''Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsène Lupin'' (released in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia as ''Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis'' and as ''Sherlock Holmes contre Arsène Lupin'' in France) 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-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

developed by Frogwares. The fourth game in the ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

'' 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 publisher based in Paris. It is a subsidiary of PulluP Entertainment Group. Founded in 1996, Focus has published and distributed original titles such as ''Sherlock Holm ...

. 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,

and

Dr. Watson Dr. John H. Watson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). "The Adventure of Shosc ...

receive a letter from the legendary French gentleman thief

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin () 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 magazine '' Je sais tout''. The first ...

. 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 more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

, and upon arriving there deduce that the object will be '' The Fighting Temeraire'', which is symbolic of Britain's victory over France and Spain in the

Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the Royal Navy and a combined fleet of the French Navy, French and Spanish Navy, Spanish navies during the War of the Third Coalition. As part of Na ...

. They alert the Museum Director and

Inspector Lestrade Detective Inspector G. Lestrade ( or ) is a fictional character appearing in the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Lestrade's first appearance was in the first Sherlock Holmes story, the 1887 novel ''A Study in Scarlet''. Hi ...

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, and hid 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 citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

, where they believe Lupin will steal

the ravens The Ravens were an American R&B vocal group, formed in 1946 by Jimmy Ricks and Warren Suttles. They were one of the most successful and most influential vocal quartets of the period, and had several hits on the R&B chart in the late 1940s and e ...

. They arrived too late, as the ravens are reported missing and replaced with other individual birds and a bat which have been let loose. 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 Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

where Holmes informs them that Lupin intends to steal the

Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt, Egypt, on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts ...

, 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. SH4 - Le British Museum

Holmes determines that someone had unwittingly helped Lupin pass the security system. Unknown to him, Watson had befriended a man claiming to be a journalist, whom he helped into the museum to pay him back for some favours. 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 January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

herself. At

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, 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 r ...

, 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, hall 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 styl ...

(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, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Clock Tower, it ...

. 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 London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...

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 Crown jewels are the objects of metalwork and jewellery in the regalia of a current or former monarchy. They are often used for the coronation of a monarch and a few other ceremonial occasions. A monarch may often be shown wearing them in portra ...

. 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

and

, 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''.

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 storytelling, convey a narrative, 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 del ...

, 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 water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

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 Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

'', '' 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 an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, 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'' is an American video gaming 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 district and is headed by its former e ...

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 a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

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

* * {{Arsène Lupin 2007 video games Crossover video games Detective video games Focus Entertainment games Frogwares games Versus Arsène Lupin Single-player video games Versus Arsène Lupin Video games developed in Ukraine Video games set in London Video games set in the 1890s Windows games Windows-only games Works based on Arsène Lupin