Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective Vol. II
for PC (DOS)

01.jpg
Mr Creosote:
Company: Icom Simulations
Year: 1992
Genre: Puzzle, Adventure
Theme: Board / Based on Other Media / Mystery
Language: English
Licence: Commercial
Views: 20982
Review by Mr Creosote (2004-10-10)
Avatar

In spite of its limited gameplay, Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective sold reasonably well, considering its status as one of the first CD-ROM exclusive games. A sequel was only a matter of time - and it did appear quickly.

If you think there have been any changes concerning the complexity of the game, you're wrong. Everything is still exactly as you remember it from the first part: Holmes and Watson question suspects and witnesses or send the 'Baker Street Irregulars' (a bunch of children) to get more information. The conclusions the player has reached are then presented in front of the court, and if they're correct, the case is closed.

What is new is the cases themselves. There are, again, three of them:

The Two Lions: Holmes finds an anonymous note on his door saying he should check today's Times. Two articles strike his attention there: Two dead lions have been found lying in Hyde Park, and a man called Stephen Lyons has been murdered. So this case should probably have been called 'The Three Lions'. Anyway - what's the connection between these three killings?

The Pilfered Paintings: The National Gallery has acquired two newly discovered paintings by the previously unknown artist de Kuiper, a student of Rubens. For a special exhibition, they've borrowed all other known paintings by this artist from their respective owners. Over night, the two new ones are stolen! By whom? And more importantly: Why did the robbers only take these two, relatively worthless items?

The Murdered Munitions Magnate: Industrialist Courtney Allen, president of Grant Arms, has been found shot at the backdoor of his factory. Scotland Yard believes it was a simple robbery. The victim's brother isn't convinced, though, and consults the master detective. Is there a link to the secret governmental project the company was working on?

The first case falls short in comparison with the other two. The information you can gather isn't all that clear as the designers obviously wanted it to be, and the whole development is actually more confusing than thrilling. The other cases make up for that, though. They deliver solid entertainment for virtual detectives.

On the technical side, the only small change is the slight improvement of video quality. Everything is now a little more colourful. Hardly groundbreaking.

That's the key phrase for the whole game, too. Solid work, not better or worse than the predecessor. Not in any way. It's just more of the same. Whether this is a good or a bad thing depends on your opinion about the first part.

Thanks to Ming the More-or-less

Comments (3) [Post comment]

AlphaShard:
I loved played this series when I was a kid on my old Packard Bell, you really had to solve this on your own no hand holding at all.
[Reply]

Quiz