Original Posted By "NEWS"

PC
Adventure
Focus Home Interactive Frogwares

Focus Home Interactive's Sherlock Holmes series has been around for about 10 years now, but has previously been a largely PC-based franchise. 2009 saw the release of Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper on Xbox 360 as well as PC, but few specific considerations had been made for consoles.

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes does a complete about-face by being primarily designed for consoles. Rather than a point and click interface, the player has direct control over Holmes (and sometimes Watson, and very occasionally, Holmes' dog) and can interact with the environment by pressing A upon discovering interactive icons. Don't feel that this simple control system means the game is easy, though -- it's what you do with the information that forms the bulk of the game's challenge.

A conscious decision was made to develop the game to be as cinematic as possible -- the developers were jealous that the action adventure and FPS genres had commandeered the cinematic storytelling which used to be the hallmark of adventure gaming. As such, conversations use a Mass Effect-style conversation system to keep the pace flowing, character models and animations are significantly better than in previous titles, and camera angles give a much more movie-like experience.

The story is of great importance to the game -- beginning with the conclusion of a theft case (which acts as a tutorial) where Holmes discovers some lost jewelry only to find it's a fake, the man who popularized the deerstalker hat soon finds himself accused of being the real thief. As the plot progresses, Holmes becomes more and more desperate, resorting to fleeing from the police, destroying evidence and even considering committing murder.

It's the investigation of the game's cases that drive the narrative -- Focus is keen to try and make the experience as logical as possible and not simply throw in arbitrary puzzles to artificially extend the play time. Rather, you'll find yourself using Holmes' traditional methods of careful observation and deduction to come up with the solutions.

Certain evidence can be examined up close using a magnifying glass, tape measure and other tools. Other items can be examines in a 3D view, and when the player points out interesting things, this reveals further clues. Holmes' constant companion Watson keeps track of these clues in Holmes' notebook, and the process of deduction is somewhat similar to the Logic mechanic from Ace Attorney investigations -- notes can be combined together to make deductions about what is going on, and this in turn reveals the way forward.

The "cinematic investigation" description of the game may make it sound like a 19th century L.A. Noire, but Focus is keen to distance itself from Rockstar's title, noting that there's a lot less action and a lot more thinking. There's also less scope for failure -- while you might get stuck at times as you determine what to do next, there's no way of doing things "wrong."

The Testament of Sherlock Holmes is an unabashed love letter to fans of traditional adventure games, but is also friendly to console gamers. It looks set to offer an intriguing tale across its 15-20 hour narrative, and one that will keep you guessing until the very end. Watch for it in the fourth quarter of this year.

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There's only so much you can do with a title like The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, which is the moniker chosen for Focus Home Interactive and Frogwares' latest. This forebodingly named sixth installment in the long-running Sherlock Holmes series of graphic adventures presents a darker twist on London's premier detective, and a plot so grisly that it may surprise some series faithfuls.

Testament serves as the Sherlock series' console debut, and looks to introduce the brain of Baker Street to a whole new audience with its adult-oriented plot. Where previous Holmes titles didn't shy away from mature subject matter (the detective's last game saw him go toe-to-toe with London's infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper), Frogwares claims that Testament will send Sherlock down an even darker path -- a path from which he apparently won't be returning (it's right there in the trailer)



But first, a speedy synopsis: Holmes has just wrapped up yet another case with the triumphant discovery of a thought-stolen necklace, and has won the acclaim of the adoring London public once more. Until the next day's newspapers hit, that is, and a libelous journalist is claiming that Holmes is -- and always has been -- a fraud and conman. These accusations, alongside a horrifying torture and murder case, cause a darker side of the detective to surface as the game's story progresses. He's a more cynical and world-weary Holmes, and the choices he makes during the game's plot are set to make the London public, the player, and even longtime partner Dr. Watson​ lose faith in him.

The way 1898 London's visuals are rendered is an impressive leap over the locations seen in Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper, and toggling between first- and third-person views seems a pretty natural fit on a console gamepad. Speaking of which, there have been a few additions made to the title's puzzle-centric gameplay -- most notably, optional "point of interest" indicators to help Holmes discover clues, as well as a "sixth sense" functional that can help Sherlock out when he's stumped. There are about 20 locations throughout the game, each with unique puzzles, that range from Baker Street, to London's slums, to a crimson-hued opium den, and roughly 12-15 hours of gameplay.



My demo's biggest revelation came from being flat-out told that Sherlock Holmes dies after several hours of gameplay. While I wasn't told details of how or why, I did find out that players will take on the role of Watson for the remainder of the game. Frogwares CEO Wael Amr was on-hand, and told me that the studio was unlikely to continue the franchise with Watson in the lead ("He lacks the necessary drama to be a hero," he said). Zombie Sherlock, then? Your guess is as good as mine.

A bold choice for the franchise, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes is set to hit Xbox 360, PlayStation 3​, and PC at the end of this year.

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