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Sherlock Holmes Vs Jack The Ripper (Game)
Release Date: January 09, 2010
Distributor: QV Software
"...for those who like a relaxed pace and a lot of conundrums."
It's funny to think what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle might make of the recent incarnations of his most famous creation: Sherlock Holmes. For a start there's Guy Ritchie's contrived action hero movie take on the famed detective and now a series of games, available for the PC and XBOX360.
The latest entry in the game series pits a more traditional, foppish Holmes against Jack the Ripper, one of the most notorious and written about serial killers of all time. Mainly because he was never caught. However with Holmes on the case, surely this mutton-chopped murderer will be brought to justice.
Great premise, right, but how do you base an entire game on that rather slender idea? The answer comes in the form of a slow, occasionally plodding, but interesting none-the-less title.
Set in London's notorious Whitechapel district, the game is very dark - both literally and thematically. Jack has been carving up prostitutes and Holmes is on the case. The game is afoot!
Don't expect a fast-paced, beat-‘em-up from this title. This is more like a forensic puzzle game, where you play Holmes, combing the locations of the murders and using crime scene reconstitution with the help of your long suffering assistant Watson.
This tends to amount to a lot of pointing and clicking as you try and test various theories of each killing. That said the player is unlikely to get too bogged down as a hint system helps you along if you get stuck.
The 360 version can be played in first and third person view, but it's still a tad slow and ponderous. Graphically superior with surprisingly grisly moments, Sherlock Holmes Vs Jack the Ripper is a title for those who like a relaxed pace and a lot of conundrums.
Hardly dynamic, but an intriguing play regardless.
Doyle may well have approved of this vision... although explaining what a video game is to him might take a while. A solid effort.