Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon

List Price: $19.99 Discount Price: $4.75

Features:

• Compelling adventure gameplay, combining detective investigation, exploration, and stealth
• An epic narrative from Europe¿s master interactive storytellers--Revolution Software
• Stunning graphics delivered by a radical new graphic engine
• Wholly intuitive, direct-control interface for full control of the character
• Movie-quality script and voice acting; facial animation by Virtual Actor Engine

Accessories:
PC Gamer (1-year)	Games for Windows: The Official Magazine

Customer Reviews:

Hindered by annoying copy protection [Posted on 2005-12-04]
The copy protection for this game installs a system driver and causes the game to take over a minute to start each time. Super-annoying.

Still great, but the weakest [Posted on 2006-01-02]
Having loved the first two Broken Sword games, it was a long wait for this third installment. It's a really good game, but it doesn't quite live up to the others. Bearing in mind that I love the Broken Sword series, and this beats 99% of games out there on the market, I have various quibbles. I found the third installment a little serious and always on the edge of peril, and a bit lacking in the light-hearted elements of, in particular, the first game. It still has amusing lines, indeed the script in general is top notch, as it the acting, but the storyline could have been lighter more often. Also, the game seemed short: it took me under 15 hours to complete. I'm sure the previous two games weren't that short. Finally, as others have noticed, the puzzles are a bit repetitive, especially the box ones. On the positive side, I think the transition to 3D worked really well and quite enjoyed the new reflex action/fight scenes - although any more of them would have been annoying. The storyline is good and the acting is great as always. It's also aesthetically good. A BS4 is planned; I still can't wait, despite the various shortcomings of BS3. Overall, still fantastic - the bar is just very high after the others.

George and Nico are terrific--what a find! [Posted on 2006-01-12]
I bought this game after reading several so-so reviews--I wanted something different with a little humor. I was not disappointed. Broken Sword 3 was delightful. The voice acting was well above average and the scenes were well drawn with sufficient detail. Some of the puzzles required patience, since you have to keep playing to get the clues you need. However, I really appreciate being confined to an area until I found the hints I needed to finish a scene. I like a good story, and this game manages a light-hearted mix of fantasy/myth with some contemporary characters served with a dollop of humor. The bad guy (or should I say, bad gal) was sufficiently interesting that the cut scenes complemented the game play and provided pleasant interludes. Years ago, I loved Grim Fandango and chuckled through Monkey Island I. (For comparison, I quickly resold Monkey Island 3, barely started). For someone who usually enjoys 1st person 3-D adventures, this one has reopened the possibilities of 2-D adventures. I am now buying Broken Sword 1 & 2 in hopes that they are as good as their sequel. Bottom line: I ended Broken Sword 3 happy as a clam to have found it but sad the game was over.

Disappointing [Posted on 2006-06-28]
I love this genre of games and this game sounded like it had a lot of promise. It has turned into the most disappointing game I have ever played. In my opinion, it is a follow-the-directions kind of game. There are few, if any, puzzles. There are many scenes in which you die and then have to repeat the whole scene over and over and over again in order to move on. I actually purchased a game controller because one scene could not be accomplished via the keyboard. Well, the game controller didn't help much either. This game volleys back and forth between boring and frustrating. Not a good combination. Save your money. Don't buy it.

A good addition to the Broken Sword series [Posted on 2007-08-11]
This is the third in a series of Broken Sword games. However, you do not need to have played the previous games to be able to play this one. The earlier games will simply give you a little bit of the back story of some of the characters and items in Sleeping Dragon. (I do recommend the other Broken Sword games; Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror)

This game follows the same format as the earlier Broken Sword games, but now has better graphics. If you are new to the Broken Sword games, these games are a sort of mystery/suspense adventure where you have to solve the mystery using your brain. (not simply shooting everything that moves) Any serious "action" is usually played out in a video clip. Playing as one of the characters(George Stobbart or Nico Collard) , you investigate the scene, talk to people, pick up clues, and use items to solve different challenges/puzzles that allow you to progress in the game. Probably too slow for the die-hard action/adventure gamer, this game is more of a mental challenge. Think a modern Sherlock Holmes with a nice touch of modern humour.

For those who are familiar with the series, there are very few changes. One interesting change is that after some of the action clips, your character is given a short time (sometimes only 1 second) to respond to what has happened (usually something perilous) If you do not respond quickly enough, your character dies and you must try again. But no worries, you start at the video clip again, and can keep trying until you get it right.

I have only been able to find this game available for the PC platform (The two previous games I mentioned are also available for Playstation and possibly some other game consoles) Because of this, you use the arrow keys to move and the keyboard to perform various actions. It can take some getting used to, but if you are a PC gamer, you should have no problems.

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