Fans of H. P. Lovecraft and his Cthulhu mythos will easily point out what makes Lovecraft so great. His overarching themes are those of helplessness, insanity, and fear of the unknown rather than the peril and brutality of many of today?s horror stories. Lovecraft?s antagonists always lurk in the background, out of sight but present, a menace of the mind rather than the body. And when presented with such a mysterious foe, who better to call than Sherlock Holmes? The gaslight setting of Victorian England fits the Cthulhu mythos far better than the 1920 and 1930 American setting in which Lovecraft?s work was set: the natural mystery of dark, foggy English streets adds to the Lovecraftian horror of insanity just out of reach.

In Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened, players will follow a winding trail of clues to that inevitable horror that man would rather leave undiscovered. For the brooding Holmes, convinced that the criminal world has become unimaginative and un-mysterious, such a foreboding mystery is tantalizing. The trail begins at the house of a certain Mr. Stenwick, a British gentleman whose Maori manservant has recently gone missing. Clues point to kidnapping, and the more secrets the player uncovers, the more horrors present themselves, from murder to cults performing sacrifices to the high priest of the Great Old Ones himself: Cthulhu.

There?s little actual violence in the game, but the graphic depictions of mutilated bodies provides plenty of blood. As Holmes, the player doesn?t engage in this violence, though there are some instances (such as when Holmes is escaping from an insane asylum and cobbles together a blowgun to silence a guard) that violence from the protagonist is necessary. Of course, more prevalent than violence is the horror itself. Then there are some other objectionable things in The Awakened, though not in large amounts. The kidnappers make liberal use of opiates for drugging their captives, and players will find plenty of these at crime scenes (though the player can?t use them himself). There?s also some mild language peppered throughout the game, but nothing one wouldn?t expect from a PG-rated movie. Next to the gore and horror, these other objections don?t really compare.

Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened ties together two of literature?s greats. Doyle?s protagonist?s penchant for understanding and the Lovecraft?s ?horror of knowledge? theme blend together perfectly in this game. Despite somewhat distracting graphics, the game?s challenging puzzles and mysteries lend tremendous depth to this game that will keep excited adventurers searching for clues for hours.

» By Joshua Bennett, Plain Games. Published 11/27/2007 12:45:10 AM.