Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments

The March Games with Gold offering have been unveiled, via an official Spanish Xbox promo, and Xbox One users with Gold subscriptions will be able to snag both Lords of the Fallen and Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments for free.

PlayStation Plus March update adds Oddworld, Valiant Hearts and OlliOlli 2

UPDATE: Dishonored coming to Plus (PS3) in April.

UPDATE: Dishonored will be added to April's PlayStation Plus offering, Sony has revealed.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe had mentioned Arkane's well-received adventure in the run up to the announcement of March's PlayStation Plus offering, leading some to wonder whether it had been pulled at the last minute.

In a tweet SCEE confirmed it's now coming next month for PlayStation 3.

UK chart: Shadow of Mordor biggest launch for a game based on Lord of the Rings

Forza Horizon 2 third. Super Smash Bros. 3DS fourth. FIFA 15 still top.

Monolith's open world action game Shadow of Mordor has entered the UK chart in second place with the biggest launch for a game based on The Lord of the Rings in the UK.

Sales are split 56 per cent on PlayStation 4, 41 per cent on Xbox One and 3 per cent on PC. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions launch on 21st November.

Official sales data from Chart-Track shows EA's behemoth FIFA 15 still comfortable in first place despite a 70 per cent drop in sales. Remember, Chart-Track does not include downloads.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments review

Pipe dreams.

The burden of power is supposedly a crushing one, but you'd never guess it from Frogwares' latest take on Sherlock Holmes. The great detective's dead-eyed stare and insufferably smug attitude belie the power that he wields to condemn or absolve. Over the course of six cases, a sycophantic Dr Watson, a moronic Inspector Lestrade and the whole of the British constabulary hang on his every word, and what Holmes says goes. Justice is meted out or mercy is exercised depending on his whim and, in the eyes of those around him, the great detective is infallible.

Surprisingly, this audacious show of egotism makes for a largely entertaining and involving detective game.

Much of the success of Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments - an awkward but deliberate play on the title of Dostoyevsky's novel - is due to its mechanics. By piecing together clues that can be interpreted in different ways and collecting frequently conflicting verbal statements, you guide Holmes to building a picture of the events that transpired, but it's ultimately up to you to decide which of the facts are relevant and which are mere happenstance. Once enough evidence has been collected and a plausible chain of events established, you deduce who is guilty and, leveraging the moral choice mechanic, decide how you'll present your findings to the feckless Lestrade and his clueless bobbies.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments pinpoints a release date

And get a new trailer.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments is due out on 30th September in all territories on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC, publisher Focus Home has announced.

This is something of a reboot of Frogwares' long-running licensed series. Sherlock's been given a new look, the graphics engine has been upgraded to Unreal Engine 3, and the design has drastically changed.

There are now nine different conclusions to each of the game's six cases, and it's up to players how to deal with each culprit once they've caught them. Do you turn them in to Lestrad, or let them off with a warning? Holmes was always a bit of a rogue with his own sense of moral justice.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishment PS4 gameplay video

See Watson.

There's a new video been released that shows Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishment being played on PS4.

This is an adventure game made by a developer called Frogwares - a studio that's plied a trade making Sherlock Holmes adventure games, among others, on PC for years.

Now it's taking the plunge onto consoles - PS4 and Xbox One as well as PS3 and Xbox 360. And PC.

Sherlock Holmes adventure Crimes & Punishments is due in "early September"

Now confirmed for Xbox One.

Frogwares' latest Sherlock Holmes adventure, Crimes & Punishments, is now slated for an "early September" release, publisher Focus Home Interactive has announced.

Sherlock adventure Crimes & Punishments' moral choices explained

Pick the culprit, then decide what to do with them.

Sherlock Holmes series developer Frogwares is mixing up the formula drastically in its upcoming detective adventure Crimes & Punishments. It's re-imagined Holmes as a less cartoonish-looking bloke who doesn't wear a hat, made the move to Unreal Engine 3, and now it's detailed how it will introduce choice into the series.

Sherlock Holmes adventure Crimes & Punishments announced for PlayStation 4

The sign of the PS4.

Frogwares' latest title in its expansive series of Sherlock Holmes adventures, Crimes & Punishments, has just been announced for PS4.

This will be in addition to already announced platforms PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Due in early 2014, Crimes & Punishments is the first game in the series to use switch over to Unreal Engine 3, making it a little behind the times for a game coming to a next-gen console as well.

Creepy Watson to return in Sherlock Holmes' Crimes & Punishments

The popular Youtube video inspires a feature.

Back in 2008 Youtube user tdous made history with a brilliant horror comedy video entitled "Creepy Watson," which had some fun with the peculiar AI in Sherlock Holmes Nemesis. In order to ensure that Watson was always following the player, developer Frogwares made it so he'd teleport behind them. When set to the right music, this lead to some hilarious hijinks as Watson would constantly startle the player by eerily appearing right in front of them.

Crimes & Punishments, the New Adventure of Sherlock Holmes announced

Redesigns Sherlock, adds moral choices and switches to Unreal Engine 3.

The latest game in Frogwares' long-running Sherlock Holmes franchise, Crimes & Punishments, has been announced via publisher Focus Home Interactive.

This seventh game in the series will make a number of radical departures from previous entries. For one, Sherlock has been redesigned - as seen below. The announcement described this new Sherlock as a "more modern character perfectly matching the new artistic ambitions of the title."

And what ambitions might those be, do you ask? Well, for one, this will be the first game in the series to feature moral choices and branching narrative paths. "Each case offers real freedom to players, who will have to make important moral choices instead of simply enforcing justice by the book," said Focus Home. "All decisions have an influence in the game, so bear the weight of your choices!"