Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments: Review
Another game about the most famous detective in the history of the Franco-Ukrainian studio Frogwarees I did in conditions when the series „Sherlock“ successfully goes on television, and the series from the games are especially popular from the games Telltale Games, offering us to make important decisions. What conclusions should have been drawn Frogwarees? That’s right: she came up with her series „Sherlock“ and forced Holmes to make important decisions – only all this in the framework of one game.
Holmes identification
Games about Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson from Frogwarees always sought to go beyond classic quests. The opportunity, like in some RPG, freely run along the streets of London with a view of the eyes, chic graphics and facial animation, characteristic of expensive action than quests, Hollywood rollers on the engine, bright stories that encounter Sherlock with Arsen Lupine, then withJacke Ripper – these games have always claimed laurels of spectacular interactive cinema.
But something always interfered with them. Somewhere the authors did not dare to completely get rid of the conventions and stamps of the genre, obviously overdone with puzzles sewn with white threads to history. Somewhere they lacked a sense of proportion: the scriptwriters, trying to shock and captivate, came up with some absurdities. Remember, for example, as in The Testament of Sherlock Holmes We were forced to play for a dog helping Sherlock to open the doors.
By the way, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, It seemed to be the last “FrogVer” game about the great master of deduction in 2012. There, the authors seemed to have already exhausted the topic: they came up with a plot that logically finishes all this epic, gave freedom of action to Dr. Watson, introduced side tasks and even a wheel of dialogues, offering to choose how-in a good way or in a while-behave with suspects. The level with the dog again. After this, it seemed, the game will either finally fall into the booth with elements of role -playing game and quest, or return to classic roots. Or Frogwarees will finally take care of something new. But, as it turned out, the developers still decided to squeeze the theme of Sherlock. And finally succeeded in this – without any reservations.
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments It begins that we immediately remember the films Guy Richi (Guy Ritchie) p Robert Dauni Jr (Robert Download Jr.) as a famous detective: Sherlock at home, right in the room, with blindfolded eyes, it fits from a revolver through the vases. Watson, as in some shooter, runs from one shelter to another in order to
get to his not entirely adequate friend and stop him. A minute later, we already recall the Sherlock television series: Holmes stands with blindfolded eyes, hears that someone is entering, and begins to think about who it can be, and his thoughts are displayed by a pop-up text on the screen.
Thus, the authors immediately set the film tone and rhythm of what is happening. And confirm it by the very structure of the narrative – a new game Frogwarees divided into separate series-investigations. And between them the general through plot is indicated only by thin strokes and semi -German. Moreover, as in the British „Sherlock“, this common line is built around Holmes’s relationship with Watson and his influential brother Microft, as well as around the bad habits of the famous detective.
It is clear that the developers to some extent try to use the success of the television series for their own purposes. But, you see, it is better to borrow good developments and focus on successful examples than to force us to play for a dog!
Dynamic detective
The main thing is that the stories themselves turned out to be original and interesting. We are investigating the brutal murder of a former sailor, who was nailed to the wall with a harpoon in our own house, looking for traces of the disappeared train, we catch the killers who stabbed the famous aristocrat and archaeologist right in the chic London baths. Sherlock Holmes demonstrates his famous deductive method on dark London streets and among Chinese pagodas, on the ruins of ancient temples and at suburban railway stations.
By appearance, Sherlock can make an idea of each character – sometimes this allows you to find the desired argument to catch the interlocutor on a lie.
The format of a kind of series inside the game was for Frogwarees real salvation. Previously, the scriptwriters of the studio, trying to come up with a single plot, often could not withstand their own rhythm: the narrative sang in places, caused a smile or a feeling of perplexity in places. Now everything is different: we got quite short, movie stories with many suspects who simply do not have time to bore.
Accordingly, the gameplay has also changed. That is, outwardly, everything seems to be the same: we collect documents, comb the locations in search of active points, find the necessary objects, communicate, periodically solve some puzzles. But, firstly, the emphasis is still more made on the story itself, on dynamics and communication-there are fewer puzzles, they are easier and more logical to what is happening. Secondly, new abilities appeared in Sherlock arsenal. It can include the superverse regime to find traces or objects that are not visible to the ordinary eye, and use your own imagination in order to reconstruct some events from the past-this is also a separate puzzle, and it provides even more spectacle, emphasizing the genius of the main character.
Finally, arcade and action settings work on the dynamics: Sherlock, as in a shooter, aims and rumbles into a pork carcass, Watson in Rapid shoots at Chilean and saves life to his famous friend. And there are also mini-games like arm wrestling with a drunken sailor in a tavern. In such a situation, getting stuck somewhere for a long time or banal it is almost impossible to get bored-everything is done here for the sake of history, for the detective itself, and not for the process of solving some abstract puzzles.
Sherlock Holmes and moral choice
However, the main thing is that it ensures success Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments, – This is the appearance of variability. A certain nonlinearity was in past quests Frogwarees, But here she reached a completely new level. Remember how it used to be: we conducted an investigation, collected evidence, facts and evidence, and then in a separate table placed them in the right sequence to come to the right conclusion. Otherwise – start first!
Now the deduction regime is arranged differently. As we have already said, in every story there are several suspects with their motives. We build different logical chains on a separate screen. Moreover, many facts suggest a different interpretation: in order to throw harpoon and nail a person to the wall, you only need strength or simple good luck? The train disappeared, but whether it was blown up in the mines or drowned in the river? Depending on what choice we make, logical chains are changing, and in the end they lead to different conclusions.
The murder of a former sailor can be accused of the son of a bankrupt banker, gardener or the one who once swam with this sailor together. Or this was done by the son of a banker in conspiracy with a gardener? And then you still need to decide what to do with the guilty: to be put on trial or, for example, let go with God, entering His position. Or allow Microft to intervene so that he does not allow to flare up a political or international scandal because of our accusations. The game does not impose anything, allowing to make your choice. At the end of each case on a separate screen, you can check how right you were and what percentage of players did the same. Subsequently, you will see the echoes of some decisions made. And when you see, it is likely to want to replay some separate series-investigations.
You yourself decide how Sherlock will look and what will be dressed in – sometimes it is important to solve certain game problems.
Frogwarees finally found my formula for the perfect game about Sherlock Holmes. The authors experimented a lot, somewhere desperately held on to genre conventions, somewhere, on the contrary, they jumped too briskly beyond their limits. But in the end, it turned out that for happiness, players need a dynamic interactive series, where they try themselves as a great detective and decide for themselves who is to blame for crimes and what punishment he will suffer for this.
Pros: interesting and dynamic stories;the ability to personally make decisions;cute graphics;realistic facial animation;an abundance of various locations and characters;New interesting opportunities in the arsenal of the great detective.
Cons: Sometimes the need to constantly move between the same locations tires.