Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - The Director's Cut

Superb hand-drawn graphics Great voice acting Hint mode is a nice touch New scenes and puzzles.

Broken Sword: Director’s Cut is the definitive version of one of the greatest point-and-click adventures of all time. Whether you’re a fan of the genre or just of video games with great stories, you won’t regret accompanying George and Nico on their quest through Paris.

It may not have been the most memorable point-and-click adventure of the 90s, but the remake of Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars is definitely a stand-out title on the Wii.

When the original game is so good, can a Director’s Cut spoil the experience? We still don’t know, because Broken Sword is a very solid Director’s Cut of an awesome Graphic Adventure. Developers could have gone the extra mile to smooth some rough edges off, but even so the mission is completely accomplished.

This Director's Cut deserved to be spared from patchy audio and shonky cutscenes, but it wasn't. Regardless of this fact, the brilliance of the Templars remains largely undiminished.

While it does occasionally creak under its years, at its heart Shadow of the Templars is an enthralling, sumptuous adventure with wonderful characters and a marvelous sense of wit and charm. The kind of things that just never get old.

Superior animation, an engaging story, and clever puzzles make Broken Sword well worth investigating, despite the occasional glitch.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars – Director's Cut was first published in 1997 and was followed by three more sequels on various platforms. It was one of the best point and click adventure game of the time because of the exceptionally good plot, funny dialogue, strong and unforgettable characters topped with good playability. Director's Cut updates it on Wii with some new scenes and more to play. Time has dealt this gem gently and playing it today is still great fun despite the clumsy 2D graphics. [May 2009]

Excellent pointer controls, iffy motion controls, and a script and setting that meshes together old and new sounds great on paper/screen, but shelling out 40 pounds for it will leave you feeling short-changed.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars – Director's Cut is a more than welcome addition to the Wii and DS library. Both the storytelling and the gameplay remains great, even though the original game is almost thirteen years old. It's a pity that there are some issues with the audio and visuals of the game, but nonetheless The Shadow of the Templars is a really good adventure game.

The Broken Sword series shows its beginnings with a remake full of new features and, at the same time, very loyal to the original videogame. Same story, new scenes, identical gameplay and never seen puzzles take a mix in a title suitable for casual and experienced gamers.

It definitely feels like a relic from another time -- it's not an exercise in violence, a mini-game collection, or a licensed music effort. But Broken Sword is a solid point-and-click mystery that is a welcome addition to the Wii library.

It may not be quite enough to drag old players back for another go around, but it definitely does make the Director’s Cut the version to have if you’re interested in a decent point-and-click adventure.

Ultimately, there’s a sense that Broken Sword: The Director’s Cut can’t quite reconcile its attempts to incorporate updated gaming sensibilities with its need to maintain the sort of respectful reverence demanded by fans. The result is a game that flounders unevenly between both extremes and never quite gels as an overall experience. However, for all its inconsistencies, Broken Sword is still an undoubted masterclass in videogame storytelling.