Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis is a real challenge for clever gamers, but it is very hard, and I resorted to using a walkthrough (MaGtRo) because without it, I would not have gotten through the thing. If you miss one clue or item you're supposed to pick up, you're stymied. I was unable to pick up two items in the armory and it took me two hours of back tracking to figure out why: I had missed picking up an obscure picture of a family called Mac Adams in a previous location. Be forewarned, but not deterred!
Victorian London is marvelous from our comfortable armchairs even though the reality under the thick fogs was anything but romantic. Jack the Ripper was a dilettante compared to a modern serial killer such as Ted Bundy, but the Ripper is romantic in a chill, creepy way and the scream of one poor victim down there under the 1890's fog vibrates along the years -we hear it, we shudder, we are titillated. Victorian England- the perfect game milieu.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are the perfect Victorians as we see them, gentlemen: no swearing or vulgarisms. And the cat and mouse antagonism of Holmes and the arch-thief Arsene Lupin in this game is a highly intellectual rivalry. Lupin the Frenchman strives to bring England (and Sherlock Holmes) to their knees by stealing the five most important objects to England, without which she can't endure. You are treated to a merry romp through the National Gallery, the Tower of London, the British Museum, and of all places, Buckingham Palace. Actually, you may learn a lot about paintings, even what the ravens in the Tower eat (but I imagine we're getting our leg pulled a bit on that). The locations are splendidly done and you feel very much a part of them, you are there.
The voice acting is very good throughout, but in contrast to the backdrops, the human characters are rather jerky, rigid and not as expertly done as, say, the characters in any Nancy Drew game. Don't be deterred, please. Holmes and Watson are OK.
Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis is made in heaven for you if you love London, especially Victorian London and if you love Holmes and Watson. Many hours of enjoyment await you and the game is a great escape. The plot may be totally unrealistic and sometimes it gets downright silly, but that matters not one whit. What matters is, you're back in Victorian London, peering through the fog, hearing the clop-clop of horses' feet, helping Holmes save the British Empire.