Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments

In the role of the famous London detective Sherlock Holmes, the player will have to uncover six different crimes, some of which are direct adaptations of the original works of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle .

Investigation Cases

• "The Fate of Black Peter" ( Eng. The Fate of Black Peter ) (based on the story " Black Peter " from the third cycle of stories about Holmes)
• “The Mystery of the Lost Train” ( eng. The Riddle on the Rails ) (based on the short story “The Disappeared Emergency Train ”)
• Bloodbath ( The Blood Bath )
• Murder on Abby Grange ( eng. The Abbey Grange Affair ) (based on the story Murder in Abby Grange )
• “Kew Gardens” Drama ( The Kew Gardens Drama )
• "Walk in the moonlight" ( English The Half-Moon Affair )

Main characters

The game is played by Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson , but in some episodes control is transferred to other characters.

The appearance of the main characters (see also the section in the article on the series of games ) is a continuation of the appearance option that was used in the previous part, “ The Last Will of Sherlock Holmes ”, where the appearance of the characters was significantly changed in comparison with the earlier parts; In addition, for the first time in a series of games, in this game, the appearance of the characters can be customized by the player.

Gameplay has undergone significant changes in comparison with the previous parts of the series. The game is made in the quest genre .

The perspective of the virtual camera is from the first person view, or from the third person view (the hero can be seen from the back; switching is performed by pressing the “R” key). The developers also abandoned the view from the side, as in the classic quests, which was present in the " Last Will of Sherlock Holmes ", " Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper " and in several other games of the company about Holmes. Management is traditionally conducted using the mouse and keyboard .

The structure of the game has changed: if earlier one big thing was going through the whole game, which occupied the whole plot, now there are several cases at once, however, in terms of duration. In each of these cases, the player has several locations available for research, and the player can return (by selecting a location on the map) to the locations already investigated. Each case is self-sufficient and, apart from game achievements, such as moral choice, is not related to others.

During the game, the player must conduct a detective investigation using various detective tools, inspect crime scenes, conduct experiments with chemical materials, etc.

The Deductive Table, which has been present in the game since Jack the Ripper , has been reworked and is now a visualization of Holmes’s conclusions. Managing these conclusions, the player operates on the data obtained during the investigation of the case, and makes those or other conclusions. These findings can affect the outcome of the case. The more detailed the player will make a map of impressions of the case, the more facts he will have to operate with. Based on these facts, it can be concluded who exactly was guilty of the crime committed.

In each case, the player can blame different people for the crime (or justify them): thus, each case contains several options for ending at once. After Sherlock passes a verdict on the suspect, you need to confirm it and move on to a new case. It is possible to “test” all the options for ending the case, accusing alternately of different people, and then choose the final version, and, approving it, do the following.

There are puzzles on logical thinking (performed as mini-games - for example, the opening of the castle is completed) - as in the “ Last Will ”, the player can skip one or another task if it seems too difficult to him.

Holmes has the ability to inspect the character and make accurate conclusions about him, based on his deductive method - in order to create a “Portrait” of the character, the player must press the inspection button during the dialogue.

The player also has the ability to use skills called Holmes’s “Imagination” and “Talent”, the first one illustrates, based on Holmes’s ideas, events that could occur with a particular subject (the subject that represents Holmes is depicted as ghost "), the second - allows the player to easily find items that advance the investigation, highlighting them on the screen. For the first time in a series of games, action scenes are implemented here - for example, in one of the scenes Holmes participates in a fight , in another - in a fistfight.

Locations

Holmes and Watson Flat

The apartment in the 221B house on Baker Street , which Holmes and Watson rent at Mrs. Hudson , as in other games of the series, appears in Crimes and Punishments. This location is available in all Holmes affairs, it often starts here. The developers retained the layout and decor of the apartment, which they had created and developed in previous games, but it was also modified accordingly to the use of new technologies in the development of the game. The apartment has a living room - the main room - and two rooms to which you can move from it: the Holmes room and the John Watson room. The living room also houses the Holmes laboratory table, behind which he conducts experiments, a fireplace , and numerous bookshelves with a collection of books.

The title “Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments” is a reference to the classic novel by Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky “ Crime and Punishment ” (the game itself also contains references to this work - so Sherlock Holmes reads this book).

The game became the seventh main game in the Frogwares series of computer games “ The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes ”, the plot of which is connected with the stories and stories of Arthur Conan Doyle , and the next after “ The Last Will of Sherlock Holmes ”.

The first information about the development appeared in early 2013 ^{[1] [2]} ; along with the announcement of the game, some details emerged - for example, the fact that the developers create this game on the licensed Unreal Engine 3 game engine , moving away from its own technology (the new level of graphics and the ability to create more progressive and smooth animation were named as advantages from using another engine. ), as well as the fact that the company abandoned the point-and-click management, which is classic for quests . Instead of one case going through the whole storyline, there will be “eight investigative cases” in the game (later the number of cases was reduced to six). ^[2] In addition, for the first time in a series of games, players will be offered the possibility of a so-called “moral choice” that can influence the outcome of the case. ^[1] At the same time, the first screenshots appeared .

On April 30, 2013, Frogwares published a new and, in effect, the first game video of the game, which is a technical demonstration (“Crimes & Punishments: Tech Demo”) ^[3] , the video also appeared in a blog post about The new game engine allowed to implement things that did not allow the limitations of the previous engine. ^[four]

The game was demonstrated at the booth of the publisher Focus Home Interactive at the July E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) 2013 . ^[five]

It was originally announced that the game will be released on PC , Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 , but on September 23, 2013 the game was announced on another platform - the PlayStation 4 ; "Crime and Punishment" was the first game of the company, which goes to the console of a new generation ( Xbox One was added to the platforms later) ^[6] , in addition, new screenshots were published.

