Sherlock Holmes is one of the most famous fictional characters, and certainly the most famous fictional detective. So it only makes sense that Sherlock's keen sense of deductive reasoning and logic is translated into an adventure game, a genre well known and loved for its puzzles. Coming from a lost era when adventure games were plentiful and publisher Electronic Arts did not feed off of the souls of its employees, the game fortunately does not require you to make some of the massive leaps of logic the titular detective is famous for.
It also doesn't require quite as much contrived pixel hunting as the average adventure game.
The game opens up with an actress who has been murdered in a rather grisly manner, causing the police to blame Jack the Ripper. Of course, we wouldn't have a game if the murder could be solved as easily as that. So Scotland Yard calls you in and after a careful examination of the body (with hints dispensed by trusty Dr. Watson if you’re a bit stumped) it appears the case isn't as simple as it seems. So after you explain to inspector Lestrade that his logic of the case is faulty (via trusty dialogue trees) you'll go into a full blown investigation of the case that will take you all over
London and then some.
While the graphics aren't the greatest, which is understandable given the game came out in the early nineties, they are a bit atmospheric. Backgrounds are filled with detail and there are occasional cinema scenes that look quite nice. Still, you can't help but feel they could have added a bit more detail to the character sprites.
The point-and-click interface of the game is reminiscent of early Lucasart SCUMM-based adventure games. For some reason though, the mouse buttons actions are reversed from what they normally would be. Fortunately there is an option to switch them to a more normal configuration.
The music is well composed and fits the action really well, but in order to get the most out of it you are going to need a Roland MT-32 sound module. Otherwise you are just going to have to settle with Adlib conversion. No voice acting in it, though that shouldn't be a problem if you're a real Holmes fan as the writing is quite good.
So in summary, if you are a big fan of the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, then this is a good pick for you. Though even if you are not, there is still a lot to like about this game.
