Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice (demo)
Verdict: fairish
In a Nutshell: This is a first-person, mystery adventure with some puzzle solving that may, or may not, have anything to do with the overall story.
(from the game’s website)
“Somewhere beyond the bright piazzas and open markets of the Venice Carnevale lurks a masked thief. Despite months of investigations, the Italian police remain helpless as stolen treasures vanish in the night. That’s why the authorities asked you, as detective Nancy Drew, to join the case, to infiltrate a dangerous crime syndicate and catch this phantom thief before he or she destroys the heart of Venice!”
- Fun Rating: Sorta Fun
- ESRB: E
- Players/Mode: Single-player/Campaign
- Game Duration: demo took 1 hour
- System:PC
- Developer: Her Interactive Inc.
- Cost: $19.95 over at the Her Interactive Inc. site
| Yes | No | |
|---|---|---|
| Would I play this again? | X | |
| Would I recommend this game? | X | |
| Was the story good? | X | |
| Was the music good? | X | |
| Were the graphics good? | X | |
| Was this game difficult? | X | |
| Was this game frustrating? | X | |
| Was this game worth your time/money? | n/a | n/a |
Spew:
What the game gets right
The music and graphics were nice and don’t distract you from playing the game.
Other than the opening movie sequence of you, as Nancy Drew, getting trapped in a sewer, there were no cut-scenes in the demo. This means, even though I am playing as a well known persona, I still feel like I am playing the game; unlike other games
What the game gets wrong
The camera angle is limited which makes the game feel a little dated (and by dated I don’t mean hip and retro).
In some respects, I understand that Nancy Drew needs a voice but I wasn’t expecting Ms. Drew to sound like Angela Lansbury.
The one mini-game in the demo, let’s call it “Fix the Mosaic”, reminds me of “games” I played growing up that had names like “Pick up the Rocks” and “Wash the Car”. It was a chore that I should have earned a quarter to complete (what is the going kid chore rate these days?). Mini-games should fit in to the world and have some effect on that world other than checking off the games “To Do” list.
Sum it up
I was surprised about two things playing this demo; the first was how short the demo was, the second was that it was an O.K. game, which is what I was hoping for. Though rated for “10-Adult”, I’m guessing that the younger puzzle/mystery game crowd, guys included, or the die hard Nancy Drew fans will get more enjoyment out of this game. “10-Adult” fits better on a box though.
The story made me wish there was more to the demo. Will I be able to sleep at night without helping the Venice police to discover the identity of, and eventually stop, the Phantom? Yes. With only an hour’s worth of game I was satisfied (mostly) with what there was, but not inspired to run out and buy it.
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Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice
Developer: Her Interactive, Inc.
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August 12th, 2008 at 5:41 am
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you down the road!