the inventory window, just because I missed. It’s not enough to break the experience by any means, but it can be annoying.

There are many added features in The Director’s Cut version of the game. The biggest change is the role of Nicole “Nico” Collard. In the original version she was important but not playable, but in this deluxe edition she is actually the first playable character. In the original version, the game began with George at the aftermath of the café bombing, and indeed the game eventually segues into that event, but initially players take control of Nico, which already gives the feeling of a classic reworked. I am happy to report that in terms of story and character development, the new moments with Nico fit wonderfully into the original game, and it actually helps fill up several plot holes from the original.

There is a co-op mode, but in all honesty it’s nothing special. In co-op mode, one person has direct control of the game, and if said person wants the second party to play it can be achieved by just pressing the 1 or 2 buttons, and vice versa. The only circumstance I can imagine this “co-op mode” would be useful or even amusing is if the two players had never played the game at all, and they were struggling to figure out the puzzles. “I can’t figure this out,” player one could say. “Here, I have an idea. Let me try,” player two would insist. Other than that, this feels like a thoroughly unnecessary feature, but at least it’s something.

There’s one added feature in this game that wasn’t in the original version, but it is a nice addition here. It is the hint system; depending on how long you’re stuck with a particular puzzle, you have the option ‘buy’ hints to solve the puzzle. The game keeps track of how many hints you’ve retrieved, but I don’t think there’s any penalty. Extra features are unlocked after completing the game, which is a nice bonus.