Calling all Sherlock Holmes fans. Here is a game that you simply
cannot be without.

Electronic Arts has followed
up its earlier Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the
Serrated Scalpel with this newly-discovered “lost” case.
It is nothing less than a novel-sized mystery story crammed, somehow,
onto a single cd.

In this era of six- and
eight-disk games, I’m simply stunned at the sheer amount of game
EA has managed to squeeze onto a single
disk.
What’s even better news is that this is a game of high quality,
not just quantity.

There isn’t actually any BAD news, but there are areas where this
game isn’t superior. Technically there is nothing groundbreaking
about this title. The graphics are lovely but not revolutionary.
The characters are stiff video-clipped actors, and each sprite
has an annoying repetitiveness to its movement. The lip-synching
is mediocre
at the best of times, and reminiscent of a bad Italian Hercules
movie at the worst of times.

What sets this game apart is the breathtaking complexity and
quality of writing. This is the longest adventure game I’ve
ever played,
notwithstanding its single-disk format. This story has the
depth and density of a good mystery novel. Everywhere in the game
the
writing shines, from the overall plot and characterizations
down to the very
descriptions of objects and places in the game. In fact, the
descriptions of the various elements in each new scene were
so diverting that
I found myself, generally an impatient gamer, really slowing
down and enjoying the slower pace very much indeed.

The story begins with Sherlock’s older brother Mycroft getting
severely injured in an explosion at his stuffy club, The
Diogenes. At first,
Sherlock is so distraught about his injured brother’s condition
that he doesn’t have the strength or the will to investigate
the explosion.
Therefore, in a delightfully unexpected twist, the game begins
with you playing Dr. Watson. The good doctor has the job
of doing a bit
of preliminary investigating, in an attempt to gather enough
evidence to coax Sherlock out of his funk. Once you succeed
in this task,
the point of view reverts permanently to Sherlock.

Throughout the course
of the investigation you interrogate, interrogate, interrogate.
Holmes and Watson interact with
a veritable kaleidoscope
of characters. This is not a game for those who dislike
conversation in a game. Happily, the voice acting and the writing
are
first rate. The story gets more and more complicated as
you go, involving
everything
from kidnapping forgery to treason, espionage and heads
of state.

Along the way in this game there are many highlights. Recreating
a murder that occurred next to Cleopatra’s Needle in
the murky fog of the Thames was riveting. Plus you get to have
lots of
fun with
animals: a trained monkey, a remarkably talented tracking
Airedale, birds and an Indian mongoose. You also have
to get really good
at darts, and learn and teach a billiard trick. And I
haven’t even mentioned
the fun you get to have with Sherlock’s chemistry set.
Or the side trip out of town to rescue a kidnapped little
boy.
Or
the interviews
with Queen Victoria . . . or even the interview with
Kaiser Wilhelm II!

Navigation is facilitated by an absolutely beautiful
map of London. The more people you talk to, the more
clues
you uncover,
the
more locations are opened up.

The game has a brilliant feature to aid in the investigation:
Watson’s journal. Dr. Watson is an indefatigable
scribbler, and he takes
down literally every word of every conversation that
takes place in the
game. The journal is accessible at virtually any
point in the game, and here’s the beauty part: it’s SEARCHABLE!!
This
is
an amazingly
helpful feature in a game that features so many different
characters and locations.

I am often an impatient gamer, but the terrific writing
in this game made it a pleasure to take my time.
Each location is beautifully
detailed and very entertainingly described.

I wish Electronic Arts would produce six more titles
in this excellent series. This game was that
good. The sprites
are
a little woody
and jerky, but otherwise this is a stunningly
detailed and complex story,
fabulous variety of locations and characters,
superior writing and game construction. Not to be missed!

Final Grade: A

System Requirements:

Minimum Windows Requirements

• Operating System: MS-DOS 5.0 or higher
• CPU: Intel 486/66+
  or 100% compatible PC system
• RAM: 8MB RAM (16 MB
  recommended) – 16MB w/ Windows 95
• Hard Disk Space: 30
  MB free hard drive space
• Monitor: 256-color
  SVGA local bus or PCI video card, Vesa 1.2 video compliance
• CD-ROM: 2x CD-ROM
  drive or faster
• Sound: Sound Blaster,
  SB Pro/SB, 16/SB AWE 32 or 100% compatible, ProAudio Spectrum,
• Roland Sound Canvas,
  Yamaha Waveforce XG or 100% General Midi compatible, Ensoniq
• Soundscape
• Other Needs: Keyboard
  and Microsoft compatible mouse

Recommended:

• Pentium 90
• 16 MB RAM
• Sound Blaster 16 and
  General Midi Sound Card

This
review is copyright Ray Ivey and Just Adventure and
may not be republished elsewhere without the express written consent
of the author. Republication of said review must also contain a link
back to Just Adventure.