“I play
the game for the game's own sake.”*
Frogwares Game Development Studio has been specializing
in the delightful Sherlock Holmes series since 2002, starting with their
first offering, The Mystery of the Mummy. Though interesting for a
first adventure, The Mystery of the Mummy did leave much room for
improvement. Time has passed and the series has developed throughout the
years, with improvements made to graphics, sound, puzzles and storylines.
With all this steady “ground-gaining,” have the games reached a pinnacle?
We shall see.
In
previous episodes we joined the intrepid duo of Sherlock Holmes and Dr.
John Watson as they chased down ancient mummy secrets, searched for
intriguing jewelry and fought off the strange goings-on of H.P. Lovecraft
and his monsters. Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened melded the
characters from the works of two famous writers: Britain's Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle (the characters of Holmes and Watson), and
America's H. P.
Lovecraft (Cthulhu). In their most recent adventure, Frogwares once again
has paired the characters of Holmes and Watson with another famous
literary figure -- that of Arsène Lupin. Lupin is a gentleman
cambrioleur created by French author Maurice Leblanc, a contemporary
of Conan Doyle, who wrote over twenty novels for this particular
character.
“There's
an east wind coming all the same,
such a wind as never blew on England yet.
It will be cold and bitter, Watson,
and a good many of us may wither before its blast.”*
This adventure, the fourth in
the series, is more of a cerebral battle of wits -- a chess game without
the chessboard where the “pieces” may be the most prominent characters
within the story. As the adventure begins we hear the familiar strains of
a violin, calmly inviting us back into the world of Sherlock Holmes. The
camera view takes us back along the cobblestone streets of his
neighborhood. It is a gorgeous and bright Monday morning on July 14, 1895.
All’s right with the world (or so it seems) as we meet with the
inhabitants of 221B Baker Street just before breakfast. Indeed we do find
Sherlock softly playing his music and Dr. Watson contemplating a ride up
the Thames. But Sherlock has other ideas. He knows that while the sun may
be shining, the shadows that its bold illumination casts hide something
other than the righteous within their beloved city of London.
For the past fortnight, the
papers have been tracking the possible whereabouts and deeds on the
Continent of an infamous
voleur petit,
none other than Arsène Lupin. Watson fears that Sherlock’s
mood reflects more than a passing interest in this criminal, a mood which
is turning into an admiring obsession. Watson recounts one of Lupin’s
latest escapades as he peruses the mail, commenting on the letters,
including one with the potential to send the dynamic duo running about
“chasing chickens.” Watson muses that at least this arrogant, thieving
Lupin would not dare to continue his antics on British soil. After all
this is England! (Hmmmm, can we say “hubris”?) Just at this
moment he reaches for another letter, begins to read and then stops
himself short. Watson sputteringly shows Holmes the letter, which appears
to be from Lupin himself. And so, as Sherlock studies the letter he soon
realizes that the gauntlet has been thrown down, the challenge has been
offered -- one that may well take to task the very honor of the British
Crown. After a boring two weeks of just reading the news from Europe, the
game is finally afoot.
“Before turning to those moral and
mental aspects of the matter which present the greatest difficulties,
let the inquirer begin by mastering more elementary problems.
Puerile as such an exercise may seem,
it sharpens the faculties of observation,
and teaches one where to look and what to look for.”*
Players who are familiar with the Sherlock Holmes series
of games will find that the interface hasn't changed much. After the
program loads, we are presented with the Main Menu. Here one may begin a
new adventure, resume a current one, or load a particular saved game.
Access to the Options menu to adjust various Video and/or Graphic settings
can also be found here as well as a “Controls” area which can reset the
program’s keyboard functions if one so desires. Exiting the game and
viewing the Credits can also be found at this menu. During the adventure
this Main Menu is always accessible by pressing the ESC key. It should be
stated that there are no timed sequences, use of stealth, mazes or action
sequences. While many of the cut scenes offer a third person view, the
adventure is a first person affair, which may be played entirely with the
mouse, by using the keyboard, or a combination of the two.
Once within the adventure, gamers will find their notes
and inventory with a simple right click. This reference area is vast and
holds much information to aid the player and assist Sherlock in this
battle of wits with Arsène Lupin. Here one may reference the game’s entire
dialogue base and peruse various maps for orientation, as well as travel
to and fro, from location to location. One may also access the inventory
for use either on a particular area on the screen or to combine item with
item. There is a place for reports and conclusions, as well as a separate
area for all documents and letters found along the way. One boon I found
was that one may access these while in the midst of any of the many
puzzles. As in the previous episodes, there will be the occasional quiz,
for which the answers may be entered by clicking on the correct letters
and/or numbers, or by typing the answers in directly from the player's
keyboard. At no time is Sherlock in danger of death. But it is possible
that if Dr. Watson makes the wrong choice at a certain point in time,
England’s honor could very well come into question. The game will end and
then restart from that point to allow for another decision to be made.
“One's
ideas must be as broad as Nature if they are to interpret Nature.”*
The graphics for me, with the system I played on, were
just lovely -- beautiful and crisp. There are many interesting locations
in the game to see and wander through. I mention “wander,” as that is
exactly what happened to me at the National Gallery of Painting. This was
definitely one of my favorite locations, and the way in which it was set
up reminded me of time I had spent there in reality. The images of the
paintings within the game were startlingly accurate…I meandered and
studied each of them for hours on end. And no, I don’t regret one minute
of the time I spent there. The night scenes and details with fog and/or
rain worked nicely and added much to the atmosphere of the game.
