The Great Detective vs History's Greatest Murder Mystery
Sherlock Holmes versus Jack the Ripper is the fifth main entry into Frogwares' Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series, this time tackling what is perhaps history's greatest murder mystery... the shocking case surrounding Jack the Ripper. It was released in 2009 on both PC and Xbox 360.
Story[]
Sherlock Holmes is in a familiar state at the start of this story, that most odious state of abject boredom as he turns to some of his old habits to pass the time (much to Watson's displeasure), while outside (unbeknownst to the two) a prostitute's life is being snuffed out in a most brutal fashion on the streets of Whitechapel.
It will not be the last.
Naturally, such a shocking murder makes the morning headlines (since a similar murder apparently happened about a month earlier). At first Holmes is not surprised about such incidents, nor particularly interested... as such crimes are common occurrence on the streets of Whitechapel. After some nudging from Doctor Watson, Holmes agrees to go the Police Station to try and assist. But despite his reputation, the higher-ups on the case are confident in their own abilities to solve the case, thus aren't very forthcoming with police reports or help for that matter.
Regardless, Holmes opts to conduct his own investigation into the murders... an investigation which will take him into the dark heart of one of history's most lurid murder mysteries.
Gameplay[]
Like the previous two releases, the option to switch between first-person and third-person perspective is offered to the player. This entry has increased emphasis on deduction and clues gathered, more emphasis on trying to reconstruct crime scenes, timeline of events and evidence collection to back up those deductions/conclusions.
Notes[]
- Due to the historical date of the 'Ripper Murders' (1888-1891), this entry so far predates the other four chronologically (which all seem to take place after the "Great Hiatus").
- One of the wanted poster illustrations is the composite sketch the player creates of a suspect in the 2002 game "Post Mortem".