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Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse Reviewed Part Two

First and foremost: There is a games-topping bug in this second part of The Serpent's Curse. Actually, there is, apparently, more than one, but this one seems to be somewhat prevalent. I don't want to throw out too big of a spoiler, but… don't lie. Tell the truth. You'll know what I'm talking about when the time comes, and doing the "right" thing can save you hours.

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The second part kicks off action-style.
Either way, just make use of the save function frequently.

Bug aside, I am left with very few complaints about The Serpent's Curse. This is truly the second part of the game, and not a Telltale style episode. You can play the game seamlessly from start to finish. In retrospect, that might have been the better way to go, but then, I don't really think patience is a virtue. Even with hindsight 20/20 and all that, I regret nothing. Nothing!

Being a second part of a full experience, it shouldn't come as a surprise that we summed up most major points in part one of our review. It's not like the graphics or whatever all of a sudden got worse. (In fact, it bares repeating: the game looks lovely.) The voice over actors are still the same. It's still the same game, just a second part of it.

That's not to say certain things don't continue developing from the first half. The story, for example, might not take a surprising turn, but a turn it takes all the same, straight into the supernatural realm. This is not a whole lot different from the previous games in the series, and it's done in that patented spirit of Broken Sword. It goes both a little bit creepy and a little bit action-y, remaining appropriately cheesy. Hey, I wouldn't want it any other way.

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I mean, seriously, the solution to this is… not logical.
The puzzles, too, steadily get more complicated. This might be the one real issue I had with the second part: some of the puzzles just didn't seem particularly logical to me. I didn't need to resort using the hint system in the first part, but here I felt it becoming a crutch too often. (I mean, I might not be the brightest guy, but the whole engine puzzle? Oy…)

Still. I play these things for the stories more than anything, and, as mentioned, I have no complaints about the direction The Serpent's Curse takes. The odd puzzles do not get in the way of that.

Really, the only other issue I can think of -- and this is more of a nitpick -- is a somewhat abrupt ending. It wasn't not quite as epic as I had expected, though at least it ends with a good typical Broken Sword-y scene.

Simply summed up, The Serpent's Curse is one hell of an adventure game. It's old-school to its core, with a story and atmosphere not seen in many games these days. The Serpent's Curse isn't just a worthy Broken Sword sequel, it is an adventure game classic.

Buy it if you haven't. There's no reason why you shouldn't.

A review by the Remster, wearing his nostalgia boots.

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