Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments - PC

Looking at the seventh in a long line of successful games based around Baker Street's most famous resident, it is immediately clear that the developer, Frogwares, has managed to recreate Sherlock and Dr. Watson almost flawlessly from their literary descriptions. From Holmes' nasally and patronising tones to hinting strongly at his drug problems, and from Watson's immaculate appearance to his bemused and exasperated views of his colleague, the central duo will be instantly familiar to anyone who has read the books or watched the older Sherlock Holmes TV series starring Peter Cushing.

The game itself is set out as a series of cases, each one acting as its own standalone mystery, with a few loose threads that tell a separate, larger story. It is in your best interest to pay as close attention as possible because the smallest detail can lead you to one conclusion over another. Anyone wanting to rush their way to a conclusion will inevitably finger the wrong perpetrator, or possibly the right one for the wrong reason.

Each case has a similar set up and sequence of activities. At the beginning the crime is committed and all the pieces are put in place, your Scotland Yard friend Inspector Lestrade will give you the barest details of the case, maybe point you towards the obvious suspect, and then you are free to proceed on to the meat of the game, information gathering. This can be done by talking to witnesses, examining the victim's body and rummaging through everything you can see on screen.

The style is very much in the vein of the original literary stories, and Holmes fans will find a lot to love. more