Product Description

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon is a skilfully-woven global adventure and a landmark in interactive story-telling. In the third instalment of the adventures of George and Nico, the pair fight through the steaming jungles of the Congo, eerie castles in Prague, the chic backstreets of Paris and the historic village of Glastonbury--among many other locations--to unravel the secrets of the Sleeping Dragon and save mankind from the threat of global catastrophe. Featuring a revolutionary new interface and a fully 3D environment, Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon is the future of adventure.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8187 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: THQ
• Released on: 2003-11-14
• Rating: To Be Announced
• Platform: Xbox

Amazon.co.uk Review
Just like flares, cockroaches and Tony Blackburn, some things never die; this third entry in the Broken Sword series hopefully means the good old graphic adventure is making a comeback. It was created by Sierra and perfected by LucasArts but unfortunately UK developer Revolution is the only company still making them like they used to--although this all-new title features direct controls, instead of point and click, and even Shenmue-style Quick Time Events.

The plot in The Sleeping Dragon revolves around yet another ancient threat to the world, this time related to the mysterious (and real) Voynich Manuscript, which may or may not contain the secret to eternal life. Needless to say it's up to the game's hero George Stobbart and his long-term associate Nico to stop the bad guys from prevailing, and this they do by solving a long stream of logic puzzles ranging from getting into a locked room armed with only a press card to waking up an unconscious Australian before he falls off the side of a cliff.

Even though the game is not controlled with the mouse the interface is extremely easy to use, with four main context-sensitive buttons used in conjunction with your inventory. It won't be to everyone's taste--those with a taste for arcade action may get bored quite quickly--but it all works well and has excellent graphics. It's a real game to watch this winter. --David Jenkins

Edge Magazine
"In terms of narrative-led videogaming [this] is leagues above anything else in recent times. 9/10."

GamesMaster Magazine
"A lovely, charming adventure game for the modern age. 88%."

Customer Reviews

Fantastic continuation of the series
This game is essential for fans of the previous Broken Sword games. The same intelligent humour makes a welcome return in a tight and very well written script. The story is immediately compelling and the voice acting is spot on and sounds totally natural throughout. There are parts of the game that will stump even the most seasoned adventure gamers but the plot provides ample incentive to persevere and the next development in the story is always a sufficient reward for your hard work.
One big area of improvement over previous instalments is in the camera work. The fully 3D environments allow the camera to sweep around and lots of work has been put into the cinematic presentation. Small passageways are viewed through a close-in and claustrophobic camera angle while cliff edges and high rooftops come with a dizzying top down perspective. Along with the ever present sense of urgency provided by the storyline this game is as gripping as many great films.
There are few criticisms that can be levelled at the game. The solutions to some of the puzzles are slightly too obscure and sometimes guesswork rather than logic is needed. The loading screens are both frequent and long, although this is only really irritating because it disrupts the narrative. Still, you can't help but feel that this is unnecessary when compared to other games on the system. Apart from that, and an over - reliance on block puzzles, there is little to fault. Action fans may find it too slow paced, but those after a more cerebral challenge and something that is much more mature than any 18 rated game should make this a priority purchase.

A "blockbusting movie" experience with you in control.
There are a few games out there on the market that truly captivates the gamer, pulling them into a virtual reality, creating a "blockbusting movie" experience with you in control. Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon is one of them.

The game starts off with a wonderfully done movie like scene with George (A humorous American) in a plane with an Australian joker. Unfortunately, due to a freak weather occurrence, the plane losses power and crashed onto a cliff face. You then take charge of George and you must find a way to escape the burning plane with your friend.

After your escape up the mountain side, you encounter a scene in the game where the scientist you were supposed to meet is murdered.

Next you are introduced to Nico, a French journalist. She herself witnesses the murder of a young man she was supposed to interview.

From there on you alternate between characters solving puzzles and finding clues to search for justice, until finally both characters meet up with each other.

If you have not played the other two Broken Sword series don't worry. You learn as you play the game that both characters knew each other.

The game is a detective point and click adventure. There are many actions to carry out throughout the game. In other words your characters are very flexible.
The only way to reach the end of the game is to think logic. This game is pure logic that you would not find in many games. For example in one part of the game you must try and retrieve a key that is in a lock in the door on the opposite side. Simple, place a newspaper underneath the door and poke the key with a pencil so the key will fall down onto the paper. Pull out the newspaper and hey, you have the door key.

Music is wonderfully composed. The music alternates when you find a clue, where there is danger etc. It really adds to the depth of realism to the game.

Graphics are brilliant. The characters move fluently through the incredible colourfully detailed scenery. You visit places such as France, Glastonbury Egypt (I think) etc. This prevents any repetitiveness of Graphics to a zero. Cut scenes are frequent throughout the game to keep up the realism. Environments seem empty from human activity though.

There is a lot of voice acting in the game. Fortunately it is well done. There are a lot of humorous scenes with Nico and George along with other characters you meet.

Controls are very easy to master. Certain parts of the game, where you are faced with danger require a quick press of a button to prevent yourself from being killed.

One BIG problem with this game though. The amount of loading is really sickening. There is an awful lot of loading screens throughout the game. There is no point knowing the capabilities of the Xbox. Another disappointment with the game was the ending. After destroying the dragon (that was very well done) you are left with quick end that lasted no more than a minute followed by the credits. After accomplishing a game I would like to be rewarded with a nicely created ending to a game.

Apart from that you will be left mesmerised by how much you feel for the characters (especially after one sad scene), and for the game itself. Let's hope for a quick sequel!

GRAPHICS: 9/10
Excellent. Cut scenes and fluid movement of the characters create a movie like experience. Beautifully created environments.

SOUND: 10/10
Music is wonderfully composed and matches the scenario you are facing. Voice acting is brilliantly done that is mixed with some humour.

GAMEPLAY: 9/10
Imaginative puzzles. Detective game mixed with humour and beautifully created environments will keep you going on until the end. Sad about the quick ending though. One point is lost because of the silly amount of loading times present throughout the game.

The good points:

*Excellent cut scenes along with graphics.
*Excellent music.
*Excellent voice acting mixed with humour.
*Imaginative puzzles.
*A game that encourages you to think logic.
*Excellent storyline.
*Mixture of colourful environments.

The bad points:

*Too many loading times.
*Quick ending after defeating final boss.

OVERALL RESULT:
9/10

George to the rescue!
A long wait for a long over due sequel, at least it was not a wasted wait! George and Nico are back, although this time they meet up only through “coincidence” and are soon in the thick of it together. One thing I’m over joyed at is that they’ve not change the humour of the game in anyway, shape or form. The similar layout to BS 1 & 2 (stop the end of the world from the evil organisation) has been carried on in an excellent tie in. Not that I would want to spoil the game in any way for anybody but it does tie in more with the first one than the second. This is good in my opinion as I found the first was a far superior game to the second. The graphics and interface have been over hauled and on the whole is better. I have only two slight annoyances that get me, firstly the camera is a bit of a pain occasionally but doesn’t really affect any game play and secondly there is an occasional glitch when you go through doors etc with your character. It is almost like your character flashes up on another part of the screen for a millisecond. Could just be my version or my X-Box I don’t know. These two tiny things do not spoil the overall game play which flows nicely and I’ve never been stuck for to long in one place.

In a nutshell:
Great game for fans of the original titles and new adventure fans alike. Great graphics and game play make for a well worth while game.