Nancy Drew: Danger by Design

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 café and buying items from "junk" dealers.

Who will like this game? Nancy Drew Game fans will buy it. Young people who enjoy Nancy Drew books will enjoy it. And adults who are comfortable using the computer mouse and who like adventure games (with a storyline and with many puzzles that will take several minutes each to solve) will like it, too.

I've been a fan of these games since the first one - Secrets Can Kill - came out. I've played them all.

I'm not at all sure what's happened to the games, though. While the graphics have steadily improved, the puzzles, plot, and gameplay have really gone downhill.

The first game, "Secrets Can Kill" had pretty horrific graphics, but the story was compelling and there were some fabulous puzzles in it.

Things really picked up with the second game, "Stay Tuned for Danger". Better graphics and a very interesting story, very cool puzzles, great plot.

I can absolutely recommend Games 2 (Stay Tuned for Danger), 3 (Message in a Haunted Mansion), 4 (Treasure in the Royal Tower), 5 (The Final Scene), 6 (Secret of the Scarlet Hand), 7 (Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake), 9 (Danger on Deception Island), and 10 (Secret of Shadow Ranch).

These games are similar in length and have interesting puzzles. Lots of areas where you can snoop around - which I really enjoy.

Game #8 (The Haunted Carousel) is interesting and has wonderful graphics, but is awfully short.

I did not at all enjoy #11 (Curse of Blackmoor Manor) as I found it way too difficult. I also cannot really recommend #12 (Secret of the Old Clock). It was too short and repetitive.

I did somewhat enjoy #13 (Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon) and #14 (Danger by Design) but they were nowhere near the quality of the earlier games in terms of plot or puzzles.

And now, we have #14. Outstanding graphics, but way too short. The amount of repetition of puzzles in order to advance drove me completely crazy. I don't mind Nancy running about doing errands to help people (for that, I thought Games 3 and 4 had it perfectly balanced). But I like each task to be different and interesting. Not mind-numbingly repetitive and boring.

This seems to be a factor of the more recent games - delivering telegrams in Game #12, painting pictures in Game #14, and finding seashells and making necklaces in Game #15.

I miss looking for clues. Putting together evidence for a purpose. I miss puzzles that actually are woven into the fabric of the plot and are there to advance the game. It seems like the repetition now might be so that it can be said that this game took X number of hours to complete.

I did like the swimming through the tunnels part. But again, there really wasn't much snooping you could do. I miss Nancy being able to go into an area and really look around. And having it be up to me, the player, to determine whether what she is finding is relevant or not. It drove me crazy that I couldn't go anywhere at JJ's but the kitchen. And, even then, there really wasn't much snooping to be done.

I also miss learning useful things.

In #1, I learned about American Sign Language

In #3, I learned about Chinese symbols and the San Francisco earthquake

In #4, I learned about latitude and longitude and how a sextant works

In #6, I learned SO much about the Maya and how to work a HAM radio

In #7, I learned about Roman Numerals and Prohibition

In #8, I learned how to make invisible writing!

In #9, I learned how to work a HAM radio and about Pacific Northwest sea animals

After that, well, I didn't really learn very much of anything useful in any of the later games.

I had really high hopes about this game, though. There SHOULD have been so much to learn in Paris. The mystery had a lot to do with WWII, but it was never at all explored or really mentioned - except in passing.

If you've never played a Nancy Drew game, please, please, PLEASE do yourself a favor and start with one of the earlier games (although probably not the very first one - the graphics aren't as good and switching discs can be highly annoying). But give #2 - 9 a try; you won't be disappointed!

Oh please, Her Interactive, PLEASE go back to the way they used to be structured. I'd gladly sacrifice some of the improved graphics if it meant regaining some plot, cohesion, or integrated, interesting puzzles.

There is a lot to like about this installment in the Nancy Drew series: great graphics, good puzzles, lots of ground to explore. There are also some problems. I agree with other reviewers who complain about the lack of interaction with the characters. After about half the game is done, there is no significant dialogue with any of the characters. Also, the historical mystery on which the story centers has absolutely nothing to do with the strange incidents in Minette's studio that Nancy has been enlisted to investigate. These are solved by pure happenstance, which is somewhat disconcerting.

Personally, I thought the confrontation with the villain at the end was hysterical. I loved it.

Overall, I would recommend this game, but perhaps not to those with no Nancy Drew experience.

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