Broken Sword 4 announced

[PaulSC]

I know this means there are now two Broken Sword threads on the front page, but I thought this deserved it's own discussion. You can find a link to the press release at www.revolution.co.uk.

Personally, I find it hard to really see this as a particularly positive thing. Given that BS3 was a weak seller and didn't impress too many fans or critics, it seems a bit odd for them to jump into another installment so soon, especially considering they admit the story was supposed to be over. Does this mean the Beneath A Steel Sky sequel is on hold or cancelled?

I can't help thinking that they're only doing this because they feel further milking their once profitable series is their only commercial option at this point. Maybe the game will be good, but it's still disappointing to see this once excellent company seemingly reduced to a cycle of endless franchising.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

I dislike endless franchising, but considering that apart from all the crate-pushing BS3 was actually pretty good (and my personal favorite of the 3) I'm not immediatly dead set against it.

But THIS is what I think is the wrong decision:

"Broken Sword had originally been designed as a trilogy with Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon intended as the finale."

...so why not invest on a new title instead of a fourth? Sho' 'nough, it must be wonderful for them, as the designers, to have fan-pressure for a fourth, but should they give in? Me thinks not, considering what happened to the Quest for Glory series - or to the Monkey Island series, come to that, where things were just pushed too far. Exception taken to the Gabe Knight series - a Gabe Knight 4 WAS being conceived (to do with ghosts and Scotland, or some such thing), it just didn't get done. Meaning, the series wasn't meant to stop as a trilogy.

The authors decided to make a trilogy. They did a good job at it, methinks. They should just leave it at that, for crying out loud.

[hedgefield]

"George falls in love with a mysterious woman..."

He-lloo! What happened to Nico?

I about equally like each Broken Sword installment, and I hope they will go back to the basics and make this another worthy successor. If I had a vote in it I'd say 2D again, but I guess they'll stick with 3D. Not nescessarily a bad thing, but the first 2 just had more...flair.

Still, I know I'll be buying it. This thread eased the end of my vacation quite a bit.






And for god's sake, bring back the jacket! 

[Chicky]

but i havnt finished number three yet!

I also agree a forth is going too far, but what else have the adventure game community got to look forward to?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Chicky - precisely. Maybe if they GAVE us something new to look forward to?

[Mr Jake]

I look forward to BS4....

[Redwall]

I also agree a forth is going too far, but what else have the adventure game community got to look forward to?

Err... Dreamfall? Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy?

[[Cameron]]

Rui, you might hurt me for this, but I think GK3 was pushing it too far.
As for Broken Sword, I preffered the first game to the other 2, the image of the clown blowing up the cafe still haunts me But thats not to say 2 and 3 werent enjoyable.  But adding another game to an already finished series seems a bit silly. A good example of this is the Friday the 13th movie franchise. Jason X and the spinoffs were too much and ended up really crap. (F13th 1-9 still rock my world though)

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

Redwall, it's funny you should mention Dreamfall, which is a sequel.

[Ali]

While moneyspinning seldom leads to good games/films etc. I see no reason to doubt the quality of this next game. As with Gabriel Knight, I found the first Broken Sword game to be excellent, the second to be weak and the third to be a return to form.

In both cases at the point of the second game I might have said, "no more sequels, please!". If I had I would have denied myself two of my favourite games. If BS4 is made with the same integrity, humour and attention to detail as the third in the series it will be a worthy continuation.

EDIT: Sorry, Rui, I know it's adventure game blasphemy but I felt that the gameplay, graphics, and puzzles were deeply substandard in GK2. The story was good though!

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

You found GK2 a weak game?!

<Brisby stares>

[TheYak]

I certainly wouldn't argue with him if he were saying GK2 was weak.  It was intriguing to have a movie you could control somewhat but the simplified interface, story and general repetitiveness of FMV sequences got very old very quickly.  I played the first half and then merely checked up on my ex as she played through the rest.  GK1's one of my favorite adventures, but the follow-ups . . . I wouldn't be any worse off if I'd given them a miss.

Back to topic.  I've never actually played the first two BS games, but found the third quite enjoyable.  As mentioned, the box-pushing bits were a bit asinine, but everything else played pretty well.  They used 3D more to provide a smooth and well-animated experience than utterly relying upon it and forcing what could've been a 2D game into a 3D mould.

