Circle of Blood (1996)

I desperately wanted to like this game, in no small part because it's so well-regarded, but after finishing it I find I just...don't. There were a few puzzles I enjoyed, a few bits of dialogue I laughed at, but overall I rarely found the characters interesting or the plot compelling. (I will say that getting to show characters what's in your inventory was a nice--and often hilarious--touch.)

In fairness, I played the director's cut and I'm told a fair amount of content was taken out of that, so perhaps I'd like the original better. But as things stand, I'm just not seeing the appeal of this classic. I'll give the second game a try and see if I have more luck connecting with that one. Two stars out of my customary four.

A bit old but still holding up pretty good.

A classical adventure point and click game in which you play as an American tourist on vacation in France. Just so happens that a bomb explodes inside the cafe at which you were having a coffee. Needless to say it's enough for the main character to investigate and get tangled inside the Templar story.

So the game is a bit cheesy. Has that 90's vibe as well. But that's actually quite refreshing nowadays. And I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story is a standard Templars story - there's a conspiracy, they want something to rule the world, you're up to stop it. Simple but quite entertaining. On your adventure you'll get to visit France, Spain, Ireland and Egypt. The characters while feeling a bit cliché are still pretty interesting and the dialogs are pretty fun.

Visually it's still very lovely looking. Hand drawn locations are varied and pretty - although in a bit smaller resolution. It still looks good. And the animations remind of older French animation films. The sound is also well done - all dialogs are spoken so no reading necessary.

The puzzles are pretty nice - there's nothing too abstract and they do make sense for the most part. Only on few occasions you get the full map with no clue where to go next. For most part the next step is obvious. The interface used is a standard point and click - but instead of picking sentences to speak you use the icon of the topic or item you want your character to talk about. Pretty neat if you don't like reading all the possible questions you might want to ask.

Overall this game is pretty fun - even after all these years. Interesting characters, well designed and drawn locations and most of all entertaining story makes this a must play on any point and click enthusiast list. Highly recommended.

P.S. This is about the regular version - not the directors cut one.

*THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE IOS DIRECTORS CUT VERSION*

Im happy to say that point'n'click adventure games in general work really well on the smart phone, Broken Sword being no exception! For those that havent played the original, Broken Sword features George Stobbart and Nicole as they try to hunt down a killer but get ensared into a treasure hunt that involves the Knights Templar. The subject was very original in the middle of the 90's but post Da Vinci Code and all its followers it feels a bit cliched. It's still a strong story well worth a playthrough for adventure game fans!This director's cut also includes game segments with Nicole's investigation that was not included in the original game.