Secrets of the Ark: A Broken Sword Game (2006 Video Game) User Reviews

A Thin Story

[TheHande · 6/10 · 12 December 2006]

"Broken Sword: The Angel of Death" improves upon many of the aspects of the last game, but unfortunately fails as a compelling adventure. But let us begin with some of the good points.

Firstly, the interface brings back mouse-interaction and this undoubtedly helps the gameplay, to a degree. The shifting camera-angles still make smooth moving impossible and on occasion I found myself favoring the keyboard (particularly with a certain puzzle near the end of the game). Graphics-wise the game has much greater detail and George doesn't look half as dorky as he did in the last game. Unfortunately the physics of the game have not been greatly improved.

All in all the game has a much slower pace and animation wise is not as memorable as its predecessor. Much of the comic-charm of the game is also taken out by ridiculously designed dialogue sequences that feel artificial and dialogue-subjects that can literally be repeated indefinitely when you're uncertain if you've missed something (and because you usually have to talk to certain NPCs more than once). The fact that you still can't skip dialogue only adds to the irritation.

Luckily cut-scenes can be paused by jumping to the menu. The game has great characters but a lot of the potential is lost here too since many of them only stop by for a quick appearance. Virgil's ridiculously small role irritated me most. The game still offers many great moments (such as disarming a bomb while George suffers from a furious hangover) and the same witty dialogue of the previous games. And while the game returns to the simplicity of the puzzles of the first two games, this too is a small consolation.

Where the game really lets us down is the plot. The story jumps around and justifies itself only with the faintest reference to previous titles. Additionally the badguys are uninteresting and plain. The game suffers from an over-all lack of comprehensive drama while the player keeps zooming around the globe without a clear clue as to what he/she is supposed to be doing.

Additional points of irritation include clear ripping off from Gabriel Knight 3 as well boring deaths, a clear plot-error concerning Duane, the lack of George's past-tense narrative and an inconsequential plot.

I can only hope that Charles Cecil will pull together a better script if he ever plans on making another Broken Sword and for once it wouldn't hurt to get someone other than just Rolf Saxon to reprise their roles. The lack of consistency with Nicole's voice-acting is becoming simply depressing.

Better than it's predecessor

[smurfas666 · 6/10 · 26 October 2020]

Though this one is considered the worst in the series, I liked it better than "The Sleeping Dragon". First of all it's a point & click adventure again. Some puzzles were pretty challenging and I liked that too. No more annoying box puzzles, way less stealth sequences and ways to die. The game still has a lot of drawbacks - like unskippable dialogs, awful camera movement and controls and pixel hunting. I hate when I have to consult walkthrough - it kills the "eureka" moment when you solve everything yourself - but I has to do that a few times just because I missed some items lying around. Took me about 19 hours to complete the game.

It's better than it's predecessor, but I would only recommend this for the fans of the series.

Mostly Excellent Adventure With Some Flaws

[bs3dc · 23 July 2007]

In Angel of Death, our hero George Stobbart has again fallen on hard times and is working in New York at a Bail Bond Office in a crummy neighbourhood. However his reputation is widespread and he suddenly finds in his office the mysterious and beautiful Anna Maria who has a job for him, but she has some men following her...

There are some definite improvements from the last adventure. The reliability is considerably better as it did not crash once on my PC, which is not something I can say about BS3. The puzzles are more varied and more logical, with less pushing of boxes to solve every other problem. The use of a PDA for hacking is an original feature that is entertaining if slightly over-used. The graphics look impressive throughout the game. The story is good if you can ignore the large plot holes that make motivation sometimes unclear.

There are some great wacky minor characters that outshine some of the repeated ones - it really is a small world when you come across some of the same people in every game no matter what the location. The most irritating point in this is when George states that he first met Duane Henderson in Quaramonte City (BS2 instead of Syria in BS1), when surely even the most casual of fans could have got this right. It just makes the game look a little rushed. Nico is again voiced by yet another actress - why is this when Rolf Saxon has remained as George throughout? At least the voice acting is almost universally good, with a large talented cast that means the characters all sound different and real - how many adventure games can claim that? The dry humour is still there in abundance as George has a mine of stories about his family and plenty of wisecracks even when in the toughest of situations, but probably the highlight is the hilarious "is it safe" dialogue, presumably inspired by the infamous dentistry scene from "Marathon Man." It would have been helpful if the designers could have added a way to skip dialogue as this can be annoying.

The camera is often a worse enemy than the main adversaries as it will quickly swing around especially when you reach doorways and can be a real pain if you are in a hurry. Control when going up and down stairs is almost impossible at times without using the keyboard.

BS4 may have its problems, but it is still streets ahead of most of its competitors who in the main can only come up with weak murder mystery adaptations based on Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle - a new Broken Sword game would still come near the top of my wish list, closely behind Gabriel Knight 4. Without spoiling the ending, it would be a shame to terminate the series here. With its globe-trotting nature, there are plenty of places and secrets to explore yet.