Sherlock Holmes is the creation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and was the center of many of his novels.  After his passing, and Holmes' popularity sustained, other folks began to put his character into their own books, movies, and, eventually, video games.  The Mystery of the Mummy is the latest attempt at putting the detective in a game, but is it worth checking out?  Or should it be kept on the shelf for the die-hard sleuths?  Let's investigate.

The game follows an original plot created by the developers.  In it, Holmes is invited to a mansion of great proportions, looking for clues to find a missing archaeologist and his valuable mummy.  Needless to say, there's always more to it than a simple kidnapping (this is a Holmes story, after all!); and you're led into a web of intriguing characters, strange places, and creepy artifacts.  The story remained interesting throughout, and I believe The Adventure Company did a good job creating it.

Unfortunately, the game falls on its face where it counts the most: gameplay.  The game takes a Myst approach, with static scenery and a cursor.  The cursor will allow you to pick things up, use items, open doors, or click to another spot where you'll move to.  You can spin the camera around 360 degrees, looking at everything around you, but you can't move to precise positions or anything.  The problem is this: when you actually do click to move to another spot (which can be frustrating, since areas you would think would be recognized as places to move, can't be accessed) the camera often reorients itself, pointing you in an entirely different direction.  If I'm facing a bookcase and I want to move closer to it, I want to be facing the bookcase when I get over there, not turned around to where I just came from!

The actual puzzles range from mediocre to frustrating, and occasionally pretty clever.  There's one early on where you have to find four golden coins with pictures of mythological symbols on them.  There's a door with four empty circles, each next to a picture of a different symbol.  It's obvious you have to place the proper coins next to the proper symbol, but there is very little to help you figure out which goes where.  There's some information lying around in a glass case in another room about mythology, but a lot of the information is just plain irrelevant, and there's very little that actually helps you.  It ends up being a guessing game until you get them in the right order, and can continue.

The game is quite linear, even when you'd think it shouldn't be.  There's a large staircase in the first room of the game, with a little ribbon blocking it off.  Honestly, how hard would it be to take off the ribbon, or jump over it, or even crawl under it?  It's simply not logical that you're restricted from going upstairs from a tiny ribbon.  You're forced to go through a series of puzzles before being able to get past it.  It's not a terrible problem, but it just seems ludicrous.  Why couldn't they have put a locked door there instead?  That would have been a lot more plausible.

The graphics are, unfortunately, fuzzy.  Since they are so detailed, looking for specific things can be a pain when it seems like the game is blurrier than the ten-year old Myst.  Other than that little problem, they are designed pretty nicely for the most part, and remain fresh and interesting.  You'll encounter some cinemas later on, as well.  A lot of them seem a little corny or even badly done, but they do what they're there for - help tell a story.

Sound is not terribly impressive.  Sherlock is given a voice, and he feels the need to comment on everything you try to do.  Thankfully, he sounds decent, although it sometimes seems like the person behind the voice is reading off of a paper.  It's not really impressive, but it's not obnoxious, either.  The music isn't all that great, and although it is fitting, it can become annoying during long sessions.  It lacks excitement and originality.

The Mystery of the Mummy is not a terrible game, no.  Fans of Doyle and his work will probably enjoy solving a great mystery and going through a fairly good storyline.  That is, if they can put up with the annoying gameplay.  If you're not a fan, or you absolutely hate Myst and similar point-n'-click games, then this is probably not for you.  Check it out if you're interested, but don't expect to have a blast playing it.

Gameplay: 5.0

The game plays just like Myst, save for the inclusion of an inventory.  We walk through static scenery, clicking in the direction we want to go to.  Although this is an outdated technique, it would have been okay if it weren't so picky.  The camera is constantly changing direction when you click to move, and sometimes you miss places you can go because the designated spots aren't all that accurate.

Graphics: 6.5

The game might play like Myst, but it doesn't look as sharp.  In fact, the environment is often downright blurry.  This makes it hard when looking for a certain small object or even trying to read writing on a sign.  This area could have been improved greatly.

Sound: 6.5

Sherlock Holmes' gets a voice in this game.  It's not perfect - in fact, sometimes it sounds the the voice actor is reading.  Overall, though, it works.  The background music really isn't anything exciting or fantastic, but at least it's there.  You might rather turn on your stereo, as it can get tiring. 

Difficulty: Hard

The game is quite linear, and requires that you complete all the puzzles.  Some of them are quite clever, while others border on frustration.  Granted, they're not as obscure as the ones found in Myst or Riven, but the fuzzy graphics can cause you to miss some vital clues.

Concept: 6.0

The gameplay isn't really innovative or original, but the developers do deserve some credit for devising a fairly interesting plot and a few cool puzzles. 

Multiplayer: N/A

There's no multiplayer mode to speak of in The Mystery of the Mummy.  But you might try solving some puzzles with your friend...after all, two heads are better than one at this type of thing.

Overall: 6.0

The Mystery of the Mummy is not an extremely enjoyable experience, nor does it offer anything new to the adventure genre.  However, Sherlock fans will be sure to love it for its original storyline, and the fact that you actually get to solve puzzles as the man himself.  It's elementary, my dear Watson.