Sherlock: The Network (Review)

Hi Guys

Today, we are reviewing the Sherlock: The Network game based on the Sherlock series.

Sherlock Holmes

If you don’t know already, Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He is a London-based “consulting detective” whose abilities border on the fantastic, Holmes is known for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise and his use of forensic science to solve difficult cases. Even the police forces and other national security forces approached him on cases where they stuck.

Holmes, first appeared in print in 1887, and was featured in 4 Novels and 56 Short stories. The events in the stories took place from about 1880 to 1914. Most of his stories were written in third person by Dr. John H. Watson, his friend, with an exception of 4 stories.

Take this quiz to find out which Sherlock Holmes are you? I'm Dr. Robert Downey Jr. (thanks for asking).

Sherlock

Sherlock is a British crime drama T.V. series and a contemporary adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, it stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson. Nine episodes have been produced, the first three of which were broadcast in 2010. Series two was broadcast in 2012, and a third series was broadcast in 2014. The third series has become the UK’s most watched drama series since 2001. The iMDb ratings for the series are 9.3, in case you wanna watch the whole series like me. 🙂

Critical reception has been highly positive, with many reviews praising the quality of the writing, performances, and direction. Sherlock has been nominated for numerous awards including: BAFTAs, Emmys, and Golden Globe, winning several awards across a variety of categories. The show received the most number of wins at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Moffat, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Cumberbatch, and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Freeman. In addition, the show was also honoured with a Peabody Award in 2011.

Game’s Storyline

Become one of Sherlock’s trusted lieutenants by joining The Network (the homeless network). Immerse yourself in the world of Sherlock Holmes by joining The Network and helping him solve a series of new cases.

This official Sherlock app contains a lot of exclusive video and audio content featuring Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch), Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman), Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gratiss) and many other characters from the Sherlock series  as well.

Along with above mentioned audio and video clips, it includes a lot of puzzling games, and an entire mystery for you and Sherlock to solve. Answer Sherlock’s messages to source and deliver information to him at 221B Baker Street. Navigate virtual London in search of information. Communicate with Sherlock and others in The Network. The more valuable you are, the higher you will rise in the ranks…

Read more about the game at SherlockTheNetwork.com or follow it on Twitter at twitter.com/sherlocknetwork.

How to get the app?

This app is currently available on Android and iDevices only. The game itself is free, and you can play & solve the first 2 cases without paying a cent. But the rest 9 cases, require an in-app purchase. But I assure you that the game is worth every penny.

Android users can download this app from Google Play Store or Amazon App Store. iPhone or iPod users can download it from this Apple App Store link, whereas iPad users can download the HD version of this app from this link.

If you want to buy the app in China, it is only available via the Tencent store for Android devices and Apple for iOS devices. This version is in Simplified Chinese.

Which devices are supported? What are the system requirements?

The app is supported on Apple devices running iOS 6 and above and on Android devices running Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and above. Note, the app is only available in English and Simplified Chinese.

The app will requires a considerable but justified amount of storage space, so make sure your device have enough space. Android devices need about 720MB of storage space for this app to work properly, whereas iDevice users need about 520MB of storage space.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any further queries about the app, you can view the FAQ section of official website of this app.

Personal Experience

I, being an avid Sherlock Holmes fan, just loved this game, after watching the last episode of the Series which is, “His Last Vow“, I became a highly functioning sociopath with a dull routine (which means I was bored). Everything including my life started to seem slow and dull. Learning some tricks from Sherlock, I could easily guess like what my friends had for their breakfast but that didn’t gave me a purpose, I was just left with an option to wait for the Special episode which will come on Christmas, this year.

Then, I came across this very particular app, this is the best game of Sherlock ever made on a mobile device.

In the game, you play the role of a nameless member of Sherlock’s homeless network, newly inducted and just starting out on initially menial tasks set by the detective. You journey around London by foot, tube or taxi, the latter two options giving the first of the numerous mini-games that make up the structure of the app. The tube mini-game in particular is enjoyably challenging, I’m not giving any spoilers about the puzzle.

It not only exercises our brain with short games, like visual observation skills, taxi puzzles, or completing tubes, audio decryption or images, a bit of code breaking, but also every clue we find has some significance, and at the end, comes the most difficult part, Sherlock’s Mind Palace. The game also features some TV Trivia from the Sherlock series.

Mind Palace is a memorization technique which allows a person to remember every detail or fact he/she ever came across. In the Mind Palace, we have to use our own mind about which of the clues have some relationship and make sense. There is no hint. This is the best part of the game for me. If you are true fan, you will find the relation between clues in a couple of attempts, Or if you are Sherlock Holmes, you will complete the case in the first attempt only.

I would recommend this game to any fan of Sherlock Holmes, either his books or the Sherlock Series. Even those who haven’t heard of Sherlock Holmes, (which is a an unlikely scenario) should try this Detective game and exercise their mental skills and abilities.

Picture Gallery

Trailer of the Game

In-Game Screenshots

Sherlock: The Network Review

In case you’ve a slower internet, don’t scroll through this album, but rather scroll below.

In-Game Screenshots (Compressed images)

I would suggest not scrolling through all the images. Some images may contain spoilers for the game.

So, are you gonna join the Network. Let us know in comments.

The Game is On.

Image source – geektown.co.uk.
Video trailer – The Project Factory via youtube.com.
Author – Swapnil Jha