Broken Sword - The Shadow of the Templars (GBA) (Broken Sword - The Shadow of the Templars (GBA))

Member Name: thole09

Product:	Broken Sword - The Shadow of the Templars (GBA)
Date:	28/04/09 (10 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: In depth gameplay, Graphics

Disadvantages: Lack of audio

"Broken Sword - The Shadow of the Templars" is a video game released for the Gameboy Advance console in 2002 by Bam Entertainment. It is a story based adventure game in part of the long standing "Broken Sword" series. In the United States, the game received a rating of "T" by the ESRB panel which deemed the title suitable for teenage years and above due to its violent content.

The characters control the character of George Stobbart who is taking a vacation in France. Stobbart witnesses a murder in a local cafe and feels it necessary to bring justice to the murderer. He seeks out an acquaintance for the mission and finds a young photojournalist and together they tackle the mystery. Text is a heavy feature in the game so basic literacy skills are a must. With today's modern age of cycling through any available text, the player will likely find himself lost and must slow down to take in the information being presented by other non playable characters. It is an extended play with independent sources claiming an available 20 hours of in-game time from start to finish. Much of this time will be spent interacting in the game's menu system with the player first selecting a character or object to interact with and then selecting the appropriate action.

The graphics of this title are excellent and make great use of colour and detailing. The background scenes are very well composed and show no obvious graphical fault. I also enjoy the detailing to the character although I found the faceless images to be somewhat repelling from a visual perspective. There is little audio to review in this title. Sporadic sound effects accompany this game and only feature very short musical scores in areas where the story is to develop further.

Overall, I would recommend Broken Sword to an adult player who could likely appreciate the in-depth requirements of a game such as this. It would not likely be a hit with younger players due to the requirement of extensive reading.

Summary: Thumbs in the middle