The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: Case of the Rose Tattoo

The Good
This game, The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: Case of the Rose Tatoo (a long title to be sure), is the sequel to The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes: Case of the Serrated Scalpel. Improvements over the earlier title include 16-bit SVGA graphics, a more streamlined interface, general midi music and full digitized speech. The sequel is far lengthier than its predecessor.

The background graphics are very detailed and give a realistic flavor of 19th century life and architecture. The characters themselves are digitized avatars of real actors and while the facial features are indistinct and the animations repetitious, they do their job.

The music is generally well-placed and considerably varied to suit each location. Very little would have sounded out of place at the time. The voice acting is simply superb, with each actor really putting life into his or her character.

This is an adventure game and a long adventure at that. The general plot, that of a document gone missing from the Ministry of Defence, with several suspects having a motive to mislay it, is vintage Conan Doyle. Of course, the case has several plot twists and turns, too many for Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes' stories. There are a few dead-ends and many times you will have to come back later to make progress. The inclusion of real-life historical figures is also something more out of a pastiche, something only hinted at in Conan Doyle's stories. Interestingly, you begin the game playing as Dr. Watson, which allows him to show what he can do (as Conan Doyle intended, not as a buffoon.)

This might seem "uncanonical", but the game's designers make it seem natural because of their command of the time period. Rarely has a game come close to accurately detailing late-era Victoriana. Clicking on an object will reveal more than you ever wanted to know about it unless you are a student of the period. Those who are up on their 19th century European history will appreciate this game.

The interface is mouse driven and very simple. Clicking on an object brings a list of commands to choose from. This allows you only to use commands likely to work on the particular object, which is good because you no longer have to guess which command will work.

The Bad
The game is for DOS, which was seemingly a little old in 1996 and may be difficult to get running on later versions of Windows.

While the voice acting is great, it becomes quite apparent that one actor is voicing many roles, especially for the female parts.

Quite a few times during the story, you will have to analyze something in Holmes' laboratory. These sequences give you a hint but often become a tedious affair of trying every chemical until you succeed. To get to speak with the important people, you will almost always have to bypass a servant or a guard.

Sherlock and Dr. Watson walk at a snail's pace, which makes entering and exiting screens a slow process.

The Bottom Line
The best Sherlock Holmes Adventure Game ever made!