Summary
Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy is an adventure game for Microsoft Windows, developed by Frogwares and released in 2002. The player controls Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes, as he investigates the mysteriously abandoned mansion of British archeologist Lord Montcalfe. It is the first in the Sherlock Holmes series of adventure games developed by Frogwares and Viva Media, and was ported to the Nintendo DS in 2009.
| Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy | |
|---|---|
 European cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Frogwares |
| Publisher(s) | Wanadoo The Adventure Company Frogwares |
| Series | Sherlock Holmes |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS |
| Release | Windows
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
According to Frogwares, Mystery of the Mummy was a surprise hit for the team and sold roughly 1 million units by 2013.
Gameplay edit
The original version of the game is played from a first person perspective. The locations are rendered in three dimensions using pre-rendered backgrounds and feature limited movement; the player uses the mouse to move between a series of set positions in the environment. The player collects a series of items as they move through the gameworld, and a notepad records notes and papers which have been found. These items are pieces of information are used to solve a series of puzzles.
The Nintendo DS port of Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy is again played from a first-person perspective, using pre-rendered backgrounds to present a three-dimensional environment. The player uses the stylus both for interacting with objects in the environment and for movement. The two screens are used to display the environment and Holmes's inventory; the player can switch these depending on which they wish to interact with. The majority of the puzzles are based around opening locked doors, which require the collection of items which must be placed in sequence in order to proceed.
A Wii version of the game was originally planned, which would have retained many of the gameplay features of the previous Nintendo DS version, and incorporated the use of Wii Remote and the Nunchuk. The Wii version of the game was canceled and was never released in any region.
Reception edit
Sales edit
According to Olga Ryzhko of Frogwares, Mystery of the Mummy was a surprise hit for the company.[2] In North America, it achieved sales of 44,179 retail units during the year 2003,[3] with another 5,076 during the first two months of 2004.[4] Frogwares president Waël Amr said in August 2004 that the game had performed "extremely well" overall.[5] By late 2006, the game and its sequel, Secret of the Silver Earring, had reached combined sales above 500,000 copies in Europe.[6] The first four Sherlock Holmes titles from Frogwares—Mummy, Silver Earring, The Awakened and Nemesis—totaled roughly 1.5 million global sales by February 2009.[7]
In 2013, Ryzhko reported that Mystery of the Mummy's computer version alone had sold "around a million units worldwide".[2]
Critical reviews edit
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | (PC) 63.17%[8] (DS) 51.80%[9] |
| Metacritic | (PC) 61/100[10] (DS) 57/100[11] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Adventure Gamers |    [12][13] |
| GameSpot | 5.4/10[14] |
| GameZone | 6/10[15] |
| IGN | 6.5/10[16] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 55%[17] |
| The Electric Playground | 6/10[18] |
The game was met with mixed reception. GameRankings and Metacritic gave it 63.17% and 61 out of 100 for the PC version,[8][10] and 51.80% and 57 out of 100 for the DS version respectively.[9][11]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Parker, Sam (December 10, 2002). "Adventure Company unwraps mummy mystery". GameSpot. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- ^ a b Wingfield-Bennett, Kristian (May 8, 2013). "Developer Interview: Frogwares". ThisIsXbox. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^ Sluganski, Randy (March 2004). "Sales December 2003 - The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on April 11, 2004.
- ^ Staff. "Total Sales for Jan/Feb 2004". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on April 11, 2004.
- ^ Feuerstein, Michael (August 12, 2004). "Interviews: Waël Amr". Adventure-Treff. Archived from the original on August 20, 2007. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^ "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened". Frogwares. Archived from the original on November 30, 2006. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
- ^ "Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper" (Press release). GamesIndustry.biz. February 19, 2009. Archived from the original on July 14, 2018.
- ^ a b "The Mystery of the Mummy for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- ^ a b "Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Mummy for DS". GameRankings. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- ^ a b "The Mystery of the Mummy for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- ^ a b "Sherlock Holmes: Mystery of the Mummy for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- ^ Fournier, Heidi (February 14, 2003). "Mystery of the Mummy review (PC)". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- ^ Jones, Mark (September 7, 2009). "Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy (DS) review". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- ^ Park, Andrew (February 3, 2003). "The Mystery of the Mummy Review (PC)". GameSpot. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- ^ Raymond, Justin (March 4, 2003). "The Mystery of the Mummy - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 24, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
- ^ Krause, Staci (February 12, 2003). "The Mystery of the Mummy (PC)". IGN. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
- ^ "Mystery of the Mummy". PC Gamer: 94. May 2003.
- ^ James, Bonnie (February 20, 2003). "The Mystery of the Mummy". The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on January 31, 2004. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
External links edit
- Official website
- Sherlock Holmes: The Mystery of the Mummy at MobyGames