Sherlock Holmes: The Silver Earring

[Tom_K]

http://www.frogwares.com.ua/sherlock&watson/flz/b01.jpg

Okay, so that's supposed to be an image, but it's not working for me - posting a thumbnail anyway - and I cannot delete this thread for some reason, so your stuck with this really lame looking post. Ah well, to the game itself:

Per the news item, go here (http://www.frogwares.com.ua/sherlock&watson/index.htm) for more information. Looks very interesting.

[D.C.]

The graphics in that screenshot you posted or atleast linked too looks pretty damn awesome! Much better then Mystery Of The Mummy. :)

[djsouza]

I look forward to this game, I always loved the "Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes" series by Electronic Arts.:)

"The Mystery of the Mummy" didnt look like a Sherlockian game at all.:rolleyes:

[mycroft]

Yay. A new Sherlock Holmes game. Yay. I excessively disliked(read hated) the last one. Yay. This one looks good. Yay. Probably third person. Yay. The website doesn't give much info. Yay. I'm a fanboy. Yay. Here is an obligatory screenshot that I liked.

http://www.frogwares.com.ua/sherlock&watson/flz/b06.jpg

Can't you just feel the atmosphere ?


Hmm..the IMG tag thingie is not working. Yay.

[ragnar]

After playing the demo of Mystery of the Mummy, I am heaved biased towards not playing any Frogwares games. This new game would have to get *massive* praise to get my attention.

[Stinger]

After playing the demo of Mystery of the Mummy, I am heaved biased towards not playing any Frogwares games. This new game would have to get *massive* praise to get my attention.

That's hardly fair, especially when they more than redeemed themselves with Journey to the Center of the Earth.

- Evan

[ragnar]

I know it's hardly fair, but they should have some punishment for using Sherlock Holmes with such a title.

[djsouza]

"Mystery of the Mummy" is just some generic puzzle adventure game with the name of Sherlock Holmes. They could have used any other investigator character in it (Hercule Poirot, Miss Maple, Charlie Chan, etc) and there would be no major differences.

[Tom_K]

It should be obvious by now the folks at Frogwares are brilliant artists, yet so much of Sherlock Holmes is story. If they nail that, and the dialogue - and avoid infuriating puzzles, this will definately be a game to watch for. Can't wait for the demo.

[D.C.]

I think this game definately has potential. :)

[X0rG]

That looks awesome....anyone got a release date? :9~

[Curt]

It should be obvious by now the folks at Frogwares are brilliant artists, yet so much of Sherlock Holmes is story. If they nail that, and the dialogue - and avoid infuriating puzzles, this will definately be a game to watch for. Can't wait for the demo.
From what I've read elsewhere on Journey to the Centre of the Earth, the graphics and story are wonderful, so I'm sure this game will follow there. Unfortunately, I've read some awful things about the puzzles and the programming execution for getting around in their previous game. The pixel-hunting appears to be one of the worst ever, with some puzzles apparently not even reacting often when clicked, unless you click the exact spot. That would put many people off.

Let's hope they've learned a bit since the last game, then. If they have, Sherlock Holmes should be awesome. :)

[mycroft]

Graphics and puzzles aside, what I'm really concerned about is that will it feel like a Sherlockian game and not just a generic Victorian murder mystery type adventure. As djsouza very correctly pointed out.

A new original story, "Silver Earring" has been written by a true Sherlock Holmes fan for you!

Actually, the title intrigues me. It is something I would've expected from Conan Doyle. Unlike Mystery of the Mummy and Case of the Sherringford Hall(or whatever the tentative title was) :rolleyes: . A true Sherlock Holmes fan ? Hmm...I wonder. I find the premise very uninteresting. It feels all too predictable.

I've only really liked the Case of the Serrated Scalpel. The opening scene firmly establishes the feeling of the Victorian setting. I will expect no lesser from this one, especially since they have been proclaimed to be commendable in the graphics department. However, as Mr. King said that much of the Sherlock Holmes experience is story and dialogue, I wouldn't want myself solving a chess puzzle or some arcane pattern recognition type puzzle in a Sherlock Holmes game. Pulling levers and pushing buttons is a no-no.

The famous pair of detectives is back! Play as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

This is another thing that bothers me. Inaccuracy in detail. They were never a 'pair of detectives'. 'Tis true that Holmes often sent Watson into the field as an errand boy or to collect information, but Conan Doyle has clearly marked Watson's postion as that of a haplesss bystander.

-"Do not dream of going, Watson, for I very much prefer having a witness, if only as a check to my own memory."
-"You have a grand gift of silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion."
-"On the contrary, Watson, you can see everything. You fail, however, to reason from what you see. You are too timid in drawing your inferences."

This is what Sherlock Holmes thought of Watson. They were never allies. Yet, he enjoyed Watson's company and felt that he enhanced his mental faculties in one way or the other. It would be nice to play as Watson though.

In fact, Sherlock Holmes was more attracted by the famous singer Gallia who was supposed to perform during this reception.

I'm sorry but this does not sound like Sherlock Holmes to me. Here, I've collected a couple of quotes to support my theory.

-"Now, Watson, the fair sex is your department."
-"Women are never to be entirely trusted - not the best of them."
-"I am not a whole-souled admirer of womankind."
-"Some of my most interesting cases have come to me in this way through Mycroft."
OK, this one has no relevance. I just wanted to gloat. :P


So...anyway. Yay.

[ragnar]

The only romantic notion Holmes ever had was towards Irene Adler, (referred to as the woman by Holmes) who was the woman who beat Holmes' wit in the story A Scandal in Bohemia.

Oh, and about Holmesesque puzzles, code (as in scrambling a text) puzzles are much in Holmes' line.

[MeddlingMonk]

It was not that he he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotion, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise, but admirably balanced mind.
(From the very first paragraph of "A Scandal in Bohemia")

Anyway, Holmes and women is always good for a few laughs at least (or more than a few in the case of The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes.)

[crabapple]

That's hardly fair, especially when they more than redeemed themselves with Journey to the Center of the Earth.

- Evan

I sure hope they clean up the navigation system.
The thought of watching Sherlock Homes turning around in circles and setting off in the wrong direction all the time (the way the character in Journey to the Center of the Earth did) makes me shudder.

[VoodooFX]

I'm willing to try anything that doesn't mention node-based movement in description :) I'd like to see developers drop this tehnique already, it's outdated and it's a step backward compared to classic point & click anyway.

[mycroft]

Oh, and about Holmesesque puzzles, code (as in scrambling a text) puzzles are much in Holmes' line.

By Jove ! Those sound deliciously tempting.

There are a wealth of cryptograms and plaintext ciphers in Holmes' adventures. It would be commendable if the developers do the effort of actually implementing a variant of the cryptograms.

http://www.bakerstreet221b.de/img/danc-1i.gif

The Adventure of the Dancing Men, featured a monoalphabetic substitution cipher of sorts. It would be exciting to see a variant of this implemented in the game. Something the player will have to solve.


http://www.bakerstreet221b.de/images/vall-00.jpg

Also, the one featured at the begining of The Valley of Fear is a jewel.

534 C2 13 127 36 31 4 17 21 41
DOUGLAS 109 293 5 37 BIRLSTONE
26 BIRLSTONE 9 47 171

Now I'd like to see this kind of puzzle in a Sherlock Holmes adventure game.