[Redwall]

Redwall, it's funny you should mention Dreamfall, which is a sequel.

Err... yeah? So?

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

So? Well, we're talking about giving the players something new instead of giving us sequels, and you quote a sequel as an example of something new.

[PaulSC]

I don't know, I'm definitely glad that Revolution are still around and 'doing their thing' (they're the only 'golden era' adventure developer left, i guess?), and I suppose them doing more Broken Swords is better then them doing nothing at all. But it's hard to see them as a vital, highly creative company when they're doing nothing but sequels to that one game. Even that BASS sequel they announced ages back would've been far more of an interesting prospect for me (though it'd probably be in ugly 3D, with no Gibbons artwork).

Of course, if they're working on both games at the same time, then that's fine with me! As long as they're good.

[Khris]

GK2 was one of the absolutely worst adventures I've ever played. I've never liked Sierra games in general, but GK2 is a prime example for why IMO the whole FMV subgenre sucks ass.

BTT: I'd love to see another BS, I didn't enjoy the 3rd one as much as the other two, but it was still quite entertaining.
I was a bit dissapointed when I first learned that BS3 was using a 3D engine (if only to be able to port the game to the PS2 and XBox to increase profit), but they included everything else I liked about the 2D ones.

And only because they announced BS3 to be the final part years ago, they shouldn't change their mind and publish a fourth one?
If a game is well done, I absolutely don't care whether it is the 17th installment or the first.

[Rui 'Trovatore' Pires]

[the minority-composed-of-one that thinks GK2 is one of the best adventure games ever shuts up]

EDIT - Ah, almost forgot.

And only because they announced BS3 to be the final part years ago, they shouldn't change their mind and publish a fourth one?
If a game is well done, I absolutely don't care whether it is the 17th installment or the first.

Not necessarily, but broadly... yeah. If the creators make it to span three games/novels/films/whatever, there's a VERY HIGH chance that if they make more after that it'll feel tacked on, surplus, unnecessary, and whatnot. I mean, take Stephen King's "Misery" for instance.

Spoiler

In it, writer Paul Sheldon is forced to make a comeback for a MAIN character who he killed off. His first reaction is to simply rewrite what had already happened, so she didn't die. Most people wouldn't do that, but other inane things might well happen - the sequel to Secret of NIMH, for instance (the film version at least), undoes things and makes others that are just ridiculous. I mean, Mr. Ages the leader of the rats? That grumpy man who despises company? Besides, wasn't Justin already the leader?

Yes, Paul Sheldon DID eventually find a way to revive her. Yes, it DID become his best Misery novel, and possibly his bets novel, period. That goes to show that yes, it MIGHT work. But then he had one hell of a consultant to make sure he didn't screw up. Unless the same can be said of everyone, there's a VERY high chance that they'll make silly things.

[close]

[Redwall]

So? Well, we're talking about giving the players something new instead of giving us sequels, and you quote a sequel as an example of something new.

I thought we were talking about the lack of adventure games today, period, as indicated by the post I originally quoted.

[..]

Hate to revive a dead topic but I couldn't help but express my joy.  Why is everybody else so depressed about the fourth installment?

It should be brilliant!  I'd buy Broken Sword 45 if they went that far, the games are awesome and it's brilliant that a franchise has been revived and people are still making this type of game.. maybe lucasarts should take the hint *cough* monkey island *cough*

As for it being planned as a trilogy I didn't notice, I never thought at the end of three that it closed it nicely and finished everything...

Maybe they gave the wrong info about the beautiful woman... I don't think they'd get rid of nico like that... maybe the woman is nico who is kidnapped, or it is a beautiful woman but geroge isn't necessarily in love with her (maybe a bit of oggling much to the annoyance of nico)

Still.. Bring on Broken Sword 4...! And the Templars!

[Exorph]

I don't see the problem really.
I mean, if the game sucks, we can just go on playing the past three games.. right? And if it's great.. than we can all be happy about that.

I mean, isn't Revolution quite a small company? Would the same people who are making BS4 make BASS2?
If that's the case, why would they be able to make a good sequel to BASS, if they can't make a good sequel to BS3?

As for the woman.. can't Nico be in there, only not as George's girlfriend? Weren't they basically broken up at the beginning of BS2?