Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (2007)

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 56 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 56
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 56
  3. Negative: 6 out of 56
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  1. BobH.
    Mar 10, 2007
    0
    I have often found myself wondering why this French studio keep making Sherlock Holmes games; they haven't done any research, care little for the characters and history and include some of the worst puzzles and voice acting I have ever experienced. Then, in the product description, I noticed that 500,000 games have already been sold. That says everything, really. There is no real I have often found myself wondering why this French studio keep making Sherlock Holmes games; they haven't done any research, care little for the characters and history and include some of the worst puzzles and voice acting I have ever experienced. Then, in the product description, I noticed that 500,000 games have already been sold. That says everything, really. There is no real care or thought behind the games except to cash in on the names created by Conan Doyle over a century ago. This latest adventure, which I finished in one sitting, see our 'hero' (wrong eye colour, voice tone and outfit) hunt for demons in the USA. Now, if you are thinking that doesn't sound very 'Holmes', you'd be right. The game, as it is, is a poor excuse for an adventure, and gives the genre a bad name. There have been quite a few point and click games released these past few months, so I would suggest you seek those out, and avoid this cash-in stinker.… Expand
  2. Bmane
    May 8, 2014
    3
    A quick review on this one, because I couldn't bear myself to play the game any further...

    Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is very much a game I wanted to love. I wasn't put off by the outdated graphics, so I was expecting solid gameplay, solid voice acting and solid writing to compensate. Sadly, none of that is the case here. I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, (particularly Jeremy    A quick review on this one, because I couldn't bear myself to play the game any further...

    Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is very much a game I wanted to love. I wasn't put off by the outdated graphics, so I was expecting solid gameplay, solid voice acting and solid writing to compensate.

    Sadly, none of that is the case here. I'm a big fan of Sherlock Holmes, (particularly Jeremy Brett Holmes) so I do expect a certain level of a quality when it comes to these games to set them apart.

    I've tried the other Sherlock Holmes games in the past and found them completely and utterly devoid of essence of what Sherlock Holmes should be. This game does no better, although it does improve on several designs, namely the remastered edition that features a 1st person mode. However the game should be reviewed in its original state.

    To summarise:

    Voice Acting - Dreadful. The only decent voice acting that game from this is Watson. Holmes was flat, dry and contained none of the eccentricity that the character should have. It was as if they hired Microsoft Sam to take the part of Holmes in this one. I can't say their support cast were great either. There is one scene in which Holmes is speaking to a (indian?) foreigner in their native language, and it had me in stitches at just how bad it was. I was literally face palming.

    Theme: I'm a fan of Cthulhu. Not a huge fan, but I've read the books and anything Cthluhu related gets my juices flowing, so this is why I really wanted to like this game. However, since I didn't play the game through its fullest it would be unfair to review it in full on this (despite looking up the plot after). I can say however that from what I played of it, the premise was not exactly subtle, which is a bad thing in my books.

    Writing: Really bad. Enough sad on this the better I reckon.

    Setup/Puzzles: The general logical setup had me stumped. Why was Holmes interested in a book on piracy (it has relevance to the plot later, but why at the start?) and fish (again relevance, but much later) at the start... These were books that would be useful later on, but at the very start you acquire them despite not having any need of them. It was nothing but lazy writing and plot setup. I can say the same for a lot of the detective work.

    I would like to say more but want to avoid spoilers, but I found the whole way they laid out the puzzles as bizarre.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

75
#75 Best PC Game of 2007

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 28
  3. Negative: 2 out of 28
  1. PALGN
    65
    The very mention of Sherlock Holmes is enough to award some merit, and the gameplay isn't half bad either. Players thirsty for a classic adventure should give it a shot.
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  2. Pelit (Finland)
    90
    The combination of Holmes and Cthulhu works very well. The puzzles are challenging but realistic, and the plot is intriguing. On the minus side, there is too much running to and fro and sometimes the 3D environment makes it hard to find the needed things. [Feb 2007]
  3. Just Adventure
    75
    Those who are only interested in Eye Candy or who are squeamish at the sight of blood should probably look elsewhere. But those who like a good story and lots of inventory based puzzles should enjoy it.
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