Broken Sword...

[Shadow_Link]

Point 'n' click adventures may not exactly be the sexiest games out there. But, in the GBA version of Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars, York-based developers Revolution have come up with enough clever ideas - along with some, quite frankly, lush graphics - that it may end up being one of the most engrossing handheld experiences this side of Advance Wars. Well, that's the idea, anyway.

The game has been completely redesigned specifically for the GBA (it first appeared on PSone and PC back in 1997) with a clever interface that means you don't have to spend ages trawling the cursor over every part of the screen just to see if you can do anything. Instead, you are able to scroll through the 'hot spots' on each screen, allowing you to plot quickly your next move.

The storyline is based around a suitably labyrinthine narrative that involves (very deep breath indeed) The Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon - basically a group of Christian nutters who went round Europe murdering people and who supposedly owned the Holy Grail.

You find yourself in Paris, 600 years later, where you witness the theft of an ancient manuscript linked to TOOTPKOCATTOS that points to where their legendary power has been hidden. Obviously, it's up to you to retrieve the manuscript before it's harnessed for a sinister agenda. Or something.

The puzzles, the backbone of any point 'n' click, have been rethought to make them more logical and less random - unfair puzzles being a lazy device that many such games use purely to lengthen the overall gameplay without actually having to add any new elements to the code. Fortunately, the developers behind Broken Sword have stressed they are keen to avoid this sort of thing.

It remains to be seen quite what the mainstream appeal of such a quirky game is likely to be but, from what we've seen of it so far, Broken Sword promises to be a thoroughly engaging adventure outing. And, as the shots below demonstrate, it looks fantastic.




Information courtesy of GamesRadar.com.

I think this game look absolutely fantastic, and no doubt has a following. I am definately gonig to buy this game for the GBA, it just adds to the ever growing must-have list of GBA games...