Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon
Description official descriptions
No less than six years have gone by before the third installment in the Broken Sword series saw the light of day. The first two games (The Shadow of the Templars and The Smoking Mirror) delved into the Knights Templar and Mayan mythology. This time, George Stobbart and Nico Collard are after the Voynich Manuscript to unravel its mysteries.
The Sleeping Dragon moves away from the 2D point-and-click concept from the earlier games and features a full 3D world, with a camera that does not rotate, but uses fixed cinematic perspectives, combined with full 5.1 sound. For the Windows version the game is no longer controlled through the mouse, but now through the keyboard, for the movement of the characters as well as all the actions. The player alternately controls George or Nico. Next to typical adventure gameplay such as exploration, conversations, and searching and combining items, there are also a few action sequences. The characters can duck, sneak, hang from ledges and move crates to reach higher areas.
The locations visited throughout the game include The Congo, Paris, England, Czech Republic and Egypt.
Spellings
- Сломанный Меч 3: Спящий Дракон - Russian spelling
- 断剑:沉睡之龙 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
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Credits (PlayStation 2 version)
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[ full credits ] |
Reviews
Critics
Average score: 80% (based on 67 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 154 ratings with 9 reviews)
The Good
Like the previous titles in the series this game has a solid story underpinning the gameplay. The voice acting is mature and thankfully light on ham. The interaction interface is fairly clunky but doesn't get in the way too much. The presentation is generally neat and tidy.
There are some nice little puzzles in this game. I quite liked the little box puzzles, even though I got the impression they were only there to slow the pace of the game down. They were nowhere near as challenging as Soko-ban, of course, but they did make for an interesting diversion from some of the more tedious areas of the game.
The Bad
This game also has a lot of problems. The most obvious annoyance was the constant and tedious loading screens. Some of the puzzles even had loading sections between two halves of the same puzzle. Coupled with the sudden deaths that occur liberally throughout the game, these annoying multiple minute waits to try and fail another 5 second sequence of gameplay brought me to the brink of giving up on the game altogether. The strong story, characters, and promise of occasionally interesting gameplay elements, were all that kept me going.
There were also graphical glitches. The sound and vocal tracks could rarely keep up with the rest of the game. The characters often flicked in an out of poses making the in game cinematic sequences comical.
The stealth sections of the game, although an interesting idea, were rendered almost unplayable by the ridiculous design decision to couple the control system to the camera - and then cut the camera at the most awkward points sending your player careening around the field like a drunken buffoon.
Several times I found myself guessing the correct solution at first, and yet having that attempt fail for some unknown reason. I'd then try everything else I could possibly imagine until finally, out of exasperation, I'd try the first thing again - only this time the exact same thing would work!
The generic speech also became comical at times. On one memorable occasion, having managed to shut the door on a shotgun toting goon, selecting the key on the door lock gave rise to the rather ironic, "I had no reason to do that," statement from George. This, right before the goon opens the door, without apparently using his hands, and simultaneously gives him both badly animated barrels in the face; shortly followed by an out of sync sound effect.
The Bottom Line
Underneath the stylish gloss, is a buggy game engine. But, under that, is a pretty good game. If you can get past the glitches and the occasional poor design decisions, what remains is certainly enjoyable. However, it's not the best introduction to the series.
PlayStation 2 · by Paul Sinnett (502) · 2004
An excellent job from Revolution Software to try to awake the long lost adventure game spirit!!!
The Good
I personally liked the HUGE ENTHUSIASM before the release of the game! Adventure Gamers from all over the world were expecting this game from the day it was announced that "BROKEN SWORD 3" is in the making. Previews and interviews with the game designers and creators started taking place long before a release date was even announced!!!
An so it landed in stores, on a November day in 2003.
Even if it was very clearly stated in interviews and previews, that the game wouldn't follow its CLASSIC predecessors in interface, graphics and gameplay, I was anxious to see what did REVOLUTION SOFTWARE create. I had pre-ordered my copy from the "ADVENTURE COMPANY" website and I received the game 2-3 days after the official release date in the US, which was November 17, 2003.
When I first got the game, I noticed the nice artwork on the front and inside cover of the game box, not the screenshots, just the artwork.
The game is rich in storyline and dialogues, which is always a big plus for any adventure game.
Action sequences are spreaded here and there in the game, a very nice touch.
The puzzles were rich and reminded me a lot of the puzzles in "GABRIEL KNIGHT 3", but I will talk about the puzzles later.
Excellent characters were created by the REVOLUTION SOFTWARE'S team and you get to control two(2) of them, which I think is always a plus to a game, too.
And not to mention the graphics! Sometimes stunning and very very graphical presentation of places like the Castle in Prague and the airplane hanging from the edge of the cliff in Congo at the beginning of the game.
It was a game full of suspense and overall REVOLUTION STUDIOS presented a UNIQUE, NEW approach to ADVENTURE GAMING and I liked that.
