I think that the first thing anyone needs to know about this game is that it might better be described as a book. Nearly the entire game is based around dialogue and interrogating others, so anyone that doesn’t enjoy reading would be better off avoiding this game.

That said, I have been very impressed so far. Before you begin, the game asks you to choose from among five different languages, including English, French, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish. No easy task for such a text-heavy game. Another small convenience is that the game allows you to enter a file name up to 15 characters long.

Originally a PC game, Broken Sword has made the transition to GBA fairly well, but with some drawbacks. Animated scenes have been turned into slideshows and the graphics throughout the game tend to be very grainy due to the compression used to fit all the scenes in a GBA cart. The image quality may be lacking, but the hand-drawn animation remains fluid and the ambient music sounds great.

The control system is a simple and well thought out transition from the mouse, allowing the player to examine and interact with the environment quickly and easily. The gameplay revolves around finding clues and interrogating various people you come into contact with. When speaking with a person, you can ask them questions regarding others or about clues that you’ve acquired. Interestingly enough, some characters get tired of speaking with you, which forces you to choose your questions wisely since you can’t always ask about every thing possible. As with many games in this genre, the puzzles require you to think outside the box at times, adding a good challenge and more than a little frustration.

The story has been very interesting so far. The game follows the investigation of George Stobbart, an American who happens to be sitting outside of a café in Paris when it is bombed. Discontent to let the police just sweep the incident under the carpet, he begins his attempt to find and stop the bomber before he strikes again. There is a lot of dry humor and French expressions in the game and as the story progresses, some interesting historical references are tied in as well.

So far, I’ve been satisfied and quite impressed with Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars. It’s slow paced and requires an enjoyment of reading, but fans of classics like Déjà vu and Maniac Mansion will probably enjoy it. Look for a full review in the next few weeks.