At the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014, a diary of developers published messages about how puzzles are created ^[7] , differences in computer and console versions ^[8] , and how the apartment of Sherlock and John Watson on Baker Street looks in various games series and in this game ^[9] .

On April 1, 2014, the developers published a humorous video greeting “Break Free” with the characters of the game. ^[ten]

On March 13, a material on the creation of a level was published, showing the different stages that a level goes through during development - on the example of the level with the Royal Botanic Gardens ( Royal Botanic Gardens ). ^{[11] [12]}

In June, the game was demonstrated to the press and players (one of the cases that Sherlock is investigating) was shown at E3 2014 at the booth of international retail publisher Frogwares , the company Focus Home Interactive ; Some publications that visited the exhibition marked the game with awards: in particular, the site jeuxvideo.com rated the game as “Best adventure game ” at E3 (“Best adventure game at E3”). ^[13]

In late September, it became aware of a conflict between Frogwares and the Russian publisher 1C-SoftKlab , which previously had an agreement to publish and localize the game (the same part, the previous part, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes ) was translated: developers (the company is based in Kiev and shares the views of Ukraine’s European integration activists ^[14] , see also Euromaidan ) insert an introductory text into the game with a dedication to the Heavenly Hundred game (dead Euromaidan participants); the publisher asked to remove this inscription, and after refusing Frogwares refused to publish the game; Frogwares translated the game (subtitled) on its own, into Russian and Ukrainian. ^{[15] [16] [16]} This step of the developers was evaluated differently by the players in connection with different perceptions of events in Ukraine. ^[17]

The following blog entries are dedicated to sound issues, the latest trailers and, finally, the game release, which took place on September 30, 2014 on all announced platforms. ^{[18] [19] [20] [21] [22]}

For the first time in the games of the series (if you do not take into account the first part , built on third-party technology), Frogwares switched from its own game engine , developed internally and applied (subject to constant improvements) in each new game about Sherlock Holmes, to a third-generation licensed Unreal Engine . ^{[1] [2] [4] [14]}

This, according to the developers, made it possible to create more realistic character animation and detailed graphics with modern post-effects, and, in addition, simplified porting to various game consoles . Frogwares decided to self-port the game to game consoles (the previous part of The Testament of Sherlock Holmes was transferred to the console from the PC by Spiders ). ^[14]

The game, in general, received very positive ratings from the profile press and players.

The average rating on the aggregator of Metacritic ratings is 77% of the 100% in the version for the personal computer ^[31] , and 75% of the 100% in the version for the PlayStation 4 (as of November 2014, the game is one of the most highly rated games for this platform). ^[32]

Gamespot's game resource, rated 8 out of 10 with the posts “Great” ( Russian: “Great” ), begins a review with the words “that the Frogwares Sherlock Holmes series of games, imperceptibly becoming one of the best series of adventure games”, “accepts a new level [with this game] when it comes to game mechanics, storytelling and the visual side ”, concluding the article with such conclusions:“ Nothing can compare with the true stories of Conan Doyle about blue carbuncles, luminous dogs and scandals in Bohemia, but this game is the most close to them what can semi to chit. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to conclude that this game is one of the best adventures this year. ” ^[23]

4 out of 5 puts the game resource Adventure Gamers, specializing in review and news on games in the genre of " quest ". It was noted that there were several cases with good scenarios and endings that add to the desire to replay (at the same time, the disadvantages include the fact that the endings are “limited to other charges”), graphics and sound are described as “a triumph of visual and sound design” (“Sherlock never did not look better "). ^[25]

The review on the French resource Gameblog.fr also noted high-quality graphics and the "atmosphere", "diverse research" and "the freedom to make mistakes in the conclusions" (the disadvantages include relative ease for experienced players in the games of the "quest" genre and "not always convincing mini-games ”), summing up that this is“ given the first-class graphics, the ideal suspect for the title of the best adventure game ”; rating - 4 out of 5. ^[26]

A positive assessment - 86% of 100% - put the game and the Greek resource Ragequit.gr, concluding that "" Crimes and Punishments "is one of those games that you can safely play in the afternoon, in the evening, at any other time, and in which you want to play more than once, until you reach the end. " The graphic component is described as “most impressive” in adventure games. ^[27]

In 7.5 out of 10, IGN American website rated the game. ^[24]

Russian magazine " Igromania " rated the game 8 out of 10 with the posts "Excellent." The reviewer positively assessed the visual component of the game and the design of the locations, as well as the script part: “... Crimes & Punishments merit by about 70% in the scenario: it’s great stories, not the search for dirt particles on anyone’s hands and not studying blood pools , keep off the screen. And the authors have chosen a decent form for the plot: finally it turns out to associate themselves with Sherlock Holmes precisely as a brilliant detective, and not just with a popular media hero ”, summing up the verdict:“ The best game about Sherlock Holmes and one of the most fascinating detectives of recent years. Yes, and with great visuals! This is not what you expect from a classic quest about searching for evidence and deduction. ” ^[29]

The game resource Kanobu.ru in its review described the game as “The best game about Sherlock Holmes”, putting 8 points out of 10. The reviewer spoke positively about the changes in the game process and the design of locations. The author of the review notes that Frogwares does not forget to make numerous references to previous games in the series (“The authors did not forget about the fans of their stories: the heroes casually mention the events of Jack the Ripper and The Awakened ”). ^[thirty]

Positive ratings were given by more than 90% of users (according to feedback from players on Steam ). ^[17]

• Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments (English) . Frogwares . - the official site of the game. The appeal date is March 7, 2015.