Sherlock Holmes: Crime and Punishments is set to release in Q4 2013 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. IGN describes the use of the Unreal Engine 3 as, “an evolutionary leap in graphic detail. Environments are more realistic and finely detailed with dynamic lighting and shadows. Powerful new visual systems allow for smooth movement and motion transitions, real-time shaders and a particle system, and advanced post-processing effects.”

This time around, you’ll be delving first-hand into eight different cases ranging from murder, theft, disappearances, etc. With a first-person tour through London and its surrounding suburbs looking this beautiful, I’m sure to consider this purchase. However, Sergey Chervonnyi, Production Manager at Frogwares, had this to say regarding an open-world exploration akin to Assassin’s Creed or Bioshock Infinite:

Theoretically, with Unreal we could make an open-world, except that it’s not really interesting to us. An open-world would require some means of transportation. You have to have some variety, we cannot do rich surroundings next to poor ones, or industrial next to urban, or countryside next to the London city centre… or it would mean some kind of unity in time and location, and a little variety. Cases always take place in a few locations; you are not going to search for clues over 5 km; hence there is no real need to have an open-world as of now.

I’ve always considered open-world exploration to garner a sense of realism over gameplay gaps of loading time. But, the way this game looks, I imagine its teeming with realism: from shadows to light play, cobblestone walks to sweat-drenched faces. Let’s hope that Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments gameplay can live up to the beautiful atmosphere Frogwares has created.

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