Crime solving games come in all shapes and sizes. Oh well, maybe not shapes, but at least sizes and this time I ended up solving a full 100mb worth of puzzles in "The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes". I can`t say I didn`t enjoy myself. As the saying goes, " Don`t judge a book by its cover ", or in this case, size, as "The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes" proved to be an interesting little game.

Once again you will be placed in the shoes of famous detective Sherlock Holmes, tasked to solve 16 increasingly difficult cases. Aided by your almost-as-famous assistant, Dr. Watson, all these cases will be no match for you.

The game will have you running around London, visiting different locations, while determining who your suspects are. The 16 cases, while different, will all be solved in the same way. There are several steps that you must complete, before a case is solved and it all starts with the story :).

After watching the funny puppet show (I mean flash movie, and all the characters can only move their eyes and lips) where your future case will be explained to you, you will be taken to the scene of the crime.

Naturally, the first step when starting a case will be finding clues that link all your suspects to the scene of the crime. You will do this in a mini game with two pictures depicting the scene of the crime, in both present and past, your keen eye being put to the test while determining what is different between the two pictures. The first cases will be fairly easy (unless you`re blind, then you might have a slight problem), but the last ones will seriously cause frustration, especially when searching for that one final, apparently invisible, item.

When you`ve found enough clues, the game will reveal a picture of the suspect and Holmes will comment a bit on his or her relation to the victim. After completing this step, you will be taken to a different location where clues are just waiting to be discovered and ticked off your list. This time you won`t have two picture to compare, but one larger one, full of stuff that hinders your progress. Each case has a certain time limit so speed is of the essence. Of course, you can just click randomly throughout the scene, hoping to find clues, but after several random clicks, time will be taken from you, so be advised.

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When all the clues have been discovered, and all the suspects identified, Holmes will retire to Baker St. to ponder. You can read this as completing another mini game that has you arranging suspects photos that meet certain requirements such as: facial hair, white hair, man, woman, green clothes, etc. Once the photos are in the correct place, another mini game begins, where you will have to eliminate suspects one by one, by using your memory.

Every suspect will have a corresponding item that you`ll have to remember. Once you think you`ve memorized them all, click the button, and one item will be replaced with another one. If you identify the suspect that has a different item now, he will be removed from the suspect list.

Sounds easy, doesn`t it? Well, that`s what I thought too, at first. The cases get increasingly difficult, and more and more mini games are revealed in each case. The game will have you fit jewel pieces in their place, play word games, making sure that items fit in certain small places and a lot others, as you can see from the screenshots.

The final, and most difficult case, will have you revisiting locations from the previous cases; too bad it is the only one that lets you do this. Of course a villain as dastardly as Moriarty warrants your attention (and three new mini games). If you`re familiar with the works of Conan Doyle, you should know who Moriarty is.

As an added bonus, there are two "special" items that you can discover during your searches. One would be the "red pipe" (a.k.a. clue) that points out items you haven`t discovered yet. You will usually find one in each location, so if you can`t find that final clue, that look for the pipe. The other items is Holmes`s cap. You can find one in each case and finding all 16 of them will allow you to access Holmes`s secret laboratory. Yes, this means another mini game.

I appreciated the music and liked the voices chosen and the graphics has a certain vintage feel to it that I certainly liked. I would have liked to see a larger number of cases and a different pattern to each one would have been much more interesting, but hey, that`s just me.

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Conclusion:

Over all I enjoyed playing the "Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes" as it proved to be a welcome distraction from mundane activities. The number of mini games is large enough to provide entertainment and keep boredom away, but once you`ve completed the game I doubt you`ll be starting it again anytime soon. Even so, it`s guaranteed to keep you busy for a number of hours/days, depending on how much time you have to spare.

Gameplay: 80

With simple, yet entertaining gameplay, "The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes" is a fun and challenging game. All the mini games are enjoyable, but more diversity would have been appreciated.

Graphics: 73

This is a case of either you like it or you don`t. Some might not appreciate the old style look of the games, and the puppet like characters, while others, like me, will feel nostalgia.

Sound: 80

The sound reminded me of other Sherlock Holmes games, even though there is no connection between them. The voices are especially well chosen and the classical music really surprised me at times.

Multiplayer: n\a

Hardware: 99

You can`t really go wrong here, as the game runs on any configuration, windowed or fullscreen.