The Bad
Overall, it was a well designed game, with the only blemish I' ll say being the MOVING BOXES PUZZLES!?! In the beginning it was OK, but by the end of the game I think there were at least ten(10) if not more puzzles based on moving boxes/items!!! It looks like the designers run out of ideas and trying to stretch the game by just inserting these puzzles all over the place. It was a considerably irritating experience, especially because it was to EASY!!!
And I continue from where I left above, the game in general was very EASY to complete. It took me around 25-30 hours total to finish the game. That is nothing compared to CLASSIC adventure games like "BLACK DAHLIA" (it took me days) "INDIANA JONES AND THE FATE OF ATLANTIS" (it took me weeks) and "GABRIEL KNIGHT 3".
Other than that I don't think I found anything else that is bad.
The Bottom Line
It is definitely a MUST HAVE for ADVENTURE GAMERS.
I think that with this release REVOLUTION SOFTWARE established itself as a benchmark company for this Game Genre, for the beginning at least of the new millennium!!!
Windows · by ggfournar (5) · 2004
A partly successful attempt to breath new life into the adventure genre
The Good
Well, the most important thing about a game, at least in my opinion, is that it's
fun to play, and fortunately, Broken Sword 3 possesses this virtue.
Another thing of interest to most gamers these days is graphics, and Broken Sword 3
manages to deliver in this area as well.
On to the core, the gameplay itself. BS3 has all the ingredients an adventure should
have, interesting characters and locations, meaningful conversations, brainteasing
riddles ... all this doesn't sound too bad, does it?
The Bad
Well, it isn't. But the game still offers some reasons for complaining.
The most painful thing for me, an old adventure game veteran, is the absence of
mouse control. Over the course of the development I've read a number of
interviews with different chaps from Revolution Software in which they bragged
this game was going to reinvent the adventure genre. However, you'll be hardly
pressed to actually notice this. Most things have been done before, mainly
by the also fully three dimensional Gabriel Knight 3. BS3 is still playable
enough, even without a mouse interface, but I missed one more than once and
aforementioned GK3 HAD mouse control, so I have to come to the conclusion the
reason for it's absence is mere lazyness.
That out of the way, the next biggest complaint, FAR less serious from my personal
viewpoint, is the weirdo mixture of mythologies featured in BS3.
Revolution Software did a great job basing Broken Sword 1 on the myths around the
legendary Knights Templar, but the move to mixing in different other mythologies
started in BS2 has been brought one step further in BS3, up to a point where it gets
somewhat too much.
Having a direct connection between artifacts of the Knights Templar,
Old-Egyptian temples and the tale of King Arthur is a bit much for my taste.
But this is a matter of personal preference, I guess.
Finally, there's an abundance of sokoban-style puzzles in Sleeping Dragon, which
can get kind of annoying at times.
The Bottom Line
Don't be fooled by the fact that the bad section is twice as big as the good section,
despite all downsides BS3 is definitely a game worth playing, it's just not a pure
blood adventure and - not uncommon amongst multi-genre adventures - a bit shallow
at times. Nonetheless, the sentence I began this review with is still true at it's end.
Windows · by Cadorna (219) · 2003
Trivia
Casting
The actress who played Nico, Sarah Crook did not actually audition for the role. She was one of the supervisors of the audition, and asked Charles Cecil if she could try out for the role after a string of applicants Cecil regarded as unsuitable.
References
- In the room of Vernon Blier, the geek, you can find some references. In his bedroom, there's a poster with the cover image of the first Broken Sword game against the wall. In the living room, there's a painting with an apple on it. If you observe it closely, Nico will say: "Another Steve Jobs original" - an obvious reference to Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple.
- George's lucky piece of coal makes a return. In the previous game, you could pick up a 'lucky piece of coal' in the warehouse in Marseilles. It appears in this game as well, you can find it in the locked metal shack in Susarro`s Castle. Just like the previous game, it has no use at all in the game itself.
- The picture of George in Nico's apartment is the picture that George uses to ask about the killer throughout the first Broken Sword game, Circle of Blood. If you look behind George, you can see the assassin, complete with the bright green clown pants.
Trilogy
This was planned to be the last Broken Sword game, but later Revolution decided to continue the series with Secrets of the Ark: A Broken Sword Game.
Awards
- 4Players
- 2003 – Best Console Adventure Game of the Year (PlayStation 2)
Information also contributed by Depth Lord, Kalrac and Martin Smith
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Related Sites +
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Broken Sword - The Sleeping Dragon
Official website -
Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon - FAQs & Guides
Various walkthroughs and fact files on GameFaqs.com -
Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon Hints
Question and answer type solution guide -
Mr. Bill's Solution
Tells you how to get through the Action portions of Sleeping Dragon -
Walkthrough for The Sleeping Dragon
by MaGtRo -
Wikipedia: Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon
Article in the open encyclopedia
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by Sciere.
PlayStation 2, Xbox added by MAT.
Additional contributors: MAT, Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, Monkeyhead, Pirou Julien, Ghost Pirate, dome_quest, Patrick Bregger.
Game added November 13, 2003. Last modified April 16, 2024.