Sherlock Holmes, the worlds` greatest detective, created by Arthur Conan Doyle is about to face his biggest challenge so far: Arsene Lupin, the worlds` greatest thief, created by Maurice Leblanc. Who is going to win this battle of wits? Who is going to be victorious, and, most importantly, who would you like to see as the winner?

Some of us grew up with Sherlock Holmes (at least I know I did) and there was no mystery that he could not solve and no villain that he could not catch. On the other hand, Arsene Lupin is not your ordinary thief. More like Robin Hood, he is the kind of villain that steals out of boredom, from the rich to give to the poor (not exactly "public enemy nr. 1"). Equally famous, not knowing what it`s like to lose, neither of the characters would accept defeat. However, one is going to have to lose. Will it be Holmes, trying to protect England's` honor? Or will it be Lupin, always in search of a smarter opponent? Who would you like to see victorious?

While chasing Lupin you will visit museums, explore dungeons under the Buckingham Palace, wander around the Tower of London at night, and many more locations. You'll even be able to see the queen of England. One location I am sorry I didn't get to visit is Big Ben, since I would have liked to see it in such great detail as I saw the other locations. I enjoyed exploring everywhere, admiring the details. When I first entered the museum I spent several hours just looking at each and every painting and reading the description. On a funny note, when you'll be able to play with Lestrade be sure to check some paintings again, to see how different his opinion is from that of Holmes.

The game mechanics should be familiar to those who've played the previous part, but don't worry, you'll quickly get the hang of it. While exploring the full 3d environment, a little hand will appear when you can interact with the items in front of you. You can even interact with items that have no connection to your quest, like moving a coffee cup on a table. While this is an improvement to the classic point and click system that would often cause you to go on a pixel hunt, this can get tiresome at times. Especially when looking for a book in the library, the constant moving of the camera while trying to find what book you can interact with, will make you go dizzy.

Every dialogue and every clue will be saved so you can check them later if you need to. They will be available with a right click and this will help you tremendously but keep in mind that you will require a pen and paper for some of the quests. The map will save you the hassle of walking to each location as one click will instantly teleport you there. Speaking of teleportation, one thing I found irritating was the fact that Watson was unable to move and instead just appeared behind you everywhere.

Once you get used to it, there is nothing else to hinder your progress, except some of the puzzles. Yes, some of them are very hard and will require some knowledge of English history and monarchs, mathematics, a keen eye and most of all... patience. Another frustrating remnant from the first part is how you need to type a certain word to progress. This would have been fine if the producers had also included a list of synonyms, but instead you have to rack your brains to figure out exactly the word they were thinking of. The game will not go on until you type the correct word, and while some are quite easy and logical, some of them will make you run to a walkthrough. It's a good thing that here are plenty of walkthroughs available on the net, since I seriously doubt that anyone could finish this game without one.

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Unlike its predecessor, this part is full of mini games that will provide a relaxing experience at times. Tying knots, creating a cage out of sticks, counting the rotation of planets, discovering ancient alphabets, their variety is amazing. You will also have a map of London with a lot of locations marked on it, but unfortunately you will only be able to visit the places you are supposed to. As much as I tried visiting Big Ben, Holmes would not let me. On the final level of the game, so to speak, you will be able to choose any location and go to it, but you won't actually visit it... You'll know what I mean when you play the game. I also liked the fact that you can make a wrong choice here and you will lose (after watching a funny sequence). Then you will be taken back to choose another option so you will eventually run out of bad options and choose the right one, to be able to truly watch the ending.

The magnifying glass is back from the first part and you can use it to analyze footprints as well as determining their size with the new measuring tape. This means that you will have to pay attention not only to what is in front of you, but also to what you're stepping on. You will have to walk crouched to discover some footprints and be able to follow them, so keep an eye out for anything suspicious. The ceiling might also contain secrets...

I've mentioned the great graphics and attention for detail, so I must also mention the sound and music. The music is great, and I loved it. Classical music will accompany you on your journey from the very first moment, when we see Holmes playing the violin in the intro. The voiceovers are great, and I particularly liked Holmes' voice. His voice, combined with the music, and the excellent graphics made me feel like I was actually visiting the places in the game. Who wouldn't want to check out a museum while listening to the violin and having Sherlock Holmes as a guide?

As I was saying in the beginning, the producers had a problem on their hands. They could declare neither of the two as the victor, without risking angering all the fans. Who would pay money for a game to see their favorite hero... lose? The only way to make both sides happy would have been a draw between the two. Did they succeed? Did they let Lupin rot in jail after Holmes ruined his plans? Or did they let Holmes retire with his reputation destroyed forever after failing to solve the case? Play the game to the end to find out.

Conclusion:

There is nothing like playing a good adventure game. Talking to people, analyzing clues, listening to some relaxing music, exercising your brain to find a solution to everything, generally means having a good time. Of course if quests aren't your thing, then you shouldn't bother since it's not exactly for new comers, but it is for art lovers, since everything is depicted in such great detail. The interesting story combined with the gameplay will make you want to see the ending, even if that means spending a lot of time searching for clues. Be warned that the game does have one major flaw. It's very short. Only about 15 hours of gameplay await you, unless you get stuck somewhere and then those 15 hours can become 30 hours. It's impossible not to empathize with one of the main characters as you play, and if you like Lupin then I'm sorry: the only way you can stop Holmes is by uninstalling the game, and I'm sure you don't want to do that.

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Gameplay: 83

There are some improvements to the previous part, such as greater interaction with objects and the increased number of mini games. However the frustrating moments when you get stuck or don't know what word to say to continue the game, still remain. I must also applaud the choice of pitting two famous characters against one another, while making sure that the fans will not be disappointed by one or the other.

Graphics: 88

Everything is very detailed, from the museum to the Gallery of Art to Buckingham Palace. If you've always wanted to see these landmarks and were unable to do so, try visiting them here. The characters look very good and the indoor levels are truly spectacular. The outdoor levels have nothing that stand out, except maybe the lack of details that the indoor levels have gotten us used to.

Sound: 82

The music fits right in, and will carry you to England with its soothing tones. The voice acting is also great, and all the dialogues are spoken. Everything will make you forget that you're actually playing a game, even if you're walking around the Tower of London at night listening to birds sing, or visiting the Museum.

Multiplayer: N/A

Hardware: 80

The game ran smoothly on my computer, on max resolution and details. Since there are few games that I can play at 1600x1200 resolution I would say this is quite an accomplishment. The loading times were pretty low but I don't understand why the game has to reload everything if I hit alt tab.