The Testament of Sherlock Holmes - Xbox 360

Before writing this review, I'd like to note that I did not purchase the previous Sherlock Holmes Vs Jack the ripper game, therefore, I can't compare the two. With that said, here's my review-Graphics-While I actually like this game a lot; the graphics are not good at all. The graphics aren't even average to be honest, but there are some parts of the game that look a lot better than the majority of the game.The in game characters look fine as far as the main characters are concerned, but then there are characters that either look identical to another in a different outfit, or, the lesser know characters just don't look good at all. Most of the backgrounds aren't much to yelp about either, and although they're not bad looking, there are certain aspects about the backgrounds that ruin the experience for me. Namely and for example, sometimes grass or plants look too green and at times there's a good amount of screen tearing or graphical bugs.Speaking of bugs, one of the worst graphical bugs would be getting stuck in front of an open door which happened to me at least 6-8 times. Other bugs included Watson blocking my path one too many times.Some of the backgrounds looked good such as the Cemetery in Whitechapel or the cobblestone path of the Whitechapel district and of course, Sherlock Holmes office which has a fine amount of detail. I often wondered why the rest of the game didn't look like this. The graphics had potential, but I feel it wasn't given enough of anything to make it more than a below average looking game for the 360.Sound-I love the sound of this game. The background music is suitable for games like this, but the voice acting is excellent. At times, the dialogue can be funny with Sherlock and Watson wisecracking one another, but if there was one thing that got on my nerves in this game would be the sound of the footsteps. The footstep sound effects are loud, and I mean extremely loud. Luckily, you can turn down the sound effects.Gameplay-Here's where the review becomes a mixed review. I like this game, however, I don't particularly care for most of the puzzle elements.The Testament of Sherlock is somewhat like L.A Noire, except without fighting or gunplay. Instead, you progress the game based on pure wit. The small number of action sequences are few and far between if any to be honest. With that said, the game is very engaging and easily sucks up a few hours per play.Sherlock has the ability to use all detective abilities including the help of his partner Watson and his dog, Toby. I have to admit that it felt fun to actually wonder where or who the villain was and every time I got close to figuring out who the killer was or what situation I'd analyze, the trail went cold or the villain was that much craftier.The best part about this game would be the fact that you weren't given the L.A Noire style interrogation by questioning. L.A noire seemed never to have a good answer or a useful answer, with this game, it's a much different ball game.This is what I liked about the game. Now, onto my gripes-With so much mystery and puzzles packed in this game, I'd have to say that the puzzles or clue gathering could be very frustrating most of the time. Not because it isn't supposed to be hard, but because something is hidden somewhere right under your nose and you've little to no clue about how to find it or what to do next.The puzzles themselves are very hard at times. But luckily, the game gives you an option to skip puzzles based on how close you are to completing them or how long you're puzzled. (No pun intended) I caught myself often saying "WTF, I already looked there/WTF, I already tried that and it didn't work but now it does...really?".Then, there's Sherlock Holmes Deduction pad in which you'll have to piece together facts in order to conclude this or that...these parts were easily some of the most frustrating parts of the entire game and I didn't care for them at all. Often, I found that solving these parts seemed as if I solved them prior or at least something eerily similar.With all that said, this game is pretty good. Unfortunately, in this day and age there are so few of these game types.This is also a pretty long game. Solving anything takes a good chunk of time. This is not a short game.

I admit that I usually play shooters, RPGs, and racing games, but I was looking for something with an engaging story.I am only 1/3 of the way through TTOSH, but so far it has a pretty good story line. The voice acting is fairly well done, and the graphics are decent. I've also enjoyed most of the puzzles, and the idea of some of the ways to analyze clues are amusingly novel without being too tedious. The deduction board can be a bit frustrating though. It is very picky about getting each detail choice correct before you can determine the correct end outcome. Admittedly, there has been one time where I had to systematically go through all the possible combinations to get the correct outcome, but what was frustrating is that once the deduction is "correct" it doesn't let you see the other options, so you can't really determine where your personal deductions were incorrect.Overall, if you are the type of player that never hunts for the extras in an RPG, and only enjoys very linear FPS games, then TTOSH will probably frustrate you. However, if you enjoy finding all the trophies in Tomb Raider, and spent extra time on side quests in GTA, then you will probably enjoy this game.Regardless, for the $8 I paid, I am happy with the game, and plan to play it more in the future.

