Revolution Inc. is an English based
software company. They are most famous for having created the highly acclaimed
Broken Sword adventure games, but their career actually started much earlier.
Their first game was called Lure of the Temptress. Set in a supernatural midieval setting, it pioneered what was to become Revolution's trademark game engine: the Virtual Theatre. With it, characters were able to move around the game world without being restricted to one area or one screen, as was often the case with adventure games around its era. Lure of the Temptress was released in 1992, and created little to no splash, despite being a pretty solid game.
Their next offering came two years later, and made a slightly bigger splash. The game Beneath a Steel Sky was this time set in a cyberpunk nightmare setting, and detailed the quest of kidnapped orphan Robert Foster to discover the sinister truth behind his abduction. Detailed comic book art by Dave Gibbons contributed to the already-superb mood of the story. Although the Virtual Theatre engine was not used to its full potential, the game triumphed by having a solid story, solid gameplay, and being one of the most entertaining adventure games in history.
The game that followed, Broken Sword - The Shadow of the Templars (known as Circle of Blood in the US, for no apparent reason whatsoever), became instantly known as the company's biggest success. A modern-day thriller, combining realistic character interaction with a solidly researched story.
The sequel, Broken Sword 2 - The Smoking Mirror, met with similar success. Although short and rushed towards the ending, it was a worthy sequel, which also marked the push of the Virtual Theatre into the Windows environment.
This is where my intimate knowledge of Revolution's history ends, although they have released more games after Broken Sword 2. The action-adventure game In Cold Blood generated a bit of concern amongst Revolution fans, because they were afraid Revolution were jumping on the 3D action bandwagon like everyone else, but the game ended up triumphant (according to reviews). A game based on Dreamworks' El Dorado cartoon also followed.
Their official website can be found at www.revolution.co.uk.