Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is one published in 2006 point-and -click adventure by Frogster in cooperation with Frogwares and Focus Home Interactive. It is the third game developed by Frogwares Game series by Arthur Conan Doyle's hero Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, but playing time before the second part.

Action

The game begins with a nightmare reminiscent of Watson, who wakes up covered in sweat and abide by the the events occurred ( game action).

London, 1894. Everything is quiet and the great master detective Holmes plagues the boredom. Oppressed by the routine of the obvious crime completely cleaned capital of the advanced 19th century takes Sherlock Holmes to a seemingly rather uninteresting case: After visiting a bookstore raise the problems of a confidant of Watson - Patient Captain Stenwick - his interest. This misses his servant Baowpa, a Māori. Holmes begins to investigate and comes to the conclusion that the staff member was abducted.

As Holmes and Watson continue to find out: not an isolated case, because all over the world disappear seemingly basic and random people of different races. First of all think of running away, the famous detective comes after the disappearance of other persons in the port of London a very organized trafficking on the track, coupled with the in-game real existing Cthulhu cult and their strange customs. Both investigators get information about a mysterious institution in Switzerland, are treated in the mentally ill - and apparently also serves as a hub for the disappeared, as well as precious jewels.

Another indication that it leads to New Orleans in North America, then bring more light into the darkness: the mysterious sect did all he could to seize power in itself and to destroy humanity. The intended apocalypse in the form of evocation of a leviathan - the personification of the ocean at rest, totbringenden God Cthulhu - will it come in these days about the world, so that Holmes and Watson have little time to stop this. Back in England, performs the track to Ardnamurchan lighthouse on the Scottish west coast, where it Holmes and Watson manages to solve the case.

Innovations and criticism

Unlike its predecessor, " The Secret of the Silver Earring " ventured with " The Awakened " new territory. These variations were indeed a novelty, but met with many gaming fans with skepticism and rejection. Therefore, Sherlock Holmes was 3 a controversial game. The classic for adventure third-person perspective was changed to favor the well-known first-person shooters from 1st-person- view -angle perspective. In addition, Holmes and Watson travel for their circumstances exotic locations such as Europe and America. And also in terms of shocking, bloody and pictures glorifying violence was tested the limits.

The game was mostly provided only with mediocre grades, which has different reasons. Thus, the most fundamental change, namely the introduction of the first-person, by supporters of the third-person perspective was sharply criticized, because, as described on gamecaptain.de, " here does not work and ensures that unnecessary scanning of the sections and leg work. " Furthermore, it says that the scenes were indeed reproduced graphically in order and very detailed, but they are " dull and hard to beat in solitude barely. " Even the characters would see quite well, according to gamona.de " [ are ] the animations [ ... ] However, sometimes ridiculous. " the detective work would be short with a few questions and chemical analysis, since it primarily came down to finding people and objects, without which the game can not continue. Because, in contrast to its predecessor, completely auslaufbaren scenes also give the appearance that one can move very freely in London, but the walk- world is only as wide as it is urgently necessary for the investigation. The Opposite is the voice dubbing and background music that is found positive in all tests.

Gameplay

The whole game away to play exclusively from the perspective of Sherlock Holmes, with a few exceptions in which one acts as Dr. Watson, with this mostly restricted to simple errand service. This is controlled in the original version of the character solely from the first-person view and questioned in this way individuals, collects and combines items and places them also to the corresponding time points. Several intermediate questions from Holmes, which must be answered from the perspective of Watson for progress are in the game are designed to stimulate the player's thinking and replace from the previous Sherlock Holmes: The Secret of the Silver Earring known exam at the end of each level in the to respond to several questions with yes or no and had to prove this by the corresponding documents or testimony.

Find out more

• Sherlock Holmes nemesis, Professor James Moriarty, appears in the game. Holmes finds during his investigation into the psychiatric hospital "Black Edelweiss " is a file that points to a mentally severely limited man who was picked up in a river. This is an indirect reference to the short story The Final Problem, in which Holmes with Moriarty delivers a struggle at the Reichenbach Falls, only Holmes returns from the Doyle'schen stories as a survivor, the end Moriarty remains uncertain. In the game itself Holmes brings through the fall into the Reichenbach Falls obviously battered and now vegetating in front of him Moriarty, he meets later in the laundry, with a trick to deploying its still vengeful energy against the guards, making Holmes the plan may fail.
• During a train ride through Europe Holmes is asked in a cutscene from a boy to solve a riddle box what Holmes also creates. Later comes out: when the boy is young Hercule Poirot, the fictional hero of Agatha Christie.
• In the various papers which Holmes studied during the game for his investigation, there is, inter alia, through regional reports of a burglary series in Paris, the perpetrator leaves behind his initials AL at the crime scenes. This is a reference to another popular fictional character, a master thief Arsène Lupin, the Sherlock Holmes must grapple in the sequel.

Remastered

At the end of 2008 published the Frogwares ' Sherlock Holmes Trilogy ", the next Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened Remastered contained: The Mystery of the Mummy Sherlock Holmes and the Secret of the Silver Earring Sherlock Holmes and the game. This is a modified version of the original game, which includes all published to date patches, and many innovations in the fifth installment of the series, Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper, anticipating. So you can now choose for example between first- and third-person perspective and features a Help system, all possible interactions on the screen section shows when activated. Also the graphics and textures were improved.