The Testament of Sherlock Holmes

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If you a fan of Sherlock Holmes or adventure games then this game is a must-buy title. The voice acting is excellent and it is easy to lose yourself in the detailed environments. A lot of love has gone into the design with nods to fans of the books scattered throughout the rooms of 221B Baker Street.

The game is enjoyably challenging and makes you feel like Holmes as the mystery unfolds. Some puzzles can be frustrating but there is an optional 'skip puzzle' command if you are truly stuck. Personally, using this option was not as much fun compared to the satisfying feeling of solving it on your own.

After searching a particular location there is a deduction board which allows you to review all the clues discovered and draw conclusions based on them. The branching questions and answers on the board lead to the solution. It's a brilliant game mechanic.

The only issue I have with the game is character movement. The animations can be stiff and there are also infrequent problems with poor navigation along walls and near doors. This may turn some gamers off but I found it to be only a minor distraction from the tightly woven and engaging story.

I can't get enough as a fan of Holmes and adventure games. I am only mildly ashamed to admit that I spent nearly seven hours straight playing the game on the release day. I still haven't finished it and the great thing is that there are still many hours to be spent with Holmes and Watson.

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I like the game and i've never even read any of the books. Definitely an intellectual aspect to each of the challenges you face, much better than some other games where you appear to just plod around for "secret" items. You are provided a series of questions that force you to deduce what has occurred around you. Once there has been some decision, you can proceed. A hint system is available to provide some guidance, but it's much more fun to ignore it and use your own wits.

You need to step into Watson's shoes at times to perform some somewhat pointless tasks which is a little odd considering the game centers around the good detective. It's a bother, but it doesn't take away from the overall gameplay enough to sink the game.

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I was barely a teenager when I got my first Sherlock Holmes game. The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes flashed on my screen. With the newly sound blaster pro installed in my computer I was amazed by the real voices that spoke along with the cutscenes. Adventure games had really come along way in just the matter of years. From Space quest to kings quest many of these games helped define what a good adventure could be, and pave the way for many of the game that we enjoy today. And one of the first games to not only take advantage of the latest sound cards but to bring in actor dialog was the early Sherlock Holmes adventures. So when I heard of this title was in development I had a mix of expectations. For one I knew it was quite possible this game could bring something new the table. Show case a new way to present an adventure game. I also knew that could be the opposite since many of the past Sherlock games have been just like the previous ones. Different murders, different suspects and puzzles, but same ole game play style. Regardless I expected it to be good.

And I wasn't disappointed. Was the controls impressive. No I think those could be tweaked some. Nothing in the controls made me want to throw the controller across the room, but it was clunky at times. Some of the animation seemed it could easily be from an earlier era. But my expectation was not expecting such perfection as one would buying say from games like God of War. I am enjoying the hunt just as much as I did at 13. Though I have noticed some filler activities it never felt too forced upon the player. This game is not ground beaking in any sense, it doesn't need to be. I believe this has a true feel of the characters in the original books. If you are even just slightly a Holmes or a mystery fan this is worth a try. I would never go on to claim game of the year, but this is a pleasant addition to my game collection.

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Whenever a new not so high budget game gets released, people tend to stay as far as they can from getting it because of how low the production value can be. Yes, the game doesn't have the best graphics though t is still beautiful to look at and it does lack a lot in animation department, but it does have the best game story this year in addition to a very well written script and top notch voice acting for the main characters. It is one of the best games I have played this year.

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I love Sherlock Holmes. I grew up on the books and I loved watching the PBS show with my grandmother. I was really excited for this game, and while I love the intricate puzzles and the story, the rest of the game play isn't great. There are targeting issues in the game as in if you're not directly in front of an item or if you're even an inch away from it, you can't pick up the item. The inventory menu is very clunky and not user friendly. The deduction board is also awkward to use and practically frustrating at times. There are odd jolting camera angles as well and sometimes there are odd hiccup glitches before a cutscene starts.

So the game is okay, but not great and it could have been which is why I'm a little disappointed.