| Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon | |
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European Windows boxart |
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| Developer(s) | Revolution Software |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Designer(s) | Charles Cecil |
| Series | Broken Sword |
| Engine | RenderWare |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2 |
| Release date(s) | Microsoft Windows
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| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: T (Teen) USK: 6+ PEGI: 12+ |
| Media/distribution | 2 CD-ROMs (Microsoft Windows) 1 DVD (PlayStation 2, Xbox) |
| System requirements
Windows
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Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon is the third installment in the Broken Sword series of computer games, and was released on November 17, 2003 on the Microsoft Windows, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 platforms. However, the PlayStation 2 version was only released in Europe and Japan.
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The Gameplay in Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon is a departure from previous installments in the series, consisting of keyboard strokes (up arrow, down arrow, left arrow, right arrow, w, a, s, and d as default settings), rather than the sole use of a mouse, which is contrary to most previous Point-and-click adventure games.
George, the protagonist, and Harry, his friend, are flying to the Congo to meet a scientist who claims to have found a source of unlimited energy. They arrive at the scientist’s lab in time to see him gunned down by a pale, lanky man and his bodyguard. A postcard hidden in the lab prompts George to travel to Glastonbury, England, to search for a man named Bruno.
He finds Bruno as he rushes to save an old man from a burning building. The old man turns out to be a former member of the Neo-Templars from the first game. He claims that the cult has been taken over by a man named Susarro, who renamed it the Cult of the Dragon. It is revealed that Susarro is the pale man who killed the scientist in the Congo. The old man says that Susarro seeks to gain immortality through the use of the Earth’s ley lines. Bruno is able to track the ley lines and believes that Susarro may be going to Paris.
Bruno leads George to an abandoned theatre in Paris. Inside, George finds Susarro, a mysterious woman, and Flap, a character from the first game, interrogating Nico, George’s girlfriend from previous games. After Susarro and the woman leave, George knocks Flap unconscious and rescues Nico. George learns that Nico was following the woman, named Petra, because she had killed a friend of hers. George and Nico continue to search the theatre, looking for the source of the energy Bruno detected. They find two keys; one has an omega symbol on it, the other is the energy source. Outside, George is tazed by an unknown assailant and the energy key is stolen.
Back at Nico’s apartment, Bruno reveals that the stolen key was the Key of Solomon; Susarro would need it to access a special armillary in an ancient building whose location is unknown. In time, they collect two more keys like the omega key, and they determine that the armillary is in Egypt. Before this discovery, however, Bruno is captured by Susarro.
At the armillary building, George and Nico arrive to see Susarro forcing Bruno to activate the armillary. As it powers up, George and Nico subdue Susarro. Petra arrives with a hooded man seen twice before in the game, who proceeds to kill Susarro with supernatural powers. It is revealed that the hooded man is the Grand Master of the Neo-Templars, thought to have been killed in the first game. With the armillary active and the location of a large power site displayed, the Grand Master sets off dynamite in the building as he escapes, trapping George, Nico, and Bruno inside. The only way for them to escape is for one of them to sacrifice themselves in one of the puzzle rooms. Bruno takes the responsibility, hoping to atone for past sins so that George and Nico can stop the Grand Master.
George and Nico arrive at the power site in Glastonbury. As Nico confronts Petra, George tries to stop the Grand Master. He arrives in time to see the Grand Master absorb the energy at the site, turning him into a dragon and causing the ground beneath them to collapse. George finds a sword in the cavern, which he uses to slay the dragon and save the world.
Revolution's director Charles Cecil stated in an interview that the development costs were £2 million.[1]
The Sleeping Dragon received generally favourable reviews, with IGN giving the game a rating of 8.4, placing it under the "Impressive" category.[2] GameSpot gave a score of 8.1, saying that it was "refreshing to play a game like Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon".[3] However, both IGN and GameSpot noted that the interface was difficult to use and the puzzles in the game were repetitive. Other critics praised the game for being a good example of the adventure genre for gaming.[4]
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