[RichardI]

Well, are they any good? In my mind, Nancy Drew was a kind of adolescent character. How are the games? Are they for adults, or are they for younger audiences? The graphics in the latest one look quite good.

Rich

[bulldog]

Originally Posted by RichardI

Well, are they any good? In my mind, Nancy Drew was a kind of adolescent character. How are the games? Are they for adults, or are they for younger audiences? The graphics in the latest one look quite good.

Rich

I have played quite a few of them and I like them. I like them more for the graphics then anything. As for the puzzles I have come a cross a few that have made me want to pull my hair out but I think that is with just about any game.

All in all they are good.

[PolloDiablo]

I've only played one, and I didn't like it, but lots of gamers do enjoy these games since it's the best-selling adventure-series in the USA.
On the Her Interactive website you can see a trailer and download a demo of some of the games so you can see for yourself if it's suitable to your taste.

[Trunkyo]

Most of the ND games are fairly short and easy, even in Senior Detective mode. The games get much better after Secrets Can Kill and Stay Tuned for Danger (the first and second games in the series). In fact STFD was my least favourite (annoying voice acting, and a frustrating timed puzzle at the end, which usually requires a patch )

[Kaelistus]

I love the Nancy Drew games! And I'm a 30 year old male. i feel like the games are clearly meant for a young teen audience, but I can enjoy them nonetheless.

The games aren't particularly hard, but I wouldn't call them a walk in the park either. I also found the difficulty to vary wildly between titles. (Of the new ones, i thought Paris was significantly harder than Hawaii).

Graphics are OK. They look fine, but I really wish they upped the resolution a bit. In the older titles, the graphics window is smaller than I'd like it too. But they all still look all right.

My favorite one so far (3 games still unplayed) has been the third one: Haunted Mansion. My least favorite, by far, is the first one - Secrets can kill. I'm really glad I didn't play that one first, or I wouldn't have tried any others.

[crabapple]

I think Curse of Blackmoor Manor is usually considered to be the most difficult. The games generally aren't bad, but you have to keep in mind you aren't the target audience, so there's often a bit of silliness you have to put up with. For example, Nancy is investigating acts of vandalism, but first she must go out in the garden and pick tomatos. To do this, she must first check a book that shows what the different tomato varieties look like when they are ripe. Most of the Nancy Drew games have some "edutainment" aspect like this that is worked in. One of the more interesting ones (IMO) involved decoding a message using an old Enigma code machine from World War II in Danger by Design.

[bulldog]

Originally Posted by crabapple

I think Curse of Blackmoor Manor is usually considered to be the most difficult. The games generally aren't bad, but you have to keep in mind you aren't the target audience, so there's often a bit of silliness you have to put up with. For example, Nancy is investigating acts of vandalism, but first she must go out in the garden and pick tomatos. To do this, she must first check a book that shows what the different tomato varieties look like when they are ripe. Most of the Nancy Drew games have some "edutainment" aspect like this that is worked in. One of the more interesting ones (IMO) involved decoding a message using an old Enigma code machine from World War II in Danger by Design.

Oh yeah,Curse of Blackmoor Manor I think by far was the hardest for me, It was a good game though.

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

I have played several and plan to play the rest. They can be corny, but she's so sassy! The only one I didn't like (or finish) is the first one.

[Trader]

I have liked all on them so far, except I didnt like the Hardy Boys involvement in the Blue Cannon [I think thats what it was called], I like the way you can stuff up and get fired, like burning a hotel down that was a done by mistake but I liked trying to get fired all the time in the games.

[träum_was_schönes]

I really enjoy them and I have played all of the games starting with the first terrible one where characters would say things like, "I can't talk to you right now Nancy, I've got to go" but then remained fixed in their position, not moving an inch. Needless to say the game has improved immensely since then!
I also still like playing them even though I have gotten older and am more interested with games with a bit more adult subject matter like Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines. Nancy Drew just remains fun and I like that the puzzles don't focus on combining inventory objects.

I think for the amount of gameplay the price is quite good, and the stories are normally interesting. Obviously as the games are geared towards young adults you shouldn't be expecting blood and gore or sex but if you want to play a nice fun quick adventure they normally fit the bill. I would try one of the newer ones, and if you like it you will like the others and if you dislike it, don't even bother with the others as the style of gameplay doesn't dramatically differ between them.

