Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (series)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series is a series of adventure games, developed by the independent game development studio Frogwares, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's famous work The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, featuring the famous detective and his companion Dr. John H. Watson. To date, five games of the series have been released since 2002. While the series is based on and "inspired by" The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, each of its games follows an original storyline.

Profile
Developed for the PC, the series first began in September 2002 with Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Mummy, which featured a first-person perspective and followed Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigating the mansion of a British archaeologist.

The second game in the series, Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring, followed in October 2004, which featured a third-person perspective. The plotline features Holmes and Watson investigating the murder of a construction tycoon, Sir Melvyn Bromsby, with his daughter, Lavinia, among the suspects.

The third game in the series, Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, was released on November 24, 2006, and features a new, first-person perspective. The game follows an original plotline as Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate a series of strange disappearances related to the Cthulhu Mythos. The first among the series to feature supernatural elements such as the Mythos, the game was critically acclaimed in reviews by numerous sources, including Gamespot, which gave the game a rating of 8.3 out of 10, praising the game for its storyline and stating that it was told "brilliantly" and calling it "Cthulhu-infused Victoriana". A remastered version was released in 2008 that offers a third-person perspective playing mode in addition to the first-person perspective.

A fourth game in the series, Sherlock Holmes versus Arsène Lupin, was released in the third quarter of 2007. The game's antagonist is Arsène Lupin, a fictional gentleman thief created by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The game begins at Holmes' residence at 221b Baker Street in London, where Holmes is playing his violin while Dr. Watson asks him what is troubling him. Among the mail scattered on the table, they find a letter from Lupin challenging Holmes to save England from shame by stopping him from stealing five things of great value to the country. The game consists of poems, puzzles and tasks that takes Holmes from one clue to another. The puzzles and riddles are of moderate difficulty, but there is need to use a pencil and paper at times.

In late 2008, a fifth installment was announced; Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper was released in March 2009 and had Sherlock Holmes against the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper. In September 2009 there were rumors for a sixth installment. The game, titled The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, was announced in April 2010 and is set for release in 2010.

Development and inspiration
The characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the game series are modeled upon the ITV series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the portrayals by Jeremy Brett and David Burke, respectively.