The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes 2
Review
Don your hat and pick up a cane
by Ryan Cope
reviewed on PC
My Name? Holmes, Sherlock Holmes
Ever wondered what it would be like to delve into the shoes of the legendary fictional detective Sherlock Holmes? Then you would have surely played The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, experiencing the puzzle solving, clue finding dilemmas that the renowned English mystery solver has encountered for years. Well its time to once again don your hat, pick up a cane and puff on a pipe, as you survey crime scenes as the perspicacious and charming Sherlock Holmes in The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes 2.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Holmes is well known throughout the world, more so for his literature adventures, but also in film, television and even a few video games. A master at seeing the unseen, virtuoso of the violin, expert at deciphering codes, tactically superior at knowing the human body and disabling it, Holmes makes wannabes like Frost and Poirot seem like mere children playing cops and robbers.
Developed by Legacy Interactive, the same creators as the first game, The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes 2 continues the adventures of Holmes and his witty, war veteran sidekick Watson. With many new cases to solve and a few extras to keep you occupied, fans of the first will jump on board the lost cases carriage, while new comers to the series will find beautifully put together entertainment.
Watson, We Have A New Mystery To Solve!
The game is split into sixteen unrelated cases. Set out along a bookshelf and divided into four areas, each case (level) is a unique story. At the beginning of each level someone will come to Holmes asking for help about some sort of situation that is troubling them. There are murders, kidnappings and disappearances to solve and even haunted castles. After you have solved all crimes for one area the next becomes available. The difficulty of the cases gets tougher when you progress, leading to a climax of one complicated predicament.
After finishing one section a bonus story is unlocked. These bonus stories are all written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, depicting a few of the many adventures of the great detective Holmes. They are lovely little extras that compliment the game and reward you for finishing levels. It is a nice change of pace to take a break from the gameplay and appreciate the origins of the title character. It was a brilliant decision to include them, they expand the universe past that of just a video game. Hardcore Holmes fans will hopefully be ecstatic at this wonderful addition.
Another extra content is the Sherlock Holmes Lab mini game. Once you have completed all sixteen cases you gain access to the "lab". This is a simple time passing game where different coloured potions travel through an intricate system of glass pipes. It is your job to use a small rack of test tubes to catch each of the different coloured mixtures into the correct tube. However, after you have filled up the right amount of liquid, the rack morphs, adding and changing the glasses that you must control, leading to a higher difficulty as you progress. This is fun and can be addictive, but becomes increasingly frustrating as it gets harder.
8.0
fun score
Pros
Beautifully designed, with brilliant voice acting and unique puzzles.
Cons
Not much freedom of choice and can sometimes feel a little repetitive.
