Rating: 
Summary: a puzzle-adventure perfect for young sleuths
Review: The seventh in the series, these games are relatively inexpensive yet provide hours of gameplay. In them, Nancy Drew, the college-aged female detective, explores mysteries and finds solutions to various puzzles. You can see the various improvements in this latest entry. The graphics are much smoother, and as you turn around in a given area the 'snapshot' quality is more of a flow. It's still not a fully immersive environment - in essence you go "to" a spot and then can turn left or right through set images of the room. You can point to a "hot spot" in the room to approach an item or examine it. Still, in a way this makes it easier for younger detectives to know what to do. If you can't click on something, it's not important. There's no violence or blood, although I do have to comment that the ghost dogs are rather scary! I have had younger teenage girls refuse to play some of the games I've lent them because they were too scary after a few hours. This one might fall into that category if you have a skittish nature. The dogs don't actually attack you, but their jumping on the doors, howling and rattling the house can be quite frightning. The game uses very logical puzzles that actually teach you things. You want to test water from a well, but first you have to learn the real technique for priming a pump and do it. You need to use a motorboat, but the pistons aren't in the proper cycle positions. Anyone who uses a boat would see this by looking at the engine, and they helpfully include a diagram to show you (i.e. Nancy) how to fix this before the engine will work. Notes at the ranger station warn you about Hantavirus, a real danger if you're cleaning areas where mice live. There are other puzzles - identifying birds, finding planks to get over rotten floorboards and so on - that fit in as well. In general the game does an admirable job of keeping the game very realistic-feeling, like you're really at this Pennsylvanian lake, amongst the locals there, exploring their world. On the downside, much of the game involves pony-trail sorts of handoffs. You know you need a spark plug. You might think it would be lying around nearby or that one would be in the house. But instead, searching all over creation finds none. Instead, you have to go to sleep, wake up at night, chat with someone who it so happens has one, go back to sleep again, and then in the morning use it. It can get extremely frustrating when at many times in the game you know what you *need* but just have to figure out how the game designers think you should *get* it. Still, many times this means that your gameplay time is stretched out as you wander around, explore, chat with people, and enjoy the world. It's not a game for people who want to race through to the end to have 'beaten it'. If you poke at a walkthrough site, you can probably do so in an hour or two. Instead, it's a game that, for a relatively low price, lets you wander through a well realized world, exercise those "little grey cells" in your brain, and really become knowledgeable about a number of intersting subjects. Give yourself time to have fun with this one!
Rating:
Summary: Nancy Drew Scores Again!
Review: After playing all of the Nancy Drew games, so far this is the best. This suspensful game kept me on the edge of my seat and led me guessing away. Herr Interactive scores again with a superb game for young girls.
Rating: 
Summary: A bit of a disapointment
Review: I WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING THIS GAME AFTER READING SOME OF THE REVIEWS, IT SEEMED TO HAVE ALL THE INGREDIENTS OF A GREAT MYSTERY.
ALTHOUGH THE GAME HAD THE POTENTIAL TO EXPAND TO A GREAT EVOLVING SUSPENCE, I FELT IT DID NOT FULLY TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY. THE RESULTS WERE IN MY OPINION, FLAT CHARACTERS WHO'S PERSONALITYS BEG TO BE WOKEN UP, A LACK OF EXPLORATION INTO THE MANY ROOMS IN THE GAME, IE DEXTERS ROOM , JAQUES ROOM ETC YOU I FELT AS THOUGH I WAS PLAYING ONLY HALF A GAME. THEN IT ALL ENDS TOO QUICKLY FOR THE PRICE. I CERTAINLY WAS LEFT FEELING IS THAT IT. I HAVE NOW PLAYED ALL THE NANCY DREW GAMES , THEY ARE NICE BUT TOO SHORT IF YOUR HOPING IT WILL SEE YOU THROUGH THE FESTIVE SEASON.
Rating: 
Summary: Great training for more advanced puzzle games
Review: There's a series of Nancy Drew detective stories out. These are great games for any puzzle solver in your life, young or old, male or female! In this installment, Nancy Drew is in St Louis to visit a friend, Maya. Her friend is kidnapped, and Nancy has three days to help rescue her before a theater is torn down - perhaps with Maya inside it! I was very encouraged to find Nancy done as an intelligent young woman who was still very realistic. Other games involving female heroines, like The Longest Journey and Syberia, tend to make them 'girly' and bubble-headed. This definitely isn't the case with Nancy. Nancy loves to chat with her friends and boyfriend, and shows her youth, but she also has a level head and intelligence. The game is on a relatively small map, so you're not trekking around from world to world. You get to know the theater quite well, and the few people that you deal with. On one hand this is good, because you don't have hours of wandering back and forth to do. On the other hand, this can get frustrating. You've already talked to the main people involved ... but suddenly after doing one trigger action they've vanished, or have thought up something new to say? And you don't ask the obvious questions like 'where were you?' until much later? So you end up wandering around the theater, going back to every single room, going to talk to every person, multiple times until they move into their 'next stage' of conversation. I played at the senior level, but found most of the puzzles extremely easy. The two puzzles I didn't solve immediately were both incredibly annoying. In one, I read the manual several times and tried everything I could think of to get the pieces to spin. I must have clicked on the pieces hundreds of times. But apparently I wasn't clicking on the piece in the exact right spot, and my boyfriend had to fight with it for a while before chancing on that. In the second sticker, I had a PDA with a secret code required to get into it. I had a wallet full of numbers including the character's boyfriend's birthday. I tried for eons to get various codes to work. The ending solution was a totally random one. In both cases I was very frustrated to have wasted so much time for that solution. I actually lived in St Louis for a year, and my then-boyfriend worked at Wash U near a building they mention. I was impressed that they did their research well, mentioning streets and areas that exist around there. Unfortunately my ex in real life turned out to be pretty slimy, so during the game I was rooting for him to be caught in the theater when it collapsed :) It was both fun and bizarre to have all sorts of very recognizeable St Louis references come up in the story. The scenes are very lovely, but they're all static. Unlike most modern day games that let you walk through an area smoothly, in this one you're restricted to moving through a 'picture book' of scenes, where you can only turn to certain angles. This made it frustrating when I wanted to go to a certain door or look a certain way. Often I had to circle around a few times to get pointed in the direction I wanted, or the game prevented me from looking at the object I wanted to see. Some drawers would open, others were magically withheld from you. It took away from the sense that you were really "there". Still, except for the few nasty puzzles, the majority of the game was very pleasant, and lasted maybe 5-6 hours. If you have a walkthrough guide within reach while you play, you can enjoy the rest of the experience sort of like an 'animated story book', and it's great practice for the more advanced puzzle games that exist out there.
Rating:
Summary: My Review
Review: I thought this game was OK... not nearly as good as the first Nancy Drew game I played (Treasure in the Royal Tower) I knew who the kidnapper was from the first time I talked to them... and it became pretty boring after that. The theater is way too dark and it's really hard to see around it. There aren't enough places to explore like there were in Treasure in the Royal Tower. Overall, it's a pretty good game, but not as good as some of the others.
Rating:
Summary: Good but not the best.
Review: This is the second Nancy Drew game that I've played (Treasure in the Royal Tower was my first) I thought this game was good, but not nearly as good as the other one. There aren't nearly as many places to explore, and I finished this game pretty quickly, while the other one took me days and days. It's also not nearly as exciting as the other one. Overall though, I would reccomend it... but it's a letdown from the previous game I played.
Rating:
Summary: A five star museum.
Review: The game Secret of the Scarlet Hand is a fabulous