Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened

"A Dark and Engrossing Game Worthy of Holmes"

I've said before that I'm a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, and, unlike its sequel, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is a game that would have made a great book with a few adjustments. I bought the game on a whim on a rainy day and quite honestly didn't think I would like it, but what I got was a dark, engrossing hidden jewel with (almost) all the makings of a collaboration between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself and H.P. Lovecraft.

The story starts out innocently enough, with Holmes, who is complaining of the recent lack of interesting cases, and Watson having a conversation over breakfast. This ends in a trip to the bookstore, whereupon Holmes' (your) return to Baker Street, Watson flags you down. It seems that a man's foreign servant has disappeared, and upon Holmes' investigation of the boy's quarters, he concludes that the servant was, indeed, kidnapped. Does it have any connection to the other recent cases of foreigners disappearing? And how does all this end up connecting with a bloodthirsty and crazed Cthulhu cult...? Yup. You have to find out.

Believe me, it's not as eccentric as it sounds. The story will take you from England to Switzerland to Louisiana and back. Especially if you're a Holmsian fan, you will love the darker, more sinister story in contrast to the originals, which tend to lean towards a somewhat lighter, almost playful on occasion, air. This is more worthy of Holmes than any everyday petty theft or murder. It's the kind of situation you've always wanted to see him in. This one's got lots of blood and guts and bodies to inspect, and although it carries an M rating, I've seen much worse.

The graphics in the game - that's gameplay, and the title screen - are great. There are almost as many textures in the game as there are colors. You'll love seeing the transition of the color palates, along with the atmospheres, of each location change - From a very gray, cloudy London, to a dark and treacherous asylum in Switzerland, to the soft pastels and bright blue skies of New Orleans. In addition, you play from a first-person shooter perspective, which means that you can get virtually any camera angle you want.

The controls are very minimal and basic, but really, they're all you need to be able to maneuver around and interact. They aren't sloppy, and if you don't like them, you can change them. Walk, run, strafe right/left, interact, mouse to move camera. You also have an inventory that can be accessed at any time with any items, documents, and dialogues that you collect along the way. The controls allow you to easily search for clues and items, talk to people, and inspect things such as fingerprints and footprints with your magnifying glass.

It's interesting that this game carries many of the same flaws as it's sequel, Nemesis. What really detracts from the atmosphere of the game is that there are no ordinary people just hanging about on the streets or in buildings, the way any normal city would be. Even the busy streets of London and Louisiana are pretty much deserted, excepting people you need to talk to to advance in the game. And, if you consider it a flaw, altar your mouse sensitivity before starting. I'm not prone to motion sickness and never have been in my life, but, in the perspective that you play from, you can be hit with a wave of nausea after about an hour and a half.

As with Nemesis, my rating for audio goes in both directions, and like Nemesis, Awakened has a great, sinister (albeit short) original classical score for its main theme. Other than that, the music is mostly ambient and hardly noticeable, which had a good effect in some areas, especially the downright scary asylum level in Switzerland. On the flip side, the voice acting is not as good as it could have been. Characters talk with proper emotion in their voices, but the lines just sound awkward and insinscere, and there is too long of a pause in between two people speaking. Holmes' voice is pretty good, and I can actually tell where the voice actor was getting better as the game progressed, but such was not the case with Watson, unfortunately. The actor's voice was perfect FOR him, but the lines just weren't emphasized properly.

And again, these people never fail to make Watson look stupid, which he was certainly not.

But now onto the really important stuff. Awakened doesn't really base itself on puzzles as much as Nemesis depended upon them, but the difference is that with Awakened, you actually know what you're trying to achieve with the puzzle. For example, you have to pick a few locks during the Switzerland levels. We see the tumblers in the lock, numbered one to ten, in a mixed order. The obvious objective is to get the tumblers in order from one to ten to open the lock. There are other ones that aren't so obvious, even with the clues given to you, like a clock with a precise numerical pattern you must crack. And, if you get stuck, there is a guide available online. So, all in all, the puzzles are logical and challenging enough without overdoing it.

The cinematic for the resolution of the mystery was a little confusing (pertaining to who was really the mastermind behind the whole "let's wake up Cthulhu" idea) but it has a good ending. There's also a final cutscene back at 221B.

Replay value on this one is high. If you don't want to replay the whole game, there are certain areas and levels that you won't be able to wait to revisit, and the game has save slots a-plenty, so use them often. You can get it for $25, I think it was, in stores, and it's worth the money you'll drop on it. If you're not a big fan of Holmes or the puzzles, I'd say skip or rent, but since it's a bit long, you'd likely be renting it twice. And if you're curious about Holmes but not sure, give it a go. Hell, if you like British accents, you will enjoy this game to at least some degree.

All in all, I know I brought up a bunch of negatives, but seriously, the story itself more than makes up for the minor flaws. There are a few great twists to the plot, that's why I didn't get into too much detail. In short, it's an engrossing murder-mystery that will suck you in and keep you till the very end. If I were just to give one piece of advice to Frogwares and the Adventure Company - TRAIN. VOICE. ACTORS.

Elementary? Play and decide for yourself. You'll be glad you did.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/08/08

Game Release: Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (US, 03/01/07)