Add a star if you like slow, methodical mysteries with little action.I love a good mystery game, but I hate point-and-click games, so there's not much out there for me. In the past few years, the best mystery games I can cite as meeting my sort of parameters I can cite are Heavy Rain and LA Noire. So I was excited when I found out that a new Sherlock Holmes video game was coming out.Wee bit of background: I had not played the Sherlock Holmes / Jack the Ripper game that came out a few years ago (frankly, I didn't even know it existed), nor did I play any of the strictly PC Holmes games, so I can't provide any basis of comparison there. The last Holmes game I played were the two FMV games that came out for the Turbografix and Sega CD way back around 1990.In The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (TToSH), you basically have an overarching mystery in which Holmes appears to have been set up for the theft of a necklace after having solved the mystery of where the necklace was. As the evidence mounts against him, even Watson doubts Holmes' innocence. During this time, you have the opportunity to play both Holmes and Watson, as the perspective switches between the two characters. In addition, there are several smaller mysteries that you must solve, such as the murder of a bishop.So far I dig TToSH - but I also get that it won't be for most players. On the one hand, I love the whole process of picking up clues and trying to put them together till you reach a conclusion. There is a really fantastic and unique system called the deduction board in which you see all of the facts listed in Holmes' notepad and then link those facts in order to reach a particular conclusion. I liked that a lot, as finally I feel like I am actively involved in solving a mystery and not merely pointing a character in a direction or clicking a mouse on disparate items (although there is some of that as well).There are some problems with the game though. I'd say the biggest problem is that you can't really proceed from clue-finding mode until you pick up all of the clues - which is stupid because sometimes the only clue you've missed is irrelevant. So, for instance, when I was in the bishop's chambers at the scene of his murder, the one fact I missed was that the steamer was full of water, which really didn't add any relevance to the other clues. One thing I liked about LA Noire was how you could miss some clues, and the game could proceed without them, even if it meant you ended up not solving the mystery properly. And other issue is the puzzles, which are occasionally tricky, and not in a way that is always intentional. It's one thing to not be able to solve a puzzle because the puzzle itself is hard; it's another thing to not be able to solve it because you're not sure what the game is expecting you to do. With TToSH, it's fairly easy to hit a brick wall if the player is not particularly clever.I would also note that the description of the game in many sources, such as IGN, Wikipedia, Gamespot, etc., refers to the game as an "open world adventure". It's not. There is no sandbox. You are given a map with various disparate locations that you can visit. You don't get to explore Victorian London. I'm frankly quite a bit disappointed by that since I was excited by the notion of getting to just stroll around the city. I haven't finished the game yet, but I'm four hours into it and there has been little or no exploration so far.Bottom line: As a Holmes fan, I love this game. I love the mysteries, I love the detail. No, the graphics are not up to par, and the stiff character faces require some getting used to, and the game could stand to be a bit more atmospheric in terms of shading and music. But it's great having a Victorian era mystery again, as I haven't played a good one since Dracula Unleashed back in the early 90's.If you require frequent action, then this game really isn't for you. If you don't mind a slow, measured pace, then you could like this a lot, as I do.

I'm not a 'deducting mind' type of person but a fan of Sherlock Holmes' stories, but i loved the storyline and graphics. Some scenes were more challenging than others and puzzles can be quite thought provoking, but it's part of the game. Lots of fun!

It arrived early. Game and box undamaged.Game itself is difficult, and I often get frustrated and look up the answers online. There are a lot of brain teasers (to be expected) but little explanation.

God I love these games.

Love the game so I got it for the Xbox 360 and it hasn’t arrived after weeks of waiting