Out of all the Sherlock Holmes games Frogwares has created, Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper has to be one of the most gripping cases I have ever played. This was the second Sherlock Holmes game that Daniella and I were playing and after finishing it, I thought it would be fun to review it! Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper was released by Frogwares in North America on May 26, 2009. This was the fifth game is the Sherlock Holmes Adventure game series. So let's get started!
*Warning*
Since this game is based off of the real life case of Jack the Ripper, I will warn you now that though the game does not go into too much gory detail, they do show a minimized version of what happened with each murder. This game could be disturbing to some so a warning to you all!
I will keep my review clean of the gorier details but if you choose to play this game in the future, bewared now that this game is not for the faint of heart, and whatever you do, do not google the real crime if you are squeamish! I have already done that and I warn you against doing so due to the content of what I saw. So lets get to the review!
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| Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper: First Murder in Buck's Row E. |
Game Description
It’s 1888, London, in the Whitechapel area, and a series of grisly crimes in the heart of the East End leave a gory trail of mutilated female bodies. The police struggle to pick up the scent as the bodies pile up and paranoia sweeps the city. Sherlock Holmes immerses himself in the dark, sordid alleyways of Whitechapel in order to follow the trail of the one that the press calls Jack the Ripper. During a terrifying investigation, Holmes will attempt to lift the veil of mystery that shrouds the motives and the face behind that horrific nickname.
Presented in full 3D, Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper offers players 2 different perspectives available at any moment in the game: a third-person view in the pure style of traditional point ’n’ click adventure games and a first-person view for close-up investigation. Players have the total freedom to choose either of the angles they wish or use them both to immerse themselves completely in this terrifying adventure.
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| Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper: Second Murder Near Mitre Square |
Storyline
When it comes to the storyline for Jack the Ripper, since it is based off of a real life serial killer, it definitely adds another depth of realism to the game. One that could be viewed as realistic, gruesome, and very heavy styled game due to the content nature of it. Compared to some of the other Sherlock Holmes game this one has to be one of the most difficult to play I think due to its realistic nature.Each murder held a dark presence to it and ultimately gave the player a numbing feeling. I honestly think that was the only way Daniella and I could get though the game due to is morbid nature. In the game you were able to investigate the five different murders that took place in the game, while simultaneously working on other smaller cases/finding clue in the surrounding area. In a way this gave a break from focusing on the darker aspects of the main case to give the player some breathing room. This defiantly helped pace the game very well.
Overall, the way the storyline was written really showed how demented this case truly was while also giving you the ability to look what what happened though Sherlock and Watson's eyes. However, when it comes to the ending of the storyline, Forgwares opted to not only propose a suggested ending of Sherlock finding who could have been the killer based on the evidence we know for the real case, but they also wrote a what truly happened with the case which I thought was a nice fact at the end. The fifth victim was the final one confirmed to be related to the case, one who we accuse in the game dies less than a year later, the police filed the case away the same year as the possible killers death, and it still remains a mystery today.
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| Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper: Second Murder Near Mitre Square |
Puzzles
When it came the the puzzles in the game, I found many them to be quite simple since most of them required to Deduction Board. Most of the game was straight to the point and you were able to go to point A to point B fairly easily. However, I will admit there were a few times were I had gotten lost when walking to different locations to continue in the game. Many of the puzzles you had to solve required you to look at a cartoon animated version of the murder that occurred. This aspect of the puzzle can be really disturbing. Each killing was gruesome and since you had to look at the bodies you had to almost become numb to find everything without thinking to much on what truly happened. |
| Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper: Canal Near Whitechapel |
World/Graphics
When it came to the world, I will admit that they were really able to capture the dark and foreboding feeling. It was almost as if sanity was slowly being snatched away from you and you could do nothing but hope to find it again. The NPC's that walked around in the game also showed this dark hopelessness feeling. Many of the characters were walking around with a bottle in their hand, passed out drunk, or had this look of defeat in their eyes. It really
showed how this case and what was happening during this time was affecting the population.
Music/Soundtrack
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| Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper: Whitechapel |
I honestly love the soundtrack for this game. When I purchase the game on Steam, I was also able to get the soundtrack for the game and I have really enjoyed listening to it. Many of the tracks are from previous games, which I enjoy immensely, but the new tracks for this game really give a calm suspense affect which gives you the ability to sit and think about all that has happened. I will admit one of them also is super creepy due to the breath and crazed laughter. Which this track is used in the end of the game as the storyline comes to a close.
Thank you everyone for reading! I would highly recommend checking out this game if you enjoy a good murder mystery, however before you play, be warned that this game is not for the faint of heart and can be very disturbing. So will you be trying to solve the case of Jack the Ripper?
If you want to see more of my Sherlock Holmes related posts, check out all my Sherlock Holmes posts! If you want look for similar game recommendations, you can also check out my Games Review page. If you want to install the game for yourself check out my post How to Install Sherlock Holmes Collection on Windows 10. Which will help you install the games on newer computers not give you the game for free.
Until next time,
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