Artists, art critics, art enthusiasts - they're a bit of a funny bunch. Whether it's a portrait of Kim Jong-Il made from 6,000 blood-soaked bandages, a bar of soap made from former Italian president Silvio Berlusconi's liposuctioned fat or someone nailing their scrotum to a Russian street, things in the art world can get more than a little bit crazy at times. But what is perhaps crazier is the vast sums of money people are willing to part with for such works of art - and sometimes, the risks they're willing to take to get their hands on it.
Newly announced for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One, Broken Sword 5 is a point and click game that tells the story of a similarly crazy artsy clientèle. First hitting the PS Vita and PC way back in December 2013, the game begins with a bang, as a masked assailant bursts into a Parisian art exhibition, murders the owner and pinches a painting. But there's something more than a little odd about the whole thing - for starters, the painting they nicked was worth comparatively little, and the security system seemed to have been tampered with prior to the incident. Before long, intrepid American lawyer George Stobbart and sassy French journalist Nico Collard uncover an elaborate conspiracy, littered with murder and intrigue, in a mystery that's older than written word itself.
That's one popular art exhibition...
With only their wits, logic and sense of humour at their disposal, George and Nico will need to outwit forces both new and old to save mankind from an impending disaster in another stellar point and click. Whether it's improvising a blood stain with a piece of pizza, cracking codes or being accosted by a rather disgruntled goat, as per Broken Sword tradition, it's the sort of game that taxes your grey matter rather than your trigger finger. A mixture of the traditional 'pick up everything that isn't nailed down and use it in some unusual way to solve a puzzle' and 'exhaust every conversation option going in the hope of hearing something useful', Broken Sword 5 is a pretty standard point and click, from the folks behind the infamously difficult Beneath A Steel Sky - although, thankfully, the Broken Sword games tend to be a bit less obtuse.
Originally released as a downloadable game on both the PC and Vita, Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse will be making it's way to both the Playstation 4 and Xbox One this summer - but that's not the best part. Those of you who'd prefer a physical copy will be able to pick up a rather fancy retail edition, which includes the game's intro in graphic novel form. While there's no concrete details on pricing, previous versions have been around the £20 mark for the two episodes (around a tenner each) - so we're expecting something similar for the 'next generation' consoles too.
