Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice
Her Interactive - Her Interactive
Windows Vista
Release date: 2008-07-08
CD-ROM
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Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice
Date undefinedDon't worry, no major spoilers!
I have played every ND game except for the first one, the Final Scene, The Creature of Kapu Cave, and the latest one, the Haunting of Castle Malloy. Needless to say, I can compare this one to all of the other ND games, which have been consistently phenomenal. Even the older ones are quite good, so the newer ones have a lot to live up to.
Pros
-The Phantom of Venice has incredible scenery (of course, it's in Venice) but it was even better than Danger by Design, which was set in France.
-The story was pretty good, and the plot introduced something new... Nancy actually being "officially" on a mission to catch a thief. For other games, it was more of "Nancy is here to kind of investigate" or "Something terrible happened, so vacation is canceled and time to sleuth." Also, the beginning of the game is thrilling (though a bit scary).
-There are a lot of extra things to do if you want, and fun ways to make euros (more than one, unlike in Old Clock or Danger by Design)
-Many characters, keeps you guessing who actually is behind it all
-Challenging but not impossible puzzles
-Ability to change clothes (a first!)
-At the end (NOT A SPOILER) it tells you what "extra things" you did, and gives you stars for it (other games just gave you a name)
-In other games, you may have thought that your alarm clock is your trusty friend (like in Icicle Creek, it really helped to skip to chores and stuff.) But in this game, you don't even have to worry about time! The only time change you need is with your bed, when you choose to sleep (kind of like in Danger by Design or Stay tuned for Danger.) Though unlike Danger by Design, Nancy doesn't complain about "Oh, it's late. I better go home." and skip to the next day. In this game, I think I slept a total of one night, and that was necessary. Besides this, you were free to go about your tasks.
-You still have your notebook to remind you of things.
-They recreated the opening song, and made it a lot cooler with graphics, etc. to set the game up.
Cons
-There is a new addition to the "interface." Instead of just a normal arrow, if you are "supposed to find something" your arrow is green. However, once you find it, it stays green. The green arrow is more irrelevant than it is useful.
-Again, it's one of those games that doesn't have Nancy's cellphone. You always have to use the phone in your room. However, the good thing is, you aren't required to call many people. In fact, you could probably get away without calling someone at all, because all the "necessary" phone calls will eventually just call you when you are in your room. Plus, you have your pager, which you can use to call the police (the people you're working for.)
-Some parts seem somewhat boring (one major part that I will not discuss because of spoilers.)
-You get a map, but you can't "visit" all the cool places in Venice. Only the places you really need.
-The gondoliers are terrible singers. You have been warned.
-Your game saves at every "second chance" thing, and it fills up all of your slots, and can get quite confusing at times.
-Instead of the actual thief, the character behind it all is just kind of someone in the crime ring. Too bad... this also got somewhat confusing.
-It might take a while to figure out the pager. The only feature on it that you regularly use is the "call" button, and the others, you start to wonder what they are for.
-The final chase is a bit confusing.
-The real real beginning starts with that stupid sequence of Nancy running up to her room and talking nonsense.
-Some of the earlier games had a LOT of really interesting history behind the games (like the secret of the scarlet hand) but this one was kind of modernized, and in fact, didn't really explain anything of history or Venice at all.
-Didn't have any of those cool cooking things (like in Shadow Ranch)
Conclusion
Another great game from the ND series and HerInteractive. Though it may seem as though there are a lot of cons, they are easy to deal with and nothing is too terrible. (I'm playing it for the second time!) It was a great improvement from the other Europe game, Danger by Design. It was also better than some of the other older ones, and overall was pretty amazing. Can't wait to get Haunting of Castle Malloy!
Thanks for reading!
Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice
Date undefinedI know that a good number of adults and older teens play these games, but it was great to have one my 11 and 14 year olds could play without cheating. I mean, the games say ages 10 and up, after all.
I had stopped playing them myself, because they were too busy and boring, but this one was really fun, even for me. The dancing was hilarious. I liked the clues. The dress-up was especially fun for my girls to play.
For us, this game was really fun. Like the haunted carousel. Silly and fun. Not some big drawn-out drama.
Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice
Date undefinedI am a major Nancy drew fan. I read most of the old and new books, and I have played/own almost every one of their games. Herinteractive makes really good games, but after Danger by Design, my cousin, sister, and I have ALL agreed that the games' plots have all gone downhill. The Phantom of Venice had incredible graphics, and the plot was okay, but the ending was a very big disapointment. You wind up expecting more as you get into the game, and they also give away the ending(but not the culprit) in the very beginning. I'd say buy an older game. They have awesome plots and endings, and the culprit's reasons are far more reasonable.
