Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsène Lupin
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''Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsène Lupin'' (released in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia as ''Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis'') is an
adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw ...
developed by
Frogwares Frogwares is a Ukrainian video game developer, video game development studio headquartered in Kyiv with subsidiary offices in Dublin, Ireland. The studio and its subsidiaries develop adventure games for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows ...
. The fourth game in the ''
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
'' series, it was released in October 2007 and is distributed by
Focus Home Interactive Focus Entertainment (formerly Focus Home Interactive) is a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris, France. Founded in 1996, Focus has published and distributed original titles such as ''Sherlock Holmes'', ''TrackMania'', '' Run ...
. It was preceded in 2002 by '' Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy'', in 2004 by '' Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring'' and in 2007 by '' Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened''.


Plot

In July 1895,
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
and
Dr. Watson John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...
receive a letter from the legendary French gentleman thief
Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin (French pronunciation: ʁsɛn lypɛ̃ is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazi ...
. Lupin threatens to steal five of England's most prized treasures in hopes to humble the "vanity" of the English, and leaves a riddle containing information on what his first crime will be. Holmes and Watson determine that the theft will take place at the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
, and upon arriving there deduce that the object will be ''
The Fighting Temeraire ''The Fighting Temeraire, tugged to her last berth to be broken up, 1838'' is an oil-on-canvas painting by the English artist Joseph Mallord William Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time ...
'', which is symbolic of Britain's victory over France and Spain in the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
. They alert the Museum Director and
Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade, or Mr. Lestrade ( or ), is a fictional character appearing in several of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the novel ...
who has the Gallery guarded at every entrance. However, the next morning, they find the guards knocked out and the painting stolen. Holmes learns that Lupin disguised himself as a visiting French painter named Horace Velmont, and hid himself before Lestrade arrived. Lupin leaves behind a letter with a clue as to where he will strike next. Holmes and Watson head to the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
, were they believe Lupin will steal
the ravens ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
. They arrived too late, as the ravens are reported missing and replaced with other individual birds and a bat which have been let lose. They capture the animals and find pieces of paper attached to them. From the messages in the papers, Holmes deduces what Lupin will do next. Holmes and Watson meet with Lestrade and the Prime Minister at the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
where Holmes informs then that Lupin intends to steal the
Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle te ...
, which was taken by Britain from the French. Lestrade once again has the Museum guarded at every entrance but Lupin still manages to steal the stone right in front of them using ropes. He leaves behind yet another letter. Holmes determines that someone had unwittingly helped Lupin pass the security system. Unknown to him, Watson had befriended a journalist named Piers Urquhart Alenn whom he helped into the museum to pay him back for some favors. Watson soon confesses and Holmes deduces, to his horror, that Lupin's next target will be
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
herself. At
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
, Holmes and Watson find that the Prime Minister has had the place guarded heavily. Holmes learns that a French
grandfather clock A grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are common ...
(which has a cupboard) was delivered to the queen's chamber and correctly deduces that Lupin made it to the queen. Lupin, however, does not hurt the queen but asks for a kiss which she obliges. She then allows him to use her secret corridor to escape. Holmes pursues Lupin but only manages to find another letter which clues to his next and final crime. The Prime Minister congratulates Holmes and Watson for their role in protecting the Queen and asks Watson to decipher Lupin's message. Watson initially deduces that the next crime will be at the Tower of London but the Prime Minister reminds him that Lupin already struck there. Watson then determines that the final target will be
Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...
. Watson joins the Prime Minister, Lestrade and much of
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
to wait for Lupin there but Holmes goes to the Tower of London. He learns that Lupin's past four crimes were distractions from his real target, the Crown Jewels. Holmes sabotages Lupin's plan and confronts him. The two express their mutual admiration for each other. Lupin agrees to return the stolen items and Holmes lets him go, knowing they will not see each other again. Holmes later tells Watson not to write about this endeavor.


Gameplay

''Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsène Lupin'' is an adventure played from a first person perspective. The player character for the majority of the game is Holmes, though some sections feature Watson and one features Inspector Lestrade. Most of the areas in which the game takes place are based on famous London landmarks, including the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
and
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, the former of which features scanned copies of dozens of famous paintings, as well as numerous historical artifacts. Solving the mysteries of the game involve examining locations and discovering clues. Retaining the first-person interface and gameplay of ''The Awakened'', the game follows Holmes and Watson as Holmes as they try to stop Lupin. It is the first in the series to feature a cat-and-mouse style plot, a structure which would be retained for ''
Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper ''Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper'' is an adventure game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360, developed by Ukrainian studio Frogwares and distributed by Focus Home Interactive. It is the fifth game in the ''Sherlock Holmes'' series of adv ...
''.


Remastered edition

Frogwares released a remastered version of the game in May 2010. This version adds the option of a
third-person perspective Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...
, as well as walking animations for the sections of the game in which Holmes and Watson are together. The version of the game downloadable from
Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
and GOG has been updated to include these changes as well.


Reception

The first four ''Sherlock Holmes'' titles from Frogwares—''
Mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...
'', '' Silver Earring'', '' The Awakened'' and ''Nemesis''—totaled roughly 1.5 million global sales by February 2009. ''Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsène Lupin'' has received mixed reviews on review aggregator
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, with a score of 71 out of 100.
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
criticised the game's "obtuse puzzles".
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
recommended the game for hardcore adventure fans that will entertain them for hours, but criticised the need to backtrack often. Note has also been made of a prominent element in the areas in which player plays as Holmes: in the original release, Watson does not have a walking animation, resulting in a "creepy" Watson who apparently always stands still when in view, but seems to silently teleport closer when the player looks away. "Creepy" Watson became a viral meme after
YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...
uploaded a video of himself playing the game's demo. To promote '' Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments'', Frogwares made a short video entitled "Crimes & Punishments – The Return of Creepy Watson" which recreates Creepy Watson in their new game engine.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsene Lupin 2007 video games Sherlock Holmes (video game series) Works based on Arsène Lupin Crossover video games Detective video games Video games based on Sherlock Holmes Video games set in London Video games set in the 19th century Video games developed in Ukraine Windows games Windows-only games Frogwares games Focus Entertainment games Single-player video games