Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon
Developer(s)Revolution Software
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Charles Cecil
Producer(s)Mike Gamble
Steve Ince
Designer(s)Steve Ince
Programmer(s)Andrew Boskett
Francesco Iorio
Patrick Skelton
Chris Stewart
Artist(s)Sucha Singh
Writer(s)Charles Cecil
Neil Richards
Composer(s)Ben McCullough
SeriesBroken Sword
EngineRenderWare
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
  • EU: 14 November 2003
  • NA: 17 November 2003
Xbox
  • EU: 14 November 2003
  • NA: 8 December 2003
PlayStation 2
  • EU: 14 November 2003
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon is an adventure game released on Windows, Xbox, and PlayStation 2 in November 2003. It is the third installment in the Broken Sword series, released six years after the previous instalment, The Smoking Mirror. The Sleeping Dragon moved the series to 3D graphics, and is the only game in the series not to use a point and click interface. The player assumes the role of George Stobbart, an American patent lawyer who flies to the Congo to write a patent for a scientist who claims to have found a source of unlimited energy.

The idea was first discussed in 2000. To make the game feel like a film, Revolution brought in a cinematic consultant, Bob Keen, who made sure the game conveyed emotions and atmosphere appropriate for each scene. The game was originally planned to have similar cartoon-quality visuals as its prequels, but the developers decided to aim at a style similar to Japanese animated films. Unlike the first two Broken Sword games, which used the Virtual Theatre engine, The Sleeping Dragon was built with the RenderWare engine. The game's music was composed by Ben McCullough, and Rolf Saxon returned to voice George Stobbart.

The game has received highly positive reviews. Critics praised the game's story, writing, humour, cinematic feel, and graphics. The game's music was also lauded. Criticism focused primarily on the control interface and repetitive puzzles. According to Charles Cecil, the game sold a few hundred thousand copies.[1]

  1. ^ Cecil, Charles (28 May 2011). "Adventure-Treff: Charles Cecil on "Broken Sword" sales". Adventure-Treff.de. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2012.