My personal favorite in terms of graphics is Danger on Deception Island,- only because I have always wanted to live on the West Coast in Washington and Oregon, especially after reading Der Schwarm (The Swarm- a really great book by the way).My favorite Nancy Drew in terms of gameplay is either Treasure in the Royal Tower or Curse of Blackmoor Manor although I am playing White Wolf of Icicle Creek right now, and think it's quite good!

[Sar]

Secrets of the old clock was pretty good. It had a neat feature where you could hop in the blue convertible and drive around town. Not many adventure games let you drive a car. Pretty cool

[Endosanity]

I played a few of the earlier Nacy Drew games and they were... okay. The voice acting was a little hammy and they were sorta short but still descent games none-the-less. I actually sorta like the first one but it has this game-breaking bug that was never fixed. Kinda ruined for me on that one because I didn't want to start over and I couldn't figure out why I could never get anywhere till I read a FAQ and read what I did wrong.

[Ariel Type]

As far as I've played them, they are all very cheap, unimaginative games that look like a bunch of well-used puzzles (all varietes of puzzles met many-many times in other games) combined by a thin storyline and awful characters. I guess the only reason they became popular is Nancy Drew herself (who is surprisingly popular in USA). Actually, every game in the series feels like a clone of the previous ones. They even didn't change the 640x480 resolution for a long time. Very quick and effective money-making process.

[colpet]

Actually, every game in the series feels like a clone of the previous ones.

Surprisingly enough, many people, including myself, like the idea of familiar gameplay and the comfort of returning to a tried and true formula.

[bulldog]

Originally Posted by Sar

Secrets of the old clock was pretty good. It had a neat feature where you could hop in the blue convertible and drive around town. Not many adventure games let you drive a car. Pretty cool

That is cool, I haven’t played that one yet but I would like too.

Originally Posted by colpet

Surprisingly enough, many people, including myself, like the idea of familiar gameplay and the comfort of returning to a tried and true formula.

I agree, when I play a ND game I kind of like that familiarity of the game.

[Ariel Type]

Originally Posted by colpet

Surprisingly enough, many people, including myself, like the idea of familiar gameplay and the comfort of returning to a tried and true formula.

Yes, and this doesn't give developers any food for growth. But compare those cheap, ugly games to Scratches, which also costs 19.99$ and was made by three-people team, and you can easily see how a low-budget game can be much-much better. And Nucleosys actually listens to gamers needs and try to improve their products.. People are so different.

[bulldog]

Originally Posted by Ariel Type

Yes, and this doesn't give developers any food for growth. But compare those cheap, ugly games to Scratches, which also costs 19.99$ and was made by three-people team, and you can easily see how a low-budget game can be much-much better. And Nucleosys actually listens to gamers needs and try to improve their products.. People are so different.

That is very true; there is little room for growth in some games. ND games are primarily made and marketed to children 8-12 years old, and the Scratches game is more for the teen and older group.

Scratches may have been made by three people and they did a great job, but just b/c ND games are made by a team of people doesn't change anything. The two games are made and marketed for two different age groups. Who's to say that the Her Interactive Company doesn't listen to their consumers, they may very well be making games that their consumers want.

[Marian]

Originally Posted by colpet

Surprisingly enough, many people, including myself, like the idea of familiar gameplay and the comfort of returning to a tried and true formula.

That often fills the bill for me as well, Colpet. There are many nights when I am tired after work and sometimes a game where's there's no learning curve, no getting acclimated, is just what the doctor ordered and like easing into a pair of comfy slippers. ND is very good for that.

"Who's to say that the Her Interactive Company doesn't listen to their consumers, they may very well be making games that their consumers want."

I think Her Interactive is listening. Their latest game is considerably longer and more difficult than Kapu Cave. A lot of people had been bellyaching that Kapu Cave was too short and too easy, and White Wolf does seem to have been a response to this. One could take issue with the methods by which they made White Wolf more time consuming, but that's another topic altogether.

[Nelza]

I've only played one Nancy Drew Game (The Haunted Carousel) and I quite liked how it kept me guessing 'til the end.

[bulldog]

I've only played a hand full of the ND games.... but I have enjoyed everyone of them.