Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (series)

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a series of award-winning adventure games, developed by Frogwares, and based on Arthur Conan Doyle's famous work The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, featuring the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his companionDr. John H. Watson. While the franchise is based on the The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and is inspired by it, each game has an original plot and storyline.^[1]

The Mystery of the Mummy[edit]

Main article: Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy

Originally developed for the Microsoft Windows, the series first began in September 2002 with Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy, which featured a first-person perspective and followed Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigating the mansion of a British archaeologist.^[2] The game was resurrected and expanded for the Nintendo DS^[3] and for the Wii^[4] all using DS's stylus and the Wii-mote in solving puzzles.

The Case of the Silver Earring[edit]

Main article: Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring

The second game in the series, Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring, followed in October 2004, which featured a third-person perspective. The plotline features Holmes and Watson investigating the murder of a construction tycoon, Sir Melvyn Bromsby, with his daughter, Lavinia, among the suspects.^[5]

The Awakened[edit]

Main article: Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened

The third game in the series, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, was released on November 24, 2006, and features a new, first-person perspective. The game follows an original plotline as Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate a series of strange disappearances related to the Cthulhu Mythos.^[6] The first among the series to feature supernatural elements such as the Mythos, the game was critically acclaimed in reviews by numerous sources, including GameSpot, which gave the game a rating of 8.3 out of 10, praising the game for its storyline and stating that it was told "brilliantly" and calling it "Cthulhu-infused Victoriana".^[7] A remastered version was released in 2008 that offers a third-person perspective playing mode in addition to the first-person perspective. This game won GameSpot's Best Use Of A License and has been critically acclaimed and a great impact on Frogwares.

Sherlock Holmes versus Arsène Lupin[edit]

Main article: Sherlock Holmes versus Arsène Lupin

The fourth game in the series, Sherlock Holmes versus Arsène Lupin, was released in the third quarter of 2007.^[8] The game's antagonist is Arsène Lupin, a fictional gentleman thief created by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The game begins at Holmes' residence at 221b Baker Street in London, where Holmes is playing his violin while Dr. Watson asks him what is troubling him. Among the mail scattered on the table, they find a letter from Lupin challenging Holmes to save England from shame by stopping him from stealing five things of great value to the country. The game consists of poems, puzzles and tasks that takes Holmes from one clue to another.

The Mystery of the Persian Carpet[edit]

A casual game that was released in 2008.

Sherlock Versus Jack the Ripper[edit]

Main article: Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper

In late 2008, a fifth installment was announced; Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper was released in March 2009 and had Sherlock Holmes against the infamous serial killerJack the Ripper. This is the first game in the series to be released on a console, specifically Xbox 360.

The Mystery of Osborne House[edit]

Main article: Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House

The game is the first in the series to be made and published for the Nintendo DS. Where Holmes finds a deep robbery and conspiracy in the Buckingham Palace.

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes[edit]

Main article: The Testament of Sherlock Holmes

In September 2009, there were rumors for the sixth installment. The game, titled The Testament of Sherlock Holmes. The game was explicitly for the Xbox 360 and PS3, but later was released for the PC. The game was released in Europe on September 20, 2012 and in North America on September 25, 2012.^[9]

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Frozen City[edit]

Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Frozen City was released on 25 October 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS.^[10] According to review aggregrator Metacritic, the game received mixed to negative reviews.^[11]

Crimes & Punishments[edit]

Main article: Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments is the seventh game in the series.^[12] It is due for release in the first quarter of 2014 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows. The game is planned for Q1 2014 for PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4.^[13]

Common elements[edit]

Themes[edit]

The main theme in the game sees Holmes as a consulting detective. Where local police force and Scotland Yard seeks Holmes' help in solving their cold case files. Civilians (mostly gentlemen and aristocrats) also plead help from Holmes. The game employs a one goal mystery that makes up the game's plot, with Holmes either assigned to this case or about Holmes getting himself caught in it and tries to put it to rest by himself. There are also many other side quests and investigation scattered around the game. These side quests comes with Holmes trying to help out the police force or a person he came about. But many of these quests also shows Holmes happily making a rude investigation to show off. Like in Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, where after making an all-for fun investigation in a library, he rudely makes the librarian confess that he does have a crush on a certain woman botanist. Although in the end Holmes' gives the librarian love advice to cheer him up.

Games in the series also pits Holmes against other works, both fictional and of real events. Chthulhu in The Awakened, Arsène Lupin in Nemesis, and Jack the Ripper in the fifth installment. The plot on some of these game has horror elements installed in them, where murders and dark mysteries are prevalent. Gore and bloody mutilations in the story are much seen in the later games.^[14]

In the game The Testament of Sherlock Holmes we see Holmes as losing London's trust and being framed for something in a case, and implies city-survival skills themes to prove his innocence. Holmes now relies heavily on rumors, and must take any clues while evading enemy eyes. He also uses blackmail, interrogation, forgery, and other devious acts never before seen in previous games in the series.

Items and tools[edit]

Throughout the game Holmes uses his magnifying glass. Useful when he inspects crime scenes, mutilated bodies, fingerprints, gashes and scratches, and mostly for finding evidence. It is the only item used and appeared mostly in the series.

He also uses his microscope in checking clues unseen by the naked eye. He has a wide arrange of chemistry set in his flat which he uses to dissolve solute, dissect clues and find evidence. The game also provide exploration to find items that Holmes can use later in the game and to help in solving the case

Gameplay[edit]

Much of the game consist of themes and gameplay found in a classic adventure game. Large emphasis are given in exploration of the game's sandbox landscape, where clues are hidden in it. Point-and-click gameplay are also prevalent, and also with the simulation gameplay to solve mysteries and puzzles. The game also let the players to interrogate and question certain people to gather as much evidence to help in the investigation. There are also instances where Holmes takes up a disguise and infiltrate a hostile location to get more evidence.^[15]

The series lets the player play both Holmes and Watson in either first-person and third-person perspective. Holmes gameplay consists much of investigations and finding evidence to come to a conclusion. While Watson's consists of him running errands for Holmes and assisting in the investigation. But there are instances where the game shifts to his point-of view, where he sometimes takes up the investigation for himself.

The first game Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy was the first to establish the first-person gameplay. Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring is a point-and-click (mouse-controlled) third person adventure, first one to establish this gameplay in the series. Clicking in the general direction you wish to go will usually cause your character to move in that direction. As Holmes, you spend time searching for important clues, most of which the bumbling police force will miss. Items are at least partly visible, though some don’t become “hot” until an action in the game triggers them. You also analyze various clues using Holmes’s desktop laboratory.

The Awakened was the first Frogwares title to allow gameplay to take place in an entirely real-time 3D landscape and from a first-person perspective, losing the pre-rendered backgrounds of its predecessor.Like other Sherlock Holmes games by Frogwares it gives an open world environment in every location that can hide clues and interact with NPC. The inventory system saves all objects, documents and map locations for later use and can also be used to combine objects. The game can viewed from a first or third person perspective and it provides you with an icon to indicate what actions Holmes can take within his world like pick up or talk.