Sherlock Holmes - Crimes and Punishment review

Its been a while since I have written a review, (which I need to get in the habit of writing more) but now here is my latest one.  My latest review is based on the PS4 game Sherlock Holmes, Crimes and Punishments.

For me, this game was a breath of fresh air.  It had so many elements to this game to not only keep me playing the game, but to keep me interested in playing the game.  From the outset, you are playing as the protagonist Sherlock Holmes, and your goal is to solve six murders, thefts and more throughout the game.  The good thing about this game is that it isn't something simple like finding things, determining the killer and there you go, but it is a more complex way of figuring out the murders.  It also has elements of the TV show Sherlock, where Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) takes one look at the person and he knows who the person is.  In the games case, they use that example, but makes it more interesting.

The investigations themselves are always different.  There is never a recurring theme throughout which is one of the reasons why I liked this game so much.  Yes, there are interrogations and also finding evidence, but you are bound to have to do that in order for the game to progress.  I found Sherlock Holmes as a character to be quite likeable, along with Dr Watson.  You also get to interact with Holmes' dog Toby in a couple of the investigations.  

The investigation are also quite fun to play.  You can go from giving someone an autopsy one minute, to trying to figure out how someone can disappear in the blink of an eye the next, which is why I mentioned that the investigations are so different.  They give you plenty of people to suspect, which makes the game more difficult, so that you really have to think about who killed who and who is innocent.  There are many endings to this game.  Like Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls, you can come up with an ending which you believe should have happened, and there will always be consequences with whatever you choose.  There isn't necessarily a right or wrong judgement in this game, however it gives you the opportunity to go back to the game in the future where if you see the investigation differently, there will always be another ending for you to choose. 

Finally, my opinion on this game is that If you are a person who isn't really a big fan of multi-player, and who just wants a good story based game, then this one is definitely for you.  Also, if you are a fan of the TV show, then this game will be right up your alley.  For me, I really enjoyed this game.  I purposely strung it out because I didn't really want to it end sooner.  If someone said to me, would you play it again?  Then my answer would be a definite YES.

If you're interested in buying this game, and want to see the trailer.  Then you can do so by clicking HERE.

Disclaimer: Nobody asked me to review this game.  All thoughts are my own.

Pre-Release review of Endgame by James Frey (Spoiler free)

The other day I, among a few others, were lucky enough to review a book.  This book being called Endgame, which was written by author James Frey (A Million Little Pieces, My Friend Leonard) along with Nils Johnson-Shelton.  I thought, this would be a perfect way to introduce book reviews to my blog, as I am of yet to review one. 

Here is a quick synopsis of the book:

The Day I received Endgame!

Endgame is real. Endgame is now. Endgame has begun.

Twelve ancient cultures were chosen millennia ago to represent humanity in Endgame, a global game that will decide the fate of humankind. Endgame has always been a possibility, but never a reality… until now. Twelve meteorites have just struck Earth, each meteorite containing a message for a Player who has been trained for this moment. At stake for the Players: saving their bloodline, as well as the fate of the world. And only one can win.

Google Niantic is building a mobile location-based augmented reality videogame inextricably tied to the books and mythology, a major prize will be tied to a puzzle in each book, and Twentieth Century Fox has bought the movie rights.

Read the Books. Find the Clues. Solve the Puzzle. Who will Win?

So, lets get started.  From the outset, I knew this was going to be a different book from any that I have read before.  That being said, I just want to clear up a matter before continuing with my review.  Before I sat down and read this book, I did a little research and what came up most was the fact that this book was just another copy of the 'Hunger Games'.  Well, I can say right now that this book is a completely different book from the Hunger games, which shouldn't in no way deter you from reading Endgame.  The whole story, the way the story is set out, and how the story progresses is in an entire world of it's own, and while I was reading this, I didn't compare it, or thought it was similar to the Hunger games in any way.

Okay, now that's out of the way, let's get back to it.  I don't know whether the author intentionally wrote in this style, or whether it is his usual style, but Frey likes to write in a very blunt and straightforward manner, whereby he writes in full.  Also, whenever he mentioned numbers, he never rounded them up, instead keeping the exact figure of the number(s) instead.  This, I found to be a little weird, but necessary for the progression of the book.  He likes to use full stops quite a lot to make a point and to create suspense.  In the beginning, I found this method to be a tad annoying, but after a while, I soon got used to it, and thought that this is one of the many reasons why I liked the book so much.

The story is about twelve people, from twelve different bloodlines across the earth, who has been selected to play in a contest called 'Endgame', which is a game that specialises in determining the fate of mankind.  The objective of Endgame is to find three keys that have been placed somewhere on the earth.  The twelve players must battle each other to find these keys, not just to save themselves, but to also save their bloodline from extinction.  Whoever finds these keys, wins and therefore survives Endgame.  

What I like about this book, is that it is told through all of the protagonists in this book, and not just one person.  This gives us, the reader, an idea into every individuals mindsets and feelings, and therefore you can make an overall judgement on every character participating in Endgame.  The only problem I found with this book is that for the first few chapters, up until Endgame begins, it is a very slow moving book.  I was finding it quite difficult to stay with the story, but I'm glad I did.  As soon as the contest began for the protagonists, the book became exciting and a page turner, with many twists and turns along the way to keep you gripped and unable to stop until the end.  Another little bit of excitement is that James Frey includes a little treasure hunt within the pages of the book.  All you have to do is decipher the code(s) throughout the book, once you do that, it should lead you to a location where you could find something VERY special!

Overall, despite the slowness at the beginning of the book, this is well worth a read.  I think the suspense of the book is enough for you to carry on reading it until the end.  This story is completely different from what I have read before.  This isn't the type of book that I normally read, but now I've read it, it gives me some encouragement to read more like it.

If you are interested in this book, and would like to watch a teaser trailer on it, you can click through to YouTube here... 

Also, If you liked this review and want to give the book a read also, the link to find Endgame on Amazon can be found here...

This book will also be available as an audio download, for those of you that find that listening to books works better for you. :)

Disclaimer:  I was asked to review Endgame.  All thoughts on this book are my own.