Review written by Eric Pankoke

What do an American tourist, a mysterious French photojournalist, a psychic detective and a clown with accordion bombs have in common? They are all just the tip of the iceberg in the delightfully twisted plot that comprises Broken Sword for the Pocket PC. While the game is not new to the world, it's certainly a breath of fresh air in the Pocket PC market. Adventure gamers, get ready to point and click! To view a VGA version of any screenshot, simply click the image.

Graphics Description:

The graphics in Broken Sword are incredible. The opening sequence leaves you feeling like you've just watched a cartoon on Saturday morning, and the few cut-scenes that aren't in-game are just as well animated. My only gripe there is that the lip syncing is not quite up to par. The actual in-game graphics are quite remarkable for having been scrunched into a 320x240 resolution. Most items are easily discernable, and even little details are handled with care. In the first scene outside the café there is an animated man in the background who is actually a part of the next scene. When you stand outside of an apartment building there are actually cars and trucks passing back and forth on the street. In another scene you are standing in front of a hotel, and as you peer through the doors you can see a man in the lobby reading a paper. Meanwhile, one of the guys standing in front of the hotel is tossing a coin in the air and the flags above the doorway are blowing gently in the breeze. There's no question that visually this is a living, breathing world.

Sound Description:

The audio is just as stunning as the video. The music is professionally orchestrated, and while not constantly playing through each scene, always seems to be cued at the right moment. The sound effects make the world come alive, with birds chirping in the trees, leaves blowing in the wind, and shattered light fixtures flickering with electricity. The best part, however, is the voice acting, which is consistently good throughout. Usually you have one or two good actors, and the rest are either so-so or family members, but it seems for Broken Sword they pulled out all the stops when it comes to vocal talent.

Gameplay Description:

This is a classic point and click adventure game, skillfully tweaked to take advantage of the limited scope of the hardware compared to it's PC counterpart. To walk somewhere, just click the screen. To interact with an object, simply click on it. To look at it, click the magnifying glass before you touch the object. You can even get hints as to what to click on by pressing the gears icon in the lower left corner of the screen. This will place a small gear symbol on top of each item that can be interacted with in the scene. Purist adventurers may say this makes the game too easy, but I'd rather use this feature than click every area of the screen until I find something useful. You still have to figure out which objects in your inventory interact with items in the scene, so in my opinion it doesn't take all of the challenge out of the game. To use an object, you click on the object to select it from your inventory, then click on the item in the scene you wish to try using the inventory item with.

To initiate a dialog with one of the many characters in the game you simply click on them. Once the conversation has started, your inventory will be opened at the top of the screen, and at the bottom of the screen a bar will show with an iconic list of items you can talk to the person about. Simply clicking on an item in either of the bars will start a conversation about the item. If you've heard everything a character has to say about a topic in the bottom bar, that topic will go away. The left most icon in the lower bar allows you to end your conversation with the selected character.

The story is very well written. The dialog is not too cheesy, and is often quite humorous. The intrigue behind solving the murder sucks you right in and keeps you coming back for more. The one down side to all of this is that like a well crafted story there is only one way to get to the end, so unless you replay the game for the sake of the story there really is no reason to revisit Broken Sword again. However, the game is definitely worth the trip, even if it is one time only.

Pros:

• Stunning graphics

• Excellent audio

• Intriguing story and gameplay

Cons:

• Once it's over, it's over
  

Conclusion:

If you have any positive feelings towards adventure games at all, you need to play this game. If you have never played an adventure game, play this game. If you don’t like adventure games, consider giving Broken Sword a try anyway, you might actually like it. From every perspective this is probably one of the best Pocket PC games you’ll find on the market. My biggest hope with this game is that they realize what a goldmine they’ve got in the engine and actually develop some new content around it. Either way, Broken Sword should not be missed.

Score-by-score breakdown

Gameplay:  100%
Graphics:  100%
Sound:  100%

Overall:  100%

Please note that the overall score is more than simply an average of the individual ratings.  Many thanks to Astraware for providing our review copy.

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