Secrets of the Ark (The Angel of Death in the UK) is the fourth game in the Broken Sword series. It is the first not fully developed by Revolution Software Ltd. Instead, they outsourced the art and programming to Sumo Digital Ltd., which already provided consultancy on the PS2 and Xbox version of the third game, The Sleeping Dragon. Charles Cecil still wrote the story and oversaw development however. Unlike the previous game, it is now only available for the Windows platform.

Keeping to the tradition of ancient mysteries, hero George Stobbard needs to expose an old rivalry between powerful factions as he chases after a manuscript Moses used to construct The Angel of Death. This powerful weapon was the final of the ten plagues that brought the Pharaoh to his knees and allowed Moses to start the Exodus as he freed the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. The factions are especially interested in the mysterious substance "mfkzt", referenced in the manuscript but forgotten for thousands of years.

George gets involved when he is forced to take a job at a bail bonds company in a dangerous neighbourhood. The Dragon incident is classified as mass hysteria and he has been blacklisted by his previous employers. During one of his assignments, he meets Anna Maria who tells him about the manuscript. As she is being chased, George decides to help her. The familiar French reporter Nico Collard is also present in the game and this only complicates things as George has to keep the balance between the two women. Some of the locations you visit include Phoenix, Vatican City, New York and Istanbul.

Although still relying on a full 3D engine with fixed camera perspectives, the game returns to its roots by reintroducing point-and-click-based mouse control next to keyboard control, along with a new drag-and-drop control mechanism. A few puzzles are still action-based, but you are now given more time to act in stressful situations, rather than having to make split-second decisions. Next to the regular puzzles, you need to investigate images, texts and clues in the central manuscript as the story progresses.

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Alternate Titles

"Сломанный меч: Ангел смерти" -- Russian spelling
"Les Chevaliers De Baphomet: Les Gardiens du Temple de Salomon" -- French title
"BS4" -- Common abbreviation
"Broken Sword: The Angel of Death" -- UK title
"Broken Sword: L'Angelo della Morte" -- Italian title
"Broken Sword: El Ángel de la Muerte" -- Spanish title
"Broken Sword: Anioł Śmierci" -- Polish title
"Broken Sword 4" -- Common title
"Baphomets Fluch: Der Engel des Todes" -- German title

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Part of the Following Groups

Merchant	Title	Platform	Price
	Secrets Of The Ark: Broken Sword IV	Windows	$10.77
	Secrets of the Ark: A Broken Sword Game
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User Reviews

Blondie and The Frog go Fourth: one step forward, two steps back	Macs Black (77863)
The fourth (and final?) game in the Broken Sword series	Katakis (37454)

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The Press Says

Factornews	Sep 26, 2006	9 out of 10	90
GamersHell.com	Jun 20, 2007	8.5 out of 10	85
Aventura y Cía	Sep 11, 2006		80
Playfuls	Feb 23, 2007	7.6 out of 10	76
GameStar (Germany)	Oct, 2006	72 out of 100	72
Eurogamer.net (UK)	Sep 06, 2006	7 out of 10	70
PC Games (Germany)	Sep 25, 2006	70 out of 100	70
Jeuxvideo.com	Sep 11, 2006	14 out of 20	70
Game Captain	Nov 16, 2006	65 out of 100	65
Gamezine	Oct 05, 2006	12 out of 20	60