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Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror for PlayStation 1
In Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror for PlayStation 1, George Stobbart and journalist Nico Collard become involved in an investigation into a smuggled obsidian stone. The adventure begins in Paris, where Nico is kidnapped and George is left tied up in a burning house. You investigate hand-drawn environments, question witnesses and collect objects to get out of difficult situations. The pointer changes shape when you can examine, pick up or use something.
Conversations reveal new topics, which appear as pictures in a separate bar. You can also show someone an object you have collected to obtain information about it. Some solutions require you to combine items, while others involve listening carefully or distracting someone at the right moment. The story takes you to different countries and also lets you control Nico at particular points. Humorous remarks alternate with kidnappings, crime and a threat connected to ancient Maya legends.
You play alone and move the pointer with the directional buttons on an ordinary PlayStation controller. A PlayStation mouse is also supported but is not required. Through the options menu, you can save and load manually using a PlayStation memory card in card slot 1. At least one block must be free on the card for this. You cannot open this menu during a conversation. Save during a quiet moment between conversations so that you do not have to repeat a puzzle you have already solved.
Region and language
Our PlayStation 1 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror for PlayStation 1 includes the manual unless the product title states otherwise. If the booklet is missing, the title says “No Manual”. This lets you see before ordering whether the game comes with a manual.
The manuals included with our games usually contain at least English and often around six European languages. The exact languages vary by edition, so Dutch is not always included. The booklet explains the controls and the main rules. You can use it to check how to control the game, which actions are available and how its different features work.
The history of Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror
Revolution Software created Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror as a sequel to The Shadow of the Templars. It was released in 1997 and also came to the first PlayStation, with Sony as its European publisher. George Stobbart and Nico Collard returned, but the investigation acquired a different historical background: the Templars gave way to a fictional mystery involving Maya culture, an obsidian stone and a contemporary criminal organisation. The relationship between the two protagonists remained the connecting thread.
The studio retained two-dimensional backgrounds and hand-drawn characters. This kept the sequel in line with the visual style of the first game, while many other PlayStation adventures were moving to polygonal characters. The spoken dialogue and Barrington Pheloung's music supported the shifts between investigation, dry remarks and danger. Revolution built the game using its Virtual Theatre technology, which the studio had previously used for Lure of the Temptress, Beneath a Steel Sky and the first Broken Sword.
The PlayStation release brought the pointing and combining of a graphic adventure to the controller, with an optional console mouse as an alternative. This reflected the period when computer adventures were also seeking an audience on game consoles. Revolution later created a separate remaster with additions including a hint system and diary. Those later additions are not part of this original PlayStation version. Here you investigate environments and conversation topics using the original interface and puzzle structure from the 1990s.
Similar games for PlayStation 1
Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars for PlayStation 1 also uses hand-drawn locations, conversations with topic pictures and objects you apply to the environment. You meet George and Nico there during an investigation into a bombing and the Templars. The Smoking Mirror builds on their existing relationship and shifts the historical riddles to a Maya mystery. The way you investigate feels related, but the people, countries and puzzles involved form a new story.
Like The Smoking Mirror, Discworld II: Missing Presumed...!? for PlayStation 1 combines hand-drawn backgrounds with conversations and inventory puzzles. Wizard Rincewind must bring back the missing Death in Terry Pratchett's fantasy world. Objects and solutions often follow the exaggerated logic of that satire. The Smoking Mirror starts from recognisable cities, smugglers and witnesses. Both let you experiment with items and conversation topics, but their humour and the rules of their worlds are clearly different.
Discworld Noir for PlayStation 1 also lets you question people and connect clues. Private detective Lewton records information in his notebook, so your puzzles do not involve only physical objects. Its dark streets and polygonal characters give the investigation a different look from George and Nico's hand-drawn journey. The Smoking Mirror spreads its story across varied locations and stays closer to combining and using objects within individual situations.
Dracula: The Resurrection for PlayStation 1 also revolves around searching, collecting objects and understanding mechanisms. There you view the surroundings through Jonathan Harker's eyes and look around from fixed positions. The Smoking Mirror instead shows the protagonist in a hand-drawn setting and gives conversations a greater role in gathering clues. Both demand attention to small details, but Dracula places the emphasis on an oppressive environment and spatial puzzles within a vampire story.
In Cold Blood for PlayStation 1 also comes from Revolution Software and combines a story-driven investigation with conversations and the use of objects. Secret agent John Cord must also sneak, avoid guards and use firearms. George and Nico solve their problems mainly through observation and inventory puzzles. If you recognise The Smoking Mirror's clear objectives and characters, In Cold Blood offers a related style of storytelling, but with directly controlled three-dimensional action and an espionage setting.
