Reviewed: January 11, 2004
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
The Adventure Company

Developer
Revolution Software

Released: November 17, 2003
Genre: Adventure
Players: 1
ESRB: Teen

8
10
10
8
9.2

System Requirements:

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon is one such adventure, the final installment in the Broken Sword trilogy and proof that the adventure genre is not only alive and kicking but making a big comeback. This is adventure gaming at its finest hour, the likes that haven’t been seen since November, 2000 when The Longest Journey took the gaming community by storm.

I had the opportunity to meet with Charles Cecil, Managing Director for Revolution Software, who gave me a great deal of insight into the technology and fundamental concepts that were going to make this adventure game stand out in a world where exploration and puzzle-solving had fallen victim to the graphical interface.

Broken Sword breaks new ground on several fronts, the most obvious being the stunning new graphics engine, quickly followed by the ultimate in user-friendly command interfaces, and perhaps the most significant yet subtlest features, the Virtual Actor Engine. Of course none of these technological wonders means a thing without a good story and solid gameplay, and The Sleeping Dragon doesn’t disappoint.

Once again we follow the exploits of George Stobbart, patent lawyer and part time adventurer, and Nico Collard, struggling freelance journalist. Our two heroes start the adventure from two very unique perspectives. We keep bouncing back and forth between the stories and some very exciting locations until our heroes are ultimately brought together to…you guessed it…save the world.

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon features perhaps one of the most ingenious and intuitive interfaces seen to date in an adventure game. Of course the best interface is the one you don’t notice, and the command system in this game does a great job of remaining hidden until you need it, appearing when you do, then quickly dropping into the background when you’re done.

At any given time there are four transparent circles in the lower-right corner arranged in a diamond pattern. Depending on your control configuration this pattern mirrors the primary buttons on a gamepad or the arrow or number pad on the keyboard. As you explore the game world there are hot spots indicated by pulses of light. When you select one of these pulses any available actions are assigned to one of those circles and you push the button or key to perform the desire action. It’s a simple system that takes about 3-4 commands to master.

In a bold move the designers have included climbing and jumping puzzles but even these are assigned to the primary command buttons making these more about following directions rather than a test of your dexterity. If you move to the end of a ledge you might get a jump icon or perhaps the symbol to climb up or lower down, or perhaps all three and you decide what to do. The same system works for climbing ladders, shimmying along ledges, or hugging a wall.

As you might expect with an adventure game there are plenty of people to meet and talk with. Conversations are handled with a similar interface where topics are presented as graphical icons and you can cycle them in a circular pattern. New icons appear as new topics are discovered and exhausted topics are removed from the rotation. This is a huge help in knowing what you have and haven’t talked about with each of the many characters in this game.

And of course we can’t forget the puzzles. These consist of collecting items then using those items with other items or people to further the story. Items that need discussing appear in the conversation topic ring while normal inventory is kept in a third ring at the top-left of the screen. You can even combine various items in your inventory like using the bottle opener on the bottle of beer.

The final element of the gameplay is the Action Event. These are timed sequences within the gameplay or narrative where you have just a few seconds to perform a specific act. A few examples include dodging an oncoming car, sprinting for a jeep, or blocking a bullet with a frying pan. You never really know when one of these events is about to occur even though you will probably sense impending doom. Sometimes you might even be distracted by the movie or conversation so keep an eye on that command diamond for your cue to act.

While the interface is extremely simple and a joy to use, it does allow the game to become a bit easy at times. For instance, if you think you need to combine an item in your inventory but aren’t sure which, just take one item and move it to the combine area then cycle the rest until the “combine” icon appears. The same goes for environmental puzzles. If you need to do something but aren’t sure which item to use you can just highlight the flashing pulse and cycle the inventory until an item appears that activates the “use” icon.

Even though the game boils down to a fixed amount of possible actions, the number of those actions and the sheer scope and scale of this game will still have you playing it just as long as any of those older adventure games. Just don’t expect to get stuck on any one puzzle for too long unless you weren’t thorough in your exploration and conversations prior to that point.

