Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror

aka: BS2, Baphomets Fluch II: Die Spiegel der Finsternis, Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror, Broken Sword II: La Profezia dei Maya, Broken Sword II: Las Fuerzas del Mal, Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror, Circle of Blood II, Les Chevaliers de Baphomet II: Les Boucliers de Quetzalcoatl, Slomannyj Mech 2: Dymjascheesja Zerkalo
Moby ID: 1133
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror is the sequel to Circle of Blood and the second game in the Broken Sword series.

The player alternately controls George Stobbart, the protagonist of the first game, and Nicole Collard, the French journalist he met in the first game and who has since become his girlfriend. The game starts with George witnessing the kidnapping of Nicole. This event eventually leads to an investigation into a conspiracy revolving around a forthcoming solar eclipse and the evil Aztec god Tezcatlipoca. The locations visited throughout the game include Paris, Marseilles, London, Quaramonte, the jungle, a Caribbean environment, and a zombie island. Certain locations from the previous game make a return.

The game is entirely in 2D and gameplay is in typical point-and-click fashion. The player moves the character around using the mouse, examines the environment, talks to other people, and collect items stored in an inventory. These items need to be used or combined with other items to solve puzzles.

Spellings

  • Сломанный Меч 2: Дымящееся Зеркало - Russian spelling
  • 断剑2 - Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

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Producer
Assistant Producer
Executive Producer
Gaffer
Stunt Co-ordinator
Premier Party Organizer
Sound, Design Testing and Supervision
Chief Design Test Supervisors
Design Test Supervisors
Chief Hairdresser
Make-up
Animal Trainer
QA Effects Supervisor
Customer Technical Advisor (The Fat Controller)
Grumpy Old Git
Chief Dossers
Producer
Product Manager
Spiritual Advisor
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 80% (based on 48 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.0 out of 5 (based on 172 ratings with 7 reviews)

Rushed sequel, fails to live up to the first game

The Good
As this game uses the same game engine as its predecessor the graphics are as beautiful as ever, plus the credits even have a song with lyrics now. There are some technical improvements to the interface, for example, you can now jump to locations by double clicking on an exit.

The puzzles, for the most part, are straightforward and logical. You won't find anything similar to the infamous goat puzzle from the first game. The big difference to the first game, is that in Smoking Mirror the player has the opportunity to control two characters at different times. And even though it's nothing special like, say, Maniac Mansion, you just play one chapter with George another with Nico, it's still a nice diversion.

There's still plenty of interesting characters you'll meet along the way. Plus you'll also run into a few old faces from the first game like the American tourists Duane and Pearl, and get to find out what happened to Sergeant Moue.

The Bad
After the Templar grand plot in the first game, here the story feels rather cliche - bad guy trying to resurrect evil god and prevent others from stopping him. And that's a shame because the Mayans are just as an interesting subject as the Knights Templar but here it's wasted with the rather thin plot this game has.

The story is not nearly as well-conceived nor executed. There's one major event near the end that takes place totally off screen and isn't explained or even showed in a cutscene at all. But seeing as this game was released just one year after the original it's easy to suspect why production was rushed and major scenes were dropped.

It starts out rather dull despite beginning the game strapped into a chair guarded by a deadly spider. Unlike the first game, it failed to pull me in right at the start. Though it does get significantly more interesting from there one, that is once you get to Quaramonte and the Caribbean. But still, compared to the first game there isn't nearly enough location variety. Also the first one had an abundance of interesting and funny characters, here there's only maybe a dozen, there's also way less conversations (which to some might be a blessing though).

This game is also more linear than the original. There's no map and in only one area you have more than one choice about where to go next. You also no longer can ask everyone about every item you're carrying, only a selected few. If you try to ask about the others, the main character will just say: "I don't think he/she would be interested in that". Why not? For me that was one of the numerous strong points in the original, where you could, for example, show plaster to a museum guard and get some snarky response from him.

