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They just keep getting better. As for the underground maze, I thought that was very hard. I had to look that part up on a walkthrough; i was lost in a second, and i didn't understand how to control the water with the wheels and such.Overall, one of the best they have come out with, and the next one after Phantom of Venice (Haunting of Castle Malloy) is great too. I have played almost all of the Nancy Drew games released to date, and this is definitely one of the top games on my list. :) I thought that the length was perfect; any longer or any shorter would have been a little annoying and boring.The only two flaws in my opinion in this game are the two extremely annoying puzzles (the one where you have to steal a jewel and the final maze in the underground headquarters thing). The graphics were fantastic, the story line was different, new and fun, and the characters were really well developed throughout the course of the game. I didn't exactly find the jewel stealing puzzle difficult, but it is ridiculously long and repetitive.
that's what i'd like to know What happened to the amatuer. I tried this game thinking it would finally bring back the good ol' Nancy Drew AMATUER slueth thaught provoking games. I was very VERY ticked off when they had nancy dress like she was a stripper or something and then be called on a mission for the italian gov.
I've played most of the Nancy Drew games by Her Interactive, and this is a winner. 3. Interacting with other characters -- it's not just puzzle solving, you get to interact with characters to find clues and to move the game forward. Puzzles are pretty well integrated into the story -- they make sense.
Had to use a walkthrough, but absolutely loved the story. The atmosphere. The look -- I like the artwork in the scenes. Phantom of Venice was still great fun.Worth mentioning: the newest game in this series "Lights, Camera, Curses" really deviates from the format of all the other games. Best of the series for me was the Curse of Blackmoor Manor -- it was probably the longest of the games and some of the puzzles were pretty tough. Things I like about these games in general, and this game specifically are:1.
Loved the Venice setting, traveling by canal, the snooty lady who owns the place where Nancy is staying, and the charming villian at the card club.4. You should read a detailed description of gameplay before you buy it -- many of the things I love about these games are missing (for instance, you cannot move around inside a room and you cannot walk from room to room on your own). I really enjoyed the voice acting, especially Nancy.2. Breaking into the bank, getting into the card club, etc.
You carry an Italian dictionary, which comes in useful for translating signs and documents. Nancy's home base is Prudence's old palazzo, the Ca' Nascosta, now in a sad state of disrepair after Prudence sold it to a penny-pinching, ladder-climbing socialite. But the variety of puzzles, some of which are new to the series (stakeouts, tracking, jewel heists), and the inclusion of Italian culture make up for these shortcomings. The main map is clearly laid out and is easy to navigate.Like Nancy Drew: Secret Of the Old Clock, Nancy must earn money in order to purchase items needed in her investigation, including books and costume accessories. Nancy shares a room with Helena Berg, a young German journalist who is in love with Venice and hopes to move there. Her old friend Prudence Rutherford (first heard from in Nancy Drew: Secret of the Scarlet Hand) has enlists her to discover the identity of the Phantom, a masked robber who's been making off with priceless antiques. Unlike some prior greats such as Nancy Drew: The Legend of the Crystal Skull and Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor, the actual story in "Phantom of Venice" is spread a bit thin; the game could have benefitted from one or two additional suspects. Because it's Carnevale season, there aren't enough officers to tail him, so Nancy is given a PDA with tracking capabilities.
Italian culture is everywhere, and Nancy must even learn some basic Italian in order to participate in an important stakeout. In Nancy's eighteenth adventure from HerInteractive, Nancy makes good use of her passport in her second international outing, this time to Venice, Italy during Carnevale. If you find yourself running short, there are several ways to earn extra income, including dancing in a nightclub dressed as a slinky black cat ().I loved the variety of the nightclub dancing, although the character animation was jerky and I would have liked to see Nancy move more than just rotating her wrist in-between moves. From my own experience, you can earn between two to over thirty euros per dance depending on how well you nail the cues (for the hearing-impaired: the dance cues are auditory, but flashing colored lights also tell you which colored button to press). Nancy has three modes of transportation: on foot (free), via vaporetto (water taxi, free), or by singing gondolier (between five and fifteen euros per trip).
There are several possible suspects, including Antonio Fango, the shady IT dealer who works across from Nancy's temporary residence, Enrico Tazza , a member of the Machiano Crime Syndicate and a fence for stolen goods , Colin, who has past secrets to hide, and the mysterious (and ungracious) hostess La Contessa Margherita Fauberg. If you choose to ride a gondola (the amount varies depending on the gondolier), you're treated to a combination of still photos of Venice and rendered scenery which proves quite effective (along with the various Italian-language serenades taken from Italian opera and popular songs). The graphics are gorgeous as always; in scenes of the canals, visible from your bedroom balcony, the water ripples in real time. The background audio includes several conversations in Italian, but if you don't speak Italian, these aren't crucial to the game. I played the game on the Senior Detective level, which offers fewer step-by-step hints (there's no to-do list, for one) and more difficult puzzles, and the majority of the puzzles were sufficiently intuitive, but still challenging. The mysterious Phantom escapes detection, having knowledge of the security systems for each site.
You begin the game with 200 Euros, and if you budget very wisely, you won't need extra money (those fashionable shopping trips, gelato cones and singing gondoliers really add up). Also included are several flavors of Italian gelato, the Italian card game Scopa, the various Carnevale masks, and Venetian architecture.Nancy is working with the Guardia di Finanza, Italy's version of the FBI, to track the Phantom. A British art restorer, Colin Baxter, develops a huge crush on Nancy while working on the Ca' and tries in vain to win her affection. Many times, characters are simply commenting on the Phantom and his adventures, or about personal events.
This one was a little shorter, but still fun with great clues, puzzles, graphics and effects. This is another great Nancy Drew game and if you are a fan you will not be disappointed. My daughters and I play them together and love them.
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