‘What's
that little thing of Chopin's she plays so magnificently,
Tra-La-La-Lira-Lira-Lay."*
The music and underscore I also found to be touching and
suitable for every choice made. Now, the classics may not be everyone’s
taste for gaming, but I felt that it rounded out the atmosphere of
Victorian London and was appropriate for this adventure. I did feel that
the default setting places the volume of the music far too high for the
game, as it often would conflict with the various characters' voice work.
But a simple adjustment in the Options menu fixed that problem.
The foley was spot on and also contributed much to the
game’s excitement; I had this set at full. (Wonderful stuff when you
play with stereo headphones, I might add). The vocal quality remains
as entertaining and enjoyable as in the previous two episodes. I also need
to mention that the dialogue writing for Dr. Watson was an improvement
over the previous games within this series, as I was able to feel much
more for this quixotic character than
before. For in this episode Dr. Watson’s patriotism will play a
major role in the decisions he makes.
“Have
you tried to drive a harpoon through a body?
No?
Tut, tut, my dear sir, you must really pay attention to these details.”*
The adventure will indeed be what the player makes of
it. Playing either as Sherlock Holmes or Dr. Watson (and for one brief
sequence, as Inspector Lestrade), one will meet dozens of different
characters and visit countless historical locations in Victorian London,
from the tenements near the Golden Lion Pub to Buckingham Palace. So keep
a weathered eye out and pen and paper at the ready for that which one
might need to recall. Listen carefully to what is said, as there are many
cultural references scattered throughout the game, as well as a number of
tidbits from the previous episodes. What I enjoyed most about this
adventure was the intricate storyline and plot twists. This is indeed a
“game” within a “game,” a meeting of the minds and a remarkable battle of
wits.
Many of the clues by Lupin
are set down in the form of poetry and rhyme. This is wonderful stuff and
gives an added dimension to the puzzle solving. I will tell you now, many
of the conundrums and enigmas are quite the brainteasers and hair pullers.
There are a plethora of them; one more devious than the next. Here the
player will find hints and intimations in the form of rhymes and riddles,
an inverse parquetry puzzle (the solution is quite clever and truly
elementary), and many inventory based puzzles either used singularly
or with a combination of items. A few sound puzzles, replace and match, a
cryptex, geometrical creation, and a good helping of visual mathematical
problems for the player to conquer. However, I must say that these are
organic in nature and carry the storyline forward. I enjoyed them all; my
favorite of these being the cannon puzzle and the cryptex.
“I read
nothing except the criminal news and the agony column.
The latter is always instructive.”*
This particular
adventure utilizes PhysX drivers, which should install automatically along
with the program; however if one is experiencing any initial problems make
sure that they are installed properly before one begins the game. The
Options screen does allow one to adjust the game’s parameters so that it
should run well on most middle-end systems. If you are experiencing any
other problems, I would strongly suggest that you read the “readme” file
along with the manual located inside the game folder. There is a wealth of
knowledge there for any technical issues one might come across. For my own
part, I had absolutely no problems whatsoever with this game; it played
flawlessly.
"It is simple when you explain.
You remind me of Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin.
I had no idea that such individuals did exist out of stories."*
In conclusion, I would recommend
Sherlock Holmes vs. Arsène Lupin
to those who have been playing the series, as well as to those gamers who
have not yet tried a Sherlock Holmes adventure. For this one has all the
elements there waiting for you to uncover the mystery of Arsène Lupin and
why Sherlock is so fascinated with him. I felt that the storyline was more
intricate than in any of the previous episodes, and the ending was
satisfying, though completely unexpected. A few of the puzzles and enigmas
did offer me quite a challenge, and I am pleased with that (though at
the time my nails suffered greatly and now I am in dire need of a proper
manicure.) I look forward to Frogwares continuing this series in the
future and love the idea of incorporating literary characters from other
authors in similar genres – could I hope for a match up with either Poe or
Hawthorne?
inferno
Grade A
Credits
*1. Holmes - The Adventure of Bruce-Partington
Plans by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1917
*2. Holmes - His Last Bow by Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle 1917
*3. Holmes - A Study in Scarlet by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle 1887
*4. Holmes - A Study in Scarlet by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle 1887
*5. Holmes - A Study in Scarlet by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle 1887
*6. Holmes - The Adventure of Black
Peter by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1904
*7. Holmes - The Adventure of The Noble
Bachelor by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1892
*8. Watson - A Study in Scarlet by Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle 1887
Minimum configuration:
OS:
Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista 32/64
Processor:
Pentium® III 1.3 GHz or higher
Memory:
512 Mb RAM
Video card:
64 Mb Microsoft DirectX 9 compatible
Sound card:
DirectX 9 compatible
DVD-ROM:
4x DVD drive
Hard drive:
3 Gb free space on the hard drive
100% Windows compatible keyboard and mouse
Recommended configuration:
OS:
Windows 2000/XP/Vista 32/64
Processor:
Pentium IV 2 GHz/AthlonXP 2000+
Memory:
1024 MB RAM
Video card:
256 MB DirectX 9 compatible
Sound card:
DirectX 9 compatible
DVD-ROM:
4x DVD drive
Hard drive:
3 Gb free space on the hard drive
100% Windows compatible keyboard and mouse
NOTE:
This game includes anti-piracy technology which may conflict with some
CD-RW,
DVD-RW and
virtual disk drives.
Played on:
OS: Microsoft Windows XP
Home SP 2
CPU: Pentium D 950
3.4GHz 800MHz
RAM: 2GB DDR2
Video:
BFG nVidia Geforce 7600GT OC 256MB 128bit
Sound:
SoundBlaster Audigy
DVD ROM: DVD-ROM
DVD-1S16P 16x
Monitor: Northgate 20'
Flat Panel Monitor
DirectX
Version: 9.0c
January 2008
design copyright ©
2008
GameBoomers
Group
