Nancy Drew: Danger By Design Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This game comes in two disks; both are needed for install, but only one is needed for play. The game begins with a peek at Nancy Drew's bedroom and has a creative way to access the tutorial.

The graphics were nice. Many areas Nancy visits are light and sunny, as opposed to other games. The people were well-drawn and executed, though the people of Haunted Carousel are probably the best so far. Interacting with them was odd, though. Nancy didn't seem to need to talk to people very much, or be able to talk to them face-to face all the time. Often, when she'd go to see them, they would have nothing to say or be busy behind a door.

The puzzles ran the gamut, from very easy to "Universal Hints, here I come!" (Too bad for me, there was no UHS help when I played the game, though I did find a walkthrough.) I did have to cheat twice. Once, I feel it was something I could have figured out for myself if I had been patient enough. The other time, I truly feel a player would be hard pressed to get.Overall, though, I was pleased with the puzzles. Most puzzles fell in the middle of the spectrum and were challenging without being too difficult.

Moving around town was comfortable. Nancy uses a map of the Metro in the same manner she uses maps in other games like Scarlet Hand and Stay Tuned. However, the process of getting from one place to the next seems much faster in this game than in those games. There was also one cutaway similar to the tunnel-walking in Deception Island. The cutaway in Design is more enjoyable because is not as long and a flashlight is used, allowing the player to see what Nancy walks through.

Calling people is annoying in this game because the airline has conveniently lost Nancy's cell phone, and she uses land lines to make calls. To call the US, she has to dial a calling card AND THEN the number desired, dialing about 21 numbers for each call! Making calls takes forever.

Nancy needs to spend and earn money in this game. The manner in which she does this is not as irritating as in Old Clock, because in this game she does not risk losing money while making money.

Overall, I really liked this game. It has a much different feel to it. Why? Partly the locale. Partly the light and sunny atmosphere of many scenes. Partly the more advanced arrows and pointers to help Nancy get around. Partly that the mystery itself, and Nancy's plan to solve it, isn't always clear. The player has to work through it a bit and wander. There is not a lot of "pixel hunting," but there are a lot of mental challenges. Not as much learning as Royal Tower or Scarlet Hand, but just enough to help Nancy with a few puzzles. Nancy does get to do some fun things, such as ordering and eating French food at a caf