Features:

• The most famous monuments in London become the setting of your investigation, hundreds of works of art have been faithfully reproduced for you to admire along the way
• Interact with more than 40 distinct characters to make progress in your investigation
• Play the role of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion Dr Watson in turn
• Use and combine more than 100 objects and uncover hundreds of clues and documents to lead the investigation to its conclusion
• The latest real-time 3D technology for total immersion in thrilling environments

Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Imagine you are Sherlock Holmes trying to catch a thief in late 19th century London. Arsene Lupin is a young French burglar who comes to town with one goal - defy Scotland Yard and Sherlock Holmes. He will steal five objects of great value in five days from famous sites around London. Throughout the game, you will meet more than 40 typical characters from the Victorian era who you can interact with, while uncovering hundreds of clues and objects, which you will need to use, and combine to complete your investigation. The handy game history reminds you at any time of the number of documents found, statements taken or events surrounding the story. Famous sites such as the British Museum, the National Gallery and even Buckingham Palace are faithfully reproduced down to the finest detail. Take a closer look at hundreds of works of art, objects, sculptures and paintings while listening to personal commentaries from Sherlock Holmes about the work.

Also known as Sherlock Holmes vs. Arsene LupinSystem Requirements Microsoft Windows 2000/XP/Vista Processor - Pentium III 1.3 GHz or higher Memory - 512 MB RAM Graphics card - 64 MB DirectX 9 compatible Sound card - DirectX 9 compatible DVD-ROM - DVD 4x speed Hard disk space - 3 GB

Rating : - Sherlock the Math Wizard
I wanted to love this game and I more or less enjoyed the prior adventure, Sherlock Holmes the Awakened. This particular adventure pits Holmes against a French master-thief, Arsene Lupin, who plans to regain the honor of his country by stealing a variety of English treasures.

The graphics are much as they were for the prior game but what is interesting is the detail given to the actual historic sights. I've been to the Tower of London and it was amusing to see it in the game modeled with great attention to the layout of the place. But the graphics are hardly crisp and the human characters a bit blocky.

The voice-actors for Holmes and Watson are well done and the game captures the 'feeling' of Holmes quite well. Other voice-actors tend to be stilted and at times remind me of people who don't speak English as their primary language. Lupin in particular just wasn't out-rraaaag-eously Frannnch as I wanted him to be.

Gameplay is downright frustrating. Searching for items and figuring out how they go together was enjoyable enough and gave you an excuse to roam. The puzzles on the other hand were designed for those interested in math. Adding, subtracting, multiplying, disguised in lengthy letters and clues is the game's idea of fun. Like so many other reviewers I resorted to the online walkthrough whenever I confronted a puzzle that stumped me for too long.

The game has potential but is far too scripted. There came a point where I KNEW where Lupin was, but of course I couldn't do anything about it. I think a better design would have been several cases with various ways of observing, questioning, and a few puzzles can lead Holmes to victory. Instead, like the Awakened, you are more or less watching a movie with so-so graphics, a half decent plot, and a predeliction for math.

Is the game worth buying?

Yes, but I'd not pay more than $20.00 for it. It has potential but doesn't deliver and instead you end up stuck doing math or getting motion sick because the game doesn't have the bobbing feature we all learned to love post-Castle Wolfenstien 3D and Doom. Why this game hasn't figured it out is beyond me.

So why buy? The whole plot is well done and the end is wrapped up quite nicely by Holmes explaining it in classic Holmesian fashion. I also think Holmes needs another breath of fresh air and this company has the right idea! They just need to shake the 'math is fun' and 'script is fun' aspect.