Game review: The Lost Cases of 221B Baker St.

While I was waiting for my laundry to finish yesterday, I decided to give one of the Sherlock Holmes hidden object games a go. Usually these are a little more difficult for a lazy Sunday afternoon, but I had faith that I could finish these puzzles without using my brain too much. I ended up being very surprised at what was presented to me. Instead of one big case you are trying to solve, The Lost Cases of 221B Baker St. is a collection of multiple smaller cases. In the sixty minute time frame of the demo, I was able to finish four different cases. Each case had similar yet different aspects. They each had a hidden object section, a puzzle section, and a memory section. The hidden object section was where you found your clues and, generally, one clue is messed up. This is where the puzzle section comes in. Sometimes you are piecing together a ripped up piece of paper; sometimes you are trying to slide a rock piece out of a box...each one is different. After you have found all of your clues, you move onto the memory section, where you figure out who is the suspect. Each suspect is attributed to a clue and it is your job to remember which clue goes to which suspect. You need to pick out the clue that has changed to eliminate that suspect.

I found the game much more interesting than other Sherlock Holmes games. There is usually a lot more exposition, which limits your actual game time. With this game, you can actually choose to play a version that has less dialogue. I prefer to get down to the game, myself. I can't wait to buy the full version of this game to see what the other cases have to offer.

Game review: Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Persian Carpet

Like many new hidden object games today, Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Persian Carpet tries to make the genre harder than it should be. While there are some hidden object properties to the game, it tries to add more puzzles to make the player think harder. This is something that should be expected of a game with the Sherlock Holmes name on it but it should be filed under a different genre. For the most part, the game was fun. However, some of the puzzles are extremely difficult. In fact, they may require you to read a walkthrough for the game. If you are looking for something harder, this would be the game to try. If you are looking for a traditional hidden object game, look somewhere else.