Sherlock Holmes Versus Arsene Lupin
Preview
The greatest detective vs the world's best thief
by Marcus Mulkins
previewed on PC
What’s wrong with this picture? (cont.)
Thirdly, whereas it is reasonably acceptable for a detective to be widely known and admired, the same does not hold true for a criminal. One’s ability to commit the perfect crime is greatly diminished by having people pointing fingers at one wherever one goes. This is why _successful_ criminals greatly prize their anonymity. (Other than the violent, fear mongering variety of criminal.) This is why famous criminals rely on aliases. You know: Wanted Dead or Alive. So-and-so Desperado. Also known as John Doe. Also known as John Smith. Also known as Some-ridiculous-name. You get the picture. So, if **Arsene Lupin** is known as the world’s greatest thief, WHERE DOES HE GET TO SPEND HIS LOOT? How does he live a normal public life? On the other hand, if he sends a note that says, “Dear Scotland Yard and Sheerluck Holmes. You don’t know me but I’m the thief that pulled off major crimes A, B, C, D, and E. I plan to steal the Crown Jewels, Botticelli’s ‘Venus and Mars’, the Magna Carta, and a couple of other famous items,” just how seriously do you think such a letter would be taken? The introduction to such a scenario would have to be some extremely well executed crime where the note with the challenge has been left behind for the authorities to find. The fact that the note is found at such a scene would be the only assurance that the authorities will, in fact, take the challenge seriously.
And now for the grand finale...
Frogwares may not realize it, but they’ve created something of a dilemma for themselves. They have deliberately created a situation where Sherlock Holmes, the “world’s greatest detective”, will be matched against Arsene Lupin, the “world’s greatest thief”, in a battle of wits. One will win while the other loses. Who should people cheer for? Well, which is the reader’s favorite literary character? On the one hand you have tens of millions of people that describe themselves as being Sherlock Holmes aficionados. Think any of them want to see Sherlock outwitted by someone else’s literary creation? On the other hand you have the Arsene Lupin fan club, also numbering in the tens of millions. Likewise, do you think any of them will be happy to see him bested by a character from anyone else’s literary figure, no matter how famous? It seems no matter who wins, there will be a LOT of unhappy people because of how the story concludes.
Unless….
Two options here: The first is like so many whodunit movies. That is, multiple endings. One ending, Sherlock wins. In the other, Arsene wins. The problem with this idea is that in the game, Sherlock is the focus (with Watson occasionally doing the driving). That means the player only gets to direct Sherlock’s actions, and can only witness what the Arsene AI does. If Arsene wins, it is only because the player wasn’t smart enough to foil the plot. So, even if the player is a Lupin fan, there will only be mixed feelings if Lupin prevails. Whereas, Holmes fans will ONLY be happy if Sherlock wins the contest.
Therefore the only likely conclusion (to me) will be if the contest ends in a draw. Something like, Lupin succeeds with all five crimes, but before he can make good his escape, Sherlock tracks him down for what looks to be a climatic finale. But just before the sequence of events commences, an external emergency arises – something like a baby stranded on railroad tracks with a train approaching. Lupin, being a Good Guy at heart, drops his loot and saves the baby, but does manage to make his escape. The end result is a draw where Lupin has successfully executed the crimes despite Holmes’ efforts, but fails to leave the country with the treasures in hand. As a parting shot, we hear Lupin’s taunts floating through the night fog: “The world has become a small place, Monsieur Holmes. We shall undoubtedly meet again!”
Or something of the sort.
