nerd alert : broken sword | the shadow of the templars

Nicole is a journalist who has uncovered a dangerous lead linking the deaths of some very powerful men all over the world. As she investigates a recent terrorist attack who just killed her latest lead, she meets George Stobbart. George is an American tourist in Paris, and he is about to embark on an adventure that follows the last moves of the Knights Templar as they hide what remains of their great treasure.

Originally released for PC, the Broken Sword series consisted of 4 games released between 1996 and 2006. Shamefully, I haven't played any of them until this past weekend - and I will say better late than never because the first game in the series, The Shadow of the Templars, has set me off in hot pursuit of the remaining 3 games. This point and click adventure game doesn't lack anything in the puzzle department, and translates to the DS quite well - too bad that top screen was mostly a screensaver the whole time though! 

01/ cross ring $6.00  //  02/ knight chess pieces $5.00  //  03/ elephant $9.95  //  04/ skull cupcake mold $11.95  //  05/ clown nose $4.99  //  06/ paris manhole cover $24.99  //  07/ magic carpet $64.00

5/6 Toes // Overall

1 // Graphics
The game was originally released in the mid 90's so it is going to be judged by era. The illustrated style of the game goes well with the DS interface and it doesn't look like an older game on this platform (on a PC it might be a different story).

1 // Storyline and Characters
I'm not going to lie - the whole Templar thing was WAY overdone in the 90's/00's (come on - Gabriel Knight, Post Mortem...) but this may have been the first one, and since I don't have a timeline of all the Templar games in front of me I will let it slide. The main character George, is likable and you get a little tug and pull on whether he is good or bad in some situations. I originally thought Nico would be a toggle character, but you don't get to control her after the beginning of the game. Story-wise though - I couldn't put it down and loved every puzzle ridden minute of it. But seriously Nicole, what is up with those blue shoes?
 
0.5 // Soundtrack and Sound Effects
Nothing too stellar (it was the 90's) but I do appreciate they didn't change anything from the original. There are sound effects for all the actions in the game, and the cut scenes have additional sound - I did like the typing sound that accompanied the talking portions... but I would've liked talking more.

1 // Length of Game and Price
So for $19.99 at GameStop, this game entertained me all weekend and then some (about 9 hours total). so definitely would recommend. You can probably find it cheaper for PC or used - and I even heard a rumor its available for the iPhone.

1 // Replay Value
I could see this series becoming one I replay ever few years. It has good bones and I cant wait to see what happens next.

0.5 // Puzzle Difficulty
The DS version has a little hint cheat in the upper corner, I'm not going to lie - I was glad it was there and even used it once or, ok, twice. the puzzles were inventory and location based - but overall were more enjoyable than outright difficult.