George Stobbart has fallen on hard times. Despite his vast experience trotting around the world solving convoluted conspiracies, he’s now a bail bondsman. Things begin to look up, though, when a young woman visits his office with a request for help. She has a medieval manuscript that alludes to a weapon that Moses used during the Exodus from Egypt, and apparently several groups are trying to get their hands on it. In fact, immediately after she arrives at George’s office, several men show up looking for her. She appeals to George to help her escape.

Thus begins yet another adventure for George, just proving you can’t keep a good man down!

The first order of business is to get George and Anna Maria (the young female client), out of the office safely. This entails blocking the bad guys from getting inside, and sneaking past them once outside the building. George and Anna will have to traverse several floors of the old, decrepit building, avoiding hazards such as holes in the floors and loose electrical wires. Once safely out of the building, they move on to the hotel where Anna has a room, in order to retrieve the manuscript.

Having ditched the really bad interface and control system from the last game, this time the developers kept it simple. Everything can be mouse-controlled in a “point-n-click” environment that adventure gamers will recognize. The keyboard is available as a control option, as well. Action icons show up over hotspots, and right-clicking brings up the actions options while over the hotspot. This control system is easy and intuitive, but the movement aspect is less so. Moving George around is clumsy, and often involves endlessly clicking on the edge of the screen in the direction desired, while he inches over a step at a time.

The gameplay is extremely linear. Indeed, there are often puzzles that are overly difficult because certain aspects aren’t included until George has done something specific. For instance, early in the game George requests Anna to help him out by manipulating an object. In the game I played, George had already explored all the areas around, and had seen everything there was to see and acted on everything there was to do. He hadn’t helped Anna into that part of the warehouse, yet, though. Once Anna showed up, I had George ask her to help. However, Anna kept asking what the point of moving this item was after she moved it, but then let it loose. Apparently, George had to look at all the objects again, after he helped Anna into that area of the warehouse. This might have made sense if Anna was the one who had to do the searching, but it was George, instead, who had already seen it all. Once George looked around again, then Anna would hold down the object without letting go.

Unfortunately, these types of situations keep cropping up during the game, and often affect crucial conversation trees, as well. That being said, the puzzles themselves are logical and fit in well with the story. Many of them are situational and thankfully don’t involve combining senseless objects together in inventory in the hope that something may work.

As in any good adventure game, there are dialogues with various characters during the course of the game, but there is less dialogue than in many, which can be good or bad depending on the player’s preference. Most of the conversation is brief, but funny!

The sound is quite good, and the voice acting is spot on for the most part. Characters have believable voices and dialects, but I had to question the choice of voices and the appearance of the thugs chasing Anna in the first part of the game. They were straight from Las Vegas, which seemed a strange hiring choice for a group who was interested in an ancient manuscript. I guess the culture contrast was supposed to be humorous, but I didn’t get the joke. George has the same voice as always, which is great.

The graphics are a mixed bag, with good lighting and effects for most of the game. There are some bad elements in some parts, that includes characters walking through scenery and people, missing shadows, and actions on objects committed from a distance.

The story is interesting, but quirky. Anna comments that George is good at “medieval,” whatever that means. I wasn’t aware there was a medieval code. And the opening animation depicting Moses sacrificing a woman for this powerful weapon? Right …. People familiar with the Bible may question much about the plot, but it’s only fiction, after all, and is fairly entertaining and involving.

Further into the story, the puzzles often center on computer and hacking themes, inserting a nice change of pace from the locational puzzles. George is high-tech, now! He will also have to utilize sneaking skills to get around in some places.

Players will mostly play as George, but Anna is always around and players will play as Nico for part of the game, as well. Yes, Nico is back, and there is a little bit of a love triangle sub-plot.

I have thoroughly enjoyed playing this fourth installment of the Broken Sword series. Despite the sometimes silliness of the story, and the oddities of the linear gameplay, the game as a whole is involving and engrossing. The localities fit perfectly with the story, and there is a good amount of exploring to do, and comments from George as he examines objects. The puzzles are good, and offer challenge without undue frustration. This game reminds me of the first Broken Sword, with the same type of humor. This is a good choice for adventure fans, especially fans of the Broken Sword series.

Gameplay: 7.5
George Stobbart is back in this adventure game that delivers a predictable, but solid gameplay experience. Revolution doesn’t offer any revolutionary gameplay elements, but who wants ‘em anyway? We want a good story, challenging puzzles and funny or dramatic dialogue. Secrets of the Ark delivers on all fronts, despite some minor problems with linear puzzles and plot oddities.

Graphics: 7.0
The graphics are uneven, but pleasing on the whole.

Sound: 7.5
The sound and voice acting are all very nice. The music could have been better, though.

Difficulty: Medium
The puzzles range in difficulty, but a lot of the difficulty comes from a lack of direction and the linearity, rather than the actual puzzles themselves.

Concept: 7.0
It’s a typical adventure game, but one that is presented very nicely.

Overall: 7.5
Overall, a fun adventure! It’s fun to play, and people will enjoy it. There isn’t anything exceptional about this game, but it compares well to most adventure games being released today. Fans of Broken Sword won’t be disappointed.