Revolution

Like Erin, I also spent time with some PC adventure titles during my youth, most notably Space Quest and the infamous Leisure Suit Larry series. 1998's Grim Fandango was a more recent one, and I enjoyed that just as much as the old-schoolers, if not more. So, it comes as no real surprise that I thought Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon was a great disc to spend time with. It meets all the genre's quasi-requirements like snappy dialogue and a light tone, presenting a genuinely enjoyable adventure. It may knock twitch gamers unconscious with its lack of combat and relatively slow pace, but this is a kind of game that I don't want to see disappear into the annals of history, mouse or no mouse.

Game Description: The murder of an underground hacker in Paris is just the beginning of this extraordinary adventure for George Stobbard and Nico Collard in the highly anticipated Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon. Powerful seismic events are shaking the world. An Ancient Conspiracy, the Secrets of the Templars, and a fiendish source of pure Evil are responsible. From the jungles of the Congo to the deceptive calm of the English West Country and gothic castles time is running out for the Earth and only George and Nico can save it. An epic narrative from Europe's master interactive storytellers; Stunning graphics delivered by a radical new graphic engine; Wholly intuitive direct control interface fresh gameplay navigation for full control of the character; Movie quality script and voice acting, with facial animation choreography using Virtual Actor Engine.

In terms of winning over new gamers to the cause, I doubt that the addition of a few things to climb on, some very elementary stealth scenarios, and a whole bunch of crates to push around doesn't change the game enough to appeal to those who find adventure games boring to begin with. The Sleeping Dragon is more about keeping the faith than anything.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gord, Mild Language, Violence