Frogwares' Sherlock Holmes games

[Andyman Messiah]

Locue you have played Sherlock v JtR now, haven't you...? Here's a novel, wacky, random, straight-outta-left-field idea. One could play their game, and if disappointed, actually e-mail Frogwares and suggest the shape one might like the next game to take. Seeing as how they're the only ones making Sherlock games of any note now and all. Or one could make utterly useless single-line posts dismissing them completely out of hand. Ain't choice grand!

Frogwares have made, what, five-six Sherlock games now? Someone else do the wikipedia for me. Have they had this service since the first game that played as a shitty Myst clone? Or the games after where all characters including Sherlock are all stupid motherfuckers?

While I'll agree they have all had their small lists of improvements, they're still a hell way off when it comes to what I want out of an adventure game. What goes as a "puzzle" these days is simply not up to par with what I grew up with. I find the "Myst"-ification of the adventure game genre insulting. Maybe around game 14 they've managed to create something worth my time. Until then, I will happily reinstall what titles that do pass my rigorous tests.

Also HALLO THAR MR BIG OWNER OF TEH CODEX

That's right. I am the big horse on codex.

 

[Pussycat669]

Have you played the two "Lost Files" games, twinfalls ? How does Sherlock v JTR compares to them ?

What? There were actually two of those? :Research: Completely forgot the second one. Is it still worth getting with post 90s computers?

 

[ghostdog]

Have you played the two "Lost Files" games, twinfalls ? How does Sherlock v JTR compares to them ?

What? There were actually two of those? :Research: Completely forgot the second one. Is it still worth getting with post 90s computers?

Yes, definitely.

 

[Pussycat669]

Great, then I got something to spin my head around for those cold winter nights.

 

[Jaesun]

Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper is $9.99 at GamersGate. Giving it a try now.

 

[DalekFlay]

I own The Awakened, Nemesis and Jack the Ripper and haven't played one damn minute of any of them.

Insanity, I know. I always buy adventure games because I loved them as a kid and teenager, but then I always end up passing them over on the shelf for a shooter or RPG. Monkey Island excepted.

 

[Twinfalls]

While I'll agree they have all had their small lists of improvements, they're still a hell way off when it comes to what I want out of an adventure game. What goes as a "puzzle" these days is simply not up to par with what I grew up with. I find the "Myst"-ification of the adventure game genre insulting.

Well that's a lot better than your first effort.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

While I'll agree they have all had their small lists of improvements, they're still a hell way off when it comes to what I want out of an adventure game. What goes as a "puzzle" these days is simply not up to par with what I grew up with. I find the "Myst"-ification of the adventure game genre insulting.

Well that's a lot better than your first effort.

It's more than the thread deserves.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

Been playing Jack the Ripper a bit recently after picking up a Sherlock Holmes collection, it's pretty cool. What the fuck is with all these fetch quests when I'm not actually investigating a murder, though? I know adventure games suffer from this in general, but this is the most brazen and ridiculous I've ever seen. Do they go away? Please say they go away.

 

[Eyeball]

Been playing Jack the Ripper a bit recently after picking up a Sherlock Holmes collection, it's pretty cool. What the fuck is with all these fetch quests when I'm not actually investigating a murder, though? I know adventure games suffer from this in general, but this is the most brazen and ridiculous I've ever seen. Do they go away? Please say they go away.

They don't. For a reason.

See, the storyline in JTR is excellent, but it also tries to keep it fairly historically correct and true to life. This means that there simply isn't all that much action in the story and it has to keep it within strict limits - for gameplay, this means that JTR is plagued with a lot of puzzles and red herrings which really have nothing to do with JTR in any way, some of which look very out of place. Especially the "find the bag" puzzle you get from the policeman.

"Hello, I am Sherlock Holmes, world famous detective, please give me information that will allow me to solve your serial killer case."
"Oh, I WILL....once you find my completely unrelated and unimportant bag that I dropped somewhere on account of being a pillock."
"Righto, bag, here I come!"

