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About the StoryMoriarty has set a deadly trap for Sherlock Holmes. And only you can stop him...Travel back in time to Victorian London, where the city is bustling with preparations for Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee. Crowds of sightseers and souvenir vendors fill the streets in eager anticipation of the Jubilee Week events. Newspapers detail the gala array of festivities. Sumptuous receptions for foreign dignitaries. Special services at Westminster Abbey. A Royal Procession through the streets of London. And the Queen reigning over all, resplendent in the Crown Jewels. At least, that's the official plan. Unbeknownst to the celebrants thronging the cit, a crisis has arisen: the Crown Jewels have been stolen from the Tower of London. If they're not recovered before the festivities begin, the theft will be exposed and the government will fall into international disgrace. Only 48 hours remain to solve the crime. With Scotland Yard failing to make headway, the Prime Minister calls on Sherlock Holmes, the famous consulting detective. But riddles left at the scene of the crime include a direct challenge to Holmes, who suspects a deadly trap. To throw the scoundrel off his guard, Holmes turns the investigation over to you, his trusted cohort, Dr. Watson. With Holmes by your side, you use your wits, intuition, and a myriad of clues to solve the riddles and piece together the mystery. Your search for the jewels and the villain leads you all over London, from the most popular tourist attractions to the seediest back alleys. As Big Ben strikes each successive hour and dangerous complications impede your progress, you realize you're facing that most dastardly of foes, Holmes's archnemesis... the vile Professor Moriarty. Sherlock: The Riddle of the Crown Jewels is the first story in Inform's new Immortal Legends series, developed by Challenge, Inc. Using Infocom's sophisticated development tools, Challenge lends its own brand of puzzles and plotting to interactive fiction. In The Riddle of the Crown Jewels, author Bob Bates brings Holmes's London to life, filling it with familiar characters and locations. On-screen hints provide clues when your magnifying glass falls short of the task. And now, come, Watson! The game is afoot... Game Details |
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A middle-of-the-pack effort from Infocom, December 3, 2009by Mr. Patient (Saint Paul, MN)
It's called Sherlock, but it's not very Holmesian in feel. It's not a detective story, and while there are some riddles that help you with certain puzzles, there is no mystery per se. It's really more of a standard find-the-items adventure. Furthermore, you don't play Holmes; you play Dr. Watson. Holmes is along for the ride, accompanying you for most of the game, but he adds nothing to the gameplay aside from his name. It's a strange decision on the part of the author. Who wouldn't rather play Holmes instead? Why are we second banana in our own game? The puzzles are for the most part quite easy, but there's one near the middle of the game which I found extremely difficult, bordering on unfair, because of a pronounced lack of in-game textual clues. There's a built-in hint system, which is nice. There's also an amusing tip of the cap to Trinity, a much better game.
I should note that the feelies for Sherlock are among the most lackluster of any Infocom game. There's a map of London (helpful), a key fob (not quite so useful in PDF form, alas), and a copy of The Thames newspaper. This newspaper is awfully important to the proceedings, but it is mostly unreadable, both because the print is so small (requiring high magnification in PDF form, and thus constant annoying panning up and down and back and forth), and also because it is so tediously written.
Still, the game is pretty enjoyable, and has the usual high standards for writing and overall quality that you'd expect to find in an Infocom title.
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