Broken Sword 2: Remastered (2010)

A solid, very traditional adventure game with excellent voice acting and some great writing. The puzzles are usually logical, but some suffer from only having one (very linear) solution, occasional pixel-hunting, etc. The Broken Sword series is about the only adventure game franchise that measures up to Lucasarts' heydey, so if you're looking for a Fate of Atlantis-style adventure game, that's pretty much what you get here.

I never got into this series when it was new, and have recently decided to play through them. After BS1, this game seems somewhat sub-par. The story is fine; the typical mystical nonsense often featured in adventure games. The characters are enjoyable, and it's rewarding to see them return from the first game. The big snag are the puzzles. I've played many adventure games, and the well-written ones give you enough information to figure out what you need to be doing next to progress. BS1 nailed it, and I only needed to grab a hint from the in-game hint system once or twice to figure out where I should be focusing my attention. After that, I was able to use intuitive clues and context to figure everything out. BS2, on the other hand, is chock-full of the types of puzzles that really make no sense. This wasn't too frustrating, since the in-game guide was still present to dole out increasingly blunt hints, but I found I had to rely on it WAY more. The puzzle solutions more often felt like randomly combining inventory and world objects until successful, whereas those of the first game (and other great adventure games) rewarded you with an "Ah-hah!" moment for logical behavior. In short, this game is fun, but taken without the nostalgia that so many reviewers have for the series, it is only so-so.

This game is a decent adventure game. It does suffer somewhat from one of the main problems with adventure games - illogical puzzles and item combinations. But mostly it isn't bad enough that it ruins the game as it can if too excessive. There are also some logical based puzzles which help a bit overall, as those puzzles makes more sense and are solvable without the "trial/error" approach. The game does in this version still contain a few bugs though, and especially two I found can be game-halting where you couldn't advance, so save often and save in different slots. And it does detract a bit, but like the illogical puzzles, not enough that it overall hurts the game. The graphics is decent for its time and things are clearly visible as what they are supposed to be, so only rarely will the mouse have to scan the screen to find objects. So that is clearly a plus - the style still works. The main problem with this type of games is longevity. Because once you've solved the problems and puzzles, most of the lure of a game like this vanish. So it isn't a game you buy to replay many times. So buy if you haven't played it (in a long time). Overall - the game is a fun, detective type game, with some minor set backs. If a fan of adventure games you can't get around the great value of the game. Even if it is a one time through type of game. 4 out of 5.

I bought Broken Sword 2 before I bought 1 and 3, and I must say it is one of the strongest titles in the series. A lot of people are critisizing the length of the game but I have to say to fit the story it is the perfect length. I also really enjoyed the monkey island 3 style graphics and the humour. In summary, a great game for broken sword fans and adventure fans alike! Oh, and make sure you check out the reference to Beneath a Steel Sky in the subway part while playing as Niko!