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"The Smoking Mirror" redirects here. For the Aztec god, see Tezcatlipoca.

Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror
European cover art
Developer(s)	Revolution Software
Publisher(s)	Virgin Interactive (Microsoft Windows) Crave Entertainment (PlayStation) Kalypso Media (Microsoft Windows & Mac OS X (Remastered)) Revolution Software (iOS (Remastered))
Designer(s)	Charles Cecil (director)
Series	Broken Sword
Engine	Virtual Theatre
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation, Mac OS X, iOS
Release	Microsoft Windows & Mac OS X (Remastered) EU: April 9, 2011 iOS (Remastered) NA: December 16, 2010
Genre(s)	Point-and-click adventure
Mode(s)	Single player

Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror – Director's Cut is an enhanced remake of the classic 1997 point-and-click adventure game Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror developed by Revolution Software. It was released on for the iPhone Mac OS X and Windows in 2010 to 2011. The player assumes the roles of George Stobbart and Nicole Collard, who was a pivotal but not a playable character in the original version.

The game was conceived in 1997 by the Revolution's crew. Though serious in tone, The Smoking Mirror incorporates some humor and graphics animated in a style of classic animated movies. It was the fourth and last game built with the Virtual Theatre engine, which was used to render both real and fictional locations of the game's events.

Unlike the first Broken Sword game, which garnered critical acclaim, The Smoking Mirror received mixed to positive reviews, mostly for not living up to its predecessor. It was a commercial success, selling around one million copies in the mid-1990s. Revolution released a remake in 2010, which, unlike the original version, received highly favorable reviews from critics.

Gameplay

Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror is a 2D adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Via a point-and-click interface, the player guides protagonist George Stobbart through the game's world and interacts with the environment by selecting from multiple commands, while Nicole Collard is also a playable character in selected portions of the game. The player controls George's movements and actions with a mouse, or a gamepad. Player can collect objects than can be used with either other collectible objects, parts of the scenery, or with other people in order to solve puzzles and progress in the game. George can engage in dialogue with other characters through conversation trees to gain hints of what needs to be done to solve the puzzles or to progress the plot. The player uses a map for travel and new locations are added to it as the story unfolds. By right clicking on an object, the player gets a description and clues. In contrast to The Shadow of the Templars, the player can control Nicole Collard in selected portions of the game. Like in the The Shadow of the Templars, the player character's death is possible if the player makes a wrong decision. The Remastered edition follows the plot of the original game.

Development

Dave Gibbons worked on the game's visual references and digital comic.

When considering the project, Charles Cecil played the game again and noticed many issues, including that backgrounds were pixilated, the movies and audio were of poor quality, and he also felt some dialogue was out of place. He thought all these elements could be addressed and improved in a remastered edition, in which they could add a diary, hint system, and new artwork from Dave Gibbons, which they could offer as an interactive digital comic.

On December 9, 2010, Revolution Software announced the release of Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror - Remastered on Apple iOS devices, and was finally released on December 16, 2010. The new features include an exclusive interactive digital comic from Dave Gibbons, fully animated facial expressions, enhanced graphics, high quality music, a context-sensitive hint system, diary, and a Dropbox integration which facilitates a unique cross-platform save-game feature, enabling players to enjoy the same adventure simultaneously on multiple devices. It also featured full Game Center integration – including in-game achievements. The Mac and PC versions followed in early 2011.

Marketing and release

A launch trailer for the iPhone and iPod touch version was also released on Revolution's YouTube channel revolutionbevigilant. On the 2nd day of Apple's 12 Days of Christmas, Broken Sword II - Remastered was made free for download for 24 hours.

The Original PC version is currently only available from Sold Out Sotware and GOG.com (with purchases of Broken Sword II - Remastered). However, the Remastered versions of the game are available from various digital distribution services, including the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad AppStore, Mac AppStore, Intel AppUp, Steam and GOG.com. Broken Sword II - Remastered is also a part of the Broken Sword Complete package from Mastertronic.

With purchases of Broken Sword II - Remastered on GOG.com, the consumer also gets the original game, the manual, an exclusive game guide, eighteen artworks, and the comic book. The digital Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror - Remastered comic book was created by acclaimed artist Dave Gibbons. The short comic provides information on what happened before the beginning of the game.

Reception

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
AppSafari	5/5
AppGamer	10/10
GameZone	8/10
TouchGen
148 Apps

Unlike the original release, Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror has received very positive reviews from critics. ApSafari gave the game a 5 out of 5, saying: "Production values for the game are sky-high, with gorgeous graphics, challenging, well-designed puzzles, and pitch-perfect voice acting. The sequel also implements the same fantastic touch interface of its predecessor." AppGamer gave the game a 10 out of 10, saying: "Broken Sword 2 will last you hours, having all the playability of a full-priced PC game. It is the kind of game that could convert people who wouldn't look twice at adventure games, and is easily one of my most highly recommended titles on the platform." GameZone gave the game an 8 out of 10 and praised the game's controls and cut scenes, but stated that the iPad version of the game can be blurry at times. Carl Stevens of TouchGen gave the game 4 out of 5 start and stated that it should be on everybody's "must play list" and that the ease of, and restriction between some puzzles were the only let down in the game. Jeniffer Allen of 148Apps gave the game a 4 out of 5 start and praised it, saying: "Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror is a fantastic game. The story feels as fresh and as entertaining as it did back in the day, and the slightly improved graphics are much appreciated. Many hours of entertaining storytelling lie ahead."

External links

• Broken Sword – Official on Facebook
• Revolution Games on Facebook