Often a single clue or object can trigger a flood of additional material or even the next chapter. Early in the game when you are looking for a dark haired woman you have trouble getting information from bystanders on the street. Only when you learn that she was a blonde wearing a wig does your investigation take a promising turn.

The Sleeping Dragon begs to be played with a gamepad. I started my PC review using the keyboard and it worked well enough then my Xbox copy arrived and I saw how much better the game played with a gamepad. I immediately activated my Saitek P2500 PC gamepad and never looked back. The analog stick controls the primary character and the face buttons are a direct overlay of the screen interface. The triggers toggled run and crouch modes and the Select opens the inventory. Of course you can use the WADS cluster to move and the numpad or arrow cluster for commands. Since even the action and jumping puzzles are all triggered with command buttons precise movement isn’t an issue.

Moving the Broken Sword saga into the third dimension provided plenty of challenges for the design team, and they met each one with unparalleled success. Even simple things that we take for granted like being able to push a crate, climb a ladder, or shimmy a drainpipe, have all been made as easy as a button-press away with this new interface. Revolution has taken all the “work” out of playing the game leaving you to immerse yourself in the experience and enjoy the story and adventure.

While you never have control over the camera, the computer does an amazing job of capturing the perfect angle and switching when necessary. It also makes subtle cinematic movements like pulling back, craning up, or panning around a character as they are walking. Some of these shots are quite dramatic such as the tilt and pan up the cliff after the plane falls into the abyss revealing our heroes safely on a ledge.

Character design is stunning as is the animation that makes them walk, run, climb, jump, and move like a real person. There are plenty of animation routines to seamlessly transition unique movements, so when you see George walk to the crate, crouch, grab, then pull or push it along the floor the entire process is one fluid sequence. Adolescent boys will no doubt notice and enjoy the exaggerated “bounce” that Nico has when she walks and runs into the camera.

Of course the highlight of the graphics is the Virtual Actor Engine, a sophisticated facial animation system that not only controls lip-synching but also full facial features to control muscles and create appropriate “attitudes” for each character. The lip-synching system actually animates the lips based on the spoken syllables, so the characters can be synched to foreign language dubs in real-time.

When you are done marveling at the characters you might want to check out those gorgeous level designs that use a fantastic mix of hand-drawn textures with real-world lighting. The lighting is very advanced and features a dual-pass process where a radiosity map is used to create glows and soft-edge shadows cast in real-time from real light sources. This is one game that has a look all its own, one that will likely be emulated by other games in the future.

Sound effects are equally as flawless from roaring waterfalls, crumbling stone, shattering glass, and creaking floorboards, to all sorts of original sounds like the professor’s energy machine. The game offers incredible surround sound support using EAX and 5.1 and if you have one of the newer sound cards and a good set of speakers this game is the closest thing you will get to interactive cinema.

What really steals the show here is the topnotch dialogue and voice acting. Normally adventure games feature long drawn out conversations that will have you tapping your fingers impatiently while you wait to get back to the action, but in The Sleeping Dragon you will actually look forward to each new conversation. Some particular favorites are Nico and the skateboarder, and George and the guy outside the “closed” pub. There is even some visual humor integrated into the conversations, but I won’t spoil any of those moments.

You can save your game anywhere and anytime you want...almost. If you are in the middle of an Action Event or hanging from a ledge the save option is inactive. Actually, the only time you really need to save is when you are done playing and you are prompted to save your game at that time. The game does a great job of auto-saving just before potentially hazardous Action Events, so you can restart if your reflexes fail you. Even so, you will want to save frequently. I had one CTD (crash to desktop) during my game and since I was so "comfortable" with the auto-save I ended up having to replay about 45-minutes of the game including several lengthy and unskippable conversations and movies.

There is a nice collection of Concept Artwork that can be unlocked by completing the game and there are also some additional resources including plot summaries and background information about the previous games in the series. While not necessary to enjoy this game, it's nice information that fleshes out the characters and how all these adventures come together.