8.0

Sherlock Holmes the Mystery of the Mummy

Sherlock Holmes the Mystery of the Mummy, the soon to be released DS game is the first time that the world's greatest detective (Not Batman), Sherlock Holmes graces the Nintendo DS and fortunately Impulse Gamer Australia had the pleasure of previewing this up and coming title.

Features

Set in 1889, before embarking on this 360 degrees adventure game, players must first chose their "profile" and then the mystery begins. The story revolves around the death of Lord Montcalfe, a famous British explorer whose daughter, Elizabeth has doubts regarding his untimely death and questions the police investigations. Rather than leaving "fate" to the uninitiated, she seeks the aid of Sherlock Holmes and from their, you arrive at Montcalfe Manor to begin your investigations.

Although this was a "preview" version and the final version is still to come, I was thoroughly impressed by the graphics of this game, especially for a Nintendo DS game. What made me so impressed were the 3D graphics that allowed you to interact fully with the gaming world, unlike those 2D point and click interfaces. Rather, Sherlock Holmes on DS almost gave the player a unique freedom to explore that has yet to be seen on these types of games for the Nintendo DS.

Another impressive feature of Sherlock Holmes on the DS was the innovative control system that actually used both screens of the console flawlessly and the controls were quite responsive and easy to master. Of course, the majority of the game involves solving a variety of puzzles and gathering clues, the control system works quite well with the gameplay and the storyline.

There is even an interactive notebook which allows you to record your own notes that truly assists in completing this title and if you do become stuck, the help system of the game will assist you in those trickier areas.

Moving through the world is quite easy as it's all done by the Stylus itself as you point where you would like to move or pick up items and of course zoom. Navigating through your inventory is done through the Left and Right Shoulder buttons as is reading texts in the game which can be a little too much at times, however this is what good adventures games are all about... just at times a little verbose. You can also pick up items in the game as mentioned, move them around and also put them in your inventory to assist you with the puzzles.

Graphically, the title is very impressive on the DS with stunning 3D graphics and 3D animated characters that interact quite well with the gaming environment. The title has a true "period" feel to it as well which assists in the overall enjoyment of the title. The musical score suits the game quite well as do the sound effects in the title, although it's quite a submissive sound experience.

In conclusion, Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of the Mummy is definitely going to be a good game and I for one cannot wait for the final version. A great storyline, one of the most enduring fictitious characters of all time, what more could you ask in a DS game and it's about time!