Howdy Gamers
Today I want to start a Lets play series for an awesome point and click adventure game called Broken Sword - Shadow of The Templars The Director's Cut.
This game was originally released for PC and Playstation 1 back in the 1990s with this updated Directors Cut version being released in 2009.
The Directors cut has updated graphics and many entirely new areas and puzzles.I played the original game back in the mid 90s on playstation one but I have never played this new and improved version.
I saw that it was available on Steam for a very affordable price so yesterday I downloaded it and filmed part 1 of our adventure.
We begin our adventure in Paris in the Autumn playing the role of Parisian journalist Nico Collard.She is on her way to interview a member of the Parisian nobility named Pierre Carchon
Nico has been working on a story about a costume killer and it seems Pierre Carchon may have more information for her.
On the way to Carchons mansion we bump into a suspicious looking mime artist...
Inside the mansion we meet Pierre and his wife Imelda...
While Pierre is introducing himself we hear the sound of a priceless Ming vase breaking and Pierre heads of to investigate...
A gunshot is heard and Nico rushes to the scene...
Nico finds the mime standing over Pierres lifeless body.The mime beckons her closer then knocks her out cold and flees the scene...
Nico awakens somewhat stunned....Its time to start our investigation!
Lets start by checking the killers escape route...
With no sign of the killer and nothing to find here lets head back inside...
I guess we should check Pierre's body...
We find a paperclip and a ticket stub.Lets head out into the hallway.First I examine the painting and found some paint.
Examining the desk we find a piece of cloth covering a secret compartment...
Using the lockpick to open the secret compartment we find a key hidden inside.
Let's speak to Imelda...
After gaining Imelda's trust she gives us a key to Pierres study ,lets take a look...
Examining the picture on the wall we find a hidden safe.Using the key from the secret compartment in the desk we open it to find a mysterious artefact...
Examining the desk we find a piece of blank paper and an elephant statue.Lets use the paint to make a print an see what's written on the artifact...
It reads Sub Judice...Nico recognises this to be a legal term meaning "Under the courts".She suddenly realises there is a connection between the coded message and the boat ticket stub found on Pierre's body.The boat ticket reads "Bateaux de la Conciergerie"
The Conciergerie on Ile de la Cité -by the River housed the ancient law courts.That is our next place to investigate but first let's talk with Imelda before leaving the mansion.
Reaching the river down by Ile de la city we find and old boat house.I take a minute to enjoy this incredibly well drawn cel shaded image of Paris in the Autumn...Those trees are stunning!
The boat house is locked by a puzzling mechanism ,the first of the games notoriously difficult puzzles.I spent over 10 minutes trying to solve this gate lock and eventually had to use the hint system for the first time.
The ? symbol in the bottom right hand corner of the screen gives 3 hints to help solve puzzles and situations the player is stuck on.I used all 3 to find the developers added a cheat for this puzzle.Using this method we finally gain access to the boat house.
I first click on the old boat knocking it over to find an empty shell cartridge...
The stone door is locked by another puzzle.Inserting the artifact we found in Carchons safe is the key to unlocking it.Notice the words Sinister and Dexter....S on the left and D on the right...
Much like cracking a safe we need to move the dial from left to right in the correct order.If we mess up the puzzle resets.I solved this one without using the hint system instead just using good old trial error and memory.However if we look back at the print we made in Carchons study the letters at the bottom tell us the correct order to move the dial...SDSSDSS.... could have saved some time had I been smart enough to notice that :)
The stone door opens and we find ourselves in a chamber that looks like it might be hiding the Holy Grail or Arc of the Covenant....Very much reminiscent of something Indiana Jones would do...
This area was a little puzzling.What happens is that when we lift the cross in the middle of the room the stone door closes and a second panel is revealed.We need something to hold the cross up while we check out the second panel.Using the shell casing works to jam the cross...
We need to use the artifact found in Carchons safe in this panel to open a second stone door which jams at first but can be pried open with the shell casing which we flattened with the first stone door...
Behind the door we find a darkened cobweb covered room...
The blinking red light at the entrance indicates there is still electricity,lets turn the lights on...
It seems someone else has been investigating the costume killer.Articles written by Nico are on the desk to the far left...
Lets check the drawer for clues...
Inside we find a message coded with a cypher .....This was another tough puzzle to crack, whoever designed this puzzle should work for MI5 or the CIA!
Alot of trial and error and a few hints letter the message starts to become clear...
Pierre was investigating the killer , that's why he contacted Nico and that's what got him killed!I think there is a deeper mystery unfolding...
Back at Nicos apartment we find out her editor wont run a story about Carchon,it seems some has told him not to cover it.
Nico gets of the phone with her editor and is then contacted by a man named Planctard.He says he has information about the killer and wants to meet at a cafe called La Chandelle Verte...
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The next morning we find an American by the name of George Stobbart sitting outside the Cafe flirting with the waitress...This is where the original version of the game began...These cel shaded images flooded me with nostalgic memories of 1990s gaming.
Plantard walks in a bumps into the waitress..
As Plantard heads into the Cafe a scary looking clown approaches George Stobbart
The clown creeps into the cafe and steals Plantards briefcase leaving behind his concertina bomb!
The clown flees the scene and the bomb explodes leaving a rather disgruntled George Stobart under a blue and yellow parasol...
It's here we end part 1 of our adventure , ready to start part 2 tomorrow with George investigating the explosion and getting caught up in the adventure of a lifetime!