I don't know what is it with mazes in adventure games but there's one here as well. Even though the Zombie Island maze is not nearly annoying as the one in the third Kyrandia game it still felt unnecessary. The Mayan setting feels wasted on the puzzles as well, with only the last 2 puzzles right at the end happening in the Mayan temple. However the problem is that they don't gel at all with the pacing of the game by that time. Oh don't mind me while I do some wheel & lever puzzles, the villain will just have to wait resurrecting that evil god.

The Bottom Line
As expected the first one was a tough act to follow, as a result the second Broken Sword game doesn't really pull it off. In fact, I would say it's not even close, however Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror is still a solid game with plenty of style and character, well worth checking out if you like adventure games.

Windows · by Infernos (44006) · 2014

Broken Sword 2

The Good
Broken Sword 2 features superior graphics and sound fit for an animated movie by Don Bluth. Beyond the amazing, late 1990s visual and audio features, the game offers an enjoyable, point n' click, adventure game storyline. While the game's script may not be as funny as Monkey Island or Disc World, it's some of funniest stuff I heard in an adventure game in a long time.

The Bad
My complaints with the Broken Sword 2 mainly fall on its linear game play. Exploration in the game is limited to what is needed to complete a specific task or puzzle. You rarely have the option to backtrack in the game and the final puzzle in the game feels anti-climatic. Game play aside, I did notice a few, glitches on 'Zombie Island' where failure to complete certain puzzles in the proper order may force you to restart the game or load a saved game.


The Bottom Line
Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror is a great graphic adventure game from the late 1990s. Fans of the genre, especially games that have some humor in them, will enjoy the ride, but may end up feeling a bit hungry for more, once the game is completed.

Windows · by ETJB (428) · 2010

A little on the simple side, but with a brilliant script.

The Good
The story was on the quirky side, but the characters, the dialogue between them, and the way the voice actors brought it all to life was simply a joy. At first glance the graphics looked like something that wound up on Hanna-Barbara's cutting room floor, but once into the game they animated with a nice frame rate that settled all fears. Also, the difficulty level was low, making this perfect for beginners or people mainly interested in the story. The puzzles were pretty well integrated into the game, with none of the noticable "adventure game syndrome" coming to the surface. Another glowing point that deserves praise is the execution of the plot. There were a lot of things going on here, but so many of them were subtle. Farces on pop culture lay everywhere, but never does the script beat them over our heads. They're just there to pick up on in passing. So too is a lot of the game's adult content. Instead of coming right out and screaming in the user's face that this is a no-holds-barred gorefest or language-spree, instead it is once again shuffled into the deck and produced as the plot requires.

The Bad
Well, the game was easy. I know I listed this as a good point, but it can also be bad. Sure, you can sit back, look at the big picture, and figure out the solution, but veteran gamers will not be challanged at all here.

The Bottom Line
Quick-witted and fun as a piece of entertainment, this is something to enjoy if you're here for the story and dialogue. Mensa members seeking to challenge themselves should move on.

Windows · by Vance (94) · 2000

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Plot question: what happened to general Grasiento? Nowhere Girl (8680) Oct 23, 2016
How to access the Scumm VM menu? Nowhere Girl (8680) Sep 24, 2016

Trivia

References

  • An easter egg in the subway station references Beneath a Steel Sky, an earlier game by the same developers. More information can be found in the tips & tricks section
  • If you watch carefully during the intro in Professor Oubier's house you can see a portrait of what looks like the Spanish villa from Circle of Blood.
  • When the dog falls into the water in Marseilles, a melody from the known nursery song "Oh where, oh where is my little dog gone?" is heard.

Awards

  • PC Player (Germany)
    • Issue 01/1998 - Best Adventure in 1997

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Shane k.

PlayStation added by Adam Baratz.

Additional contributors: MAT, Zovni, Grant McLellan, Unicorn Lynx, Jeanne, Apogee IV, Kardboard2na, Sciere, Xoleras, Ghost Pirate, CaesarZX, Patrick Bregger, Nowhere Girl.

Game added March 25, 2000. Last modified March 27, 2024.