| Broken Sword: The
Shadow of the Templars |
 |
| Developer(s) |
Revolution Software |
| Publisher(s) |
Virgin Interactive Entertainment (PC, MAC)
Sony Computer Entertainment (PS1)
BAM! Entertainment, Inc. (GBA)
Astraware (Palm, WM) |
| Designer(s) |
Charles Cecil (director)
Barrington Pheloung (composer) |
| Series |
Broken Sword series |
| Engine |
Virtual Theatre |
| Release date(s) |
November 5, 1996 (PC)
December, 1996 (PS1)
March 19, 2002 (GBA)
November 23, 2005 (Palm)
August 2, 2006 (WM) |
| Genre(s) |
Adventure |
| Mode(s) |
Single player |
| Rating(s) |
ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults) (PC)
ESRB: T (Teen) (PS1, GBA)
USK: 12+ |
| Platform(s) |
Game Boy Advance, Mac OS, PC (DOS, Windows),
PlayStation, Palm OS, Windows Mobile and many others with ScummVM |
| Media |
2 CD-ROMs (PC)
1 CD-ROM (PS1)
1 cartridge (GBA) |
| System requirements |
486 with 66 MHz, 8 MB RAM, VESA 2.0 compatible SVGA card, 100% Sound Blaster compatible sound card,
2X CD-ROM drive (PC) |
| Input |
Keyboard, mouse
(PC) |
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (known as Circle of Blood in the United States) is a third-person, point-and-click adventure computer game released to the PC on November 5, 1996. It was released on the PlayStation in December that same year and on the GBA
19 March, 2002. It has also been ported to the Palm OS by Astraware. It was
followed by the sequels Broken Sword II:
The Smoking Mirror, Broken Sword: The Sleeping
Dragon, and Broken Sword: The Angel of Death.
General information
The game is a traditional point-and-click adventure, where the player has to logically come up with answers and solutions to
riddles and problems that he or she encounters during the course of the game.
Audio features of the game include recorded Foley and sound effects, orchestral music and recorded voices of voice actors. The game graphics are animated in a style which resembles classic animated films. The game was directed by Charles Cecil and the
original score was composed by Barrington
Pheloung.
The game features a cast of voice actors led by Rolf Saxon as George Stobbart.
Story
"As I picked myself up all I could hear was the ceaseless drone of traffic. Life went on around me, but the explosion was
to change my life forever."
Opening in the city of Paris, George Stobbart is enjoying his autumn vacation when he
narrowly escapes a bomb explosion outside a café. Following the clues left behind by the killer, who is dressed as a clown,
George discovers there is something much larger and more dangerous going on that stretches back in time as far as the legends of
the Knights Templar. Enlisting the help of a French journalist, Nicole Collard, they
follow an intricate manuscript which points them in the direction of various locations such as Paris, Ireland, Syria,
Spain and Scotland.
While most of the story (which spans five countries, involves a huge cast of characters, and is divided into eleven sequences)
is the result of creative storytelling, the plot does contain some elements of fact. The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military
order George stumbles across as he attempts to solve the café bombing, existed in the 12th to 14th centuries.
Locations
Paris - This city is where the adventure begins after an explosion at the small
café, and most of the game is centred around this city. George will return here numerous times when new avenues have become
available to explore in order to further his investigation, such as the Hagenmeyer Clinic, Montfaucon, and an excavation at Site
de Baphomet.
Paris, the first play area in the game.
George Stobbart investigating in Spain.
Ireland - The small village of Lochmarne has been an area of great archeological
interest recently from renowned personality Professor Peagram. The dig at the castle was soon terminated by Peagram himself.
George is determined to find out what spooked the professor, though things go a bit awry when one of the locals experiences a hit
and run abduction. It is here that George takes possession of the illustrious Lochmarne-gem.
Syria - The town of Marib in Syria is George's next destination. George needs to find a
way to get to a landmark known as the Bull's Head, but his driver is being very uncooperative. An empty matchbook George
recovered from the killer in Paris reads "Club Alamut", an exclusive club in Marib. It is here that George, while in a cave,
discovers an ancient tablet that depicts an ancient message - "to the west, to the edge of the world". This message supposedly
tells where the Sword of Baphomet lies.
Spain - George visits a Spanish villa, owned by an affluent elderly woman, in the hope that he
can uncover the secrets of the old woman's ancestors, known to have been part of the Knights
Templar. It is here that George, with help from the affluent countess - Countess de Vasconcellos find the communion
chalice that had been missing for hundreds of years. George returns here after the excavation at Site de Baphomet to finally
unveil the truth of the 'children' and to find out where he must next go.
Scotland - A dangerous train journey through Scotland brings Nico and George to an ancient
church in Bannockburn where the final confrontation with the mysterious alliance takes place.
Characters
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External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