Seems kinda beneath SH, and the game is full of quests like this.

It is still a good game and well-worth playing through to the end - it offers you an interesting take on the JTR story and actually gives you a plausible real-life candidate as the real identity of the Ripper.

 

[Satori (original)]

Has anyone tried Mystery of the Mummy, versus Arsène Lupin or The Mystery of the Persian Carpet ?

 

[SCO]

The lost files games are kinda good but they can drag on because there are so many locations when the game opens up and you are never ... quite sure you've exhausted them.

That plus pixel hunting.

 

[Wolfus]

Arsene Lupin is good, but not as good as Ripper (or Awakened).

 

[Satori (original)]

The Holmes references are nice too, I recall this from the Jeremy Brett portrayal, it's from the short story "The Adventure of the Dancing Men".

 

[Redlands]

Has anyone tried Mystery of the Mummy, versus Arsène Lupin or The Mystery of the Persian Carpet ?

Mystery of the Mummy is a worthless, worthless piece of shit. Supposedly the DS version is better, but it is one of the most boring adventure games I've ever played.

Let me just tell you this one thing that should capture why I hate this game: at some point in a SHERLOCK HOLMES DETECTIVE GAME they stop to have one of those puzzles where you fill in a grid with white or black squares based on the numbers in the rows and columns.

 

[deus101]

May i say that i loved the gallery in Nemisis(SH vs. Arsene Lupin)

 

[Gord]

ARISE, MY MINION, ARISE!

Ok, I understand The Testament of Sherlock Holmes is out now?
Anyone had the opportunity to try it out? Is it any good?

I enjoyed Awakened (in the "remastered edition") and Jack The Ripper very much and have recently felt a craving for more games like them.
Haven't played The Silver Earring or Arsène Lupin yet, are they recommended?

 

[GuybrushWilco]

I have only played two Frogwares Sherlock games, one on the DS with a mummy, which was alright, and Sherlock Homes: Nemesis, which was awesome The Testament of Sherlock Holmes looks great. It is coming out on consoles also, which should be interesting.

 

[Renegen]

Straight from the horse's mouth (a dev) it appears that The Testament of Sherlock Holmes is a bit harder than Jack the Ripper but easier than the others. A ton of graphical improvements. Seems like a good bet.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

it has Sherlock vision

why

 

[GuybrushWilco]

Is it like Batma's detective vision from Arkham Asylum?

 

[Jarpie]

it has Sherlock vision

why

Just one sentence:

It is coming out on consoles also, which should be interesting.

 

[yes plz]

I was wondering why I was seeing TV commercials for this one, which I immediately took as a bad omen.

 

[Renegen]

All Sherlock vision does is highlight everything you can interact with. You fuckers would probably use it too. That or prepare to get stuck on several occasions for 20+ minutes searching for an item in a cluttered environment. It will happen, and not many want to feel that much like a detective.

 

[Admiral jimbob]

The main premise of The Testament of Sherlock Holmes comes in the desire of the Frogwares development team to truly explore Holmes as a character. In previous games as in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's books, the cases were always about truly devious criminals.

Players have the option of using a gamepad while playing, and the control system has been specially formatted for consoles.

There have been a few additions made to the title's puzzle-centric gameplay, most notably, optional "point of interest" indicators to help Holmes discover clues, as well as a "sixth sense" functional that can help Sherlock out when he's stumped.

Previously, insanely difficult puzzles were once considered a good thing, and success was measured in how long it took people to finish the game. As of what Waël observed about, they were carefully watching the internet, counting the days until people started posting complete solutions. They now admit this was a “stupid” approach, and are now putting a lot of emphasis on accessibility and not getting stuck in the same place for too long.

Saying that Holmes will now rely in his survival skills and street-smart paired in a cat-and-mouse style plot widely seen in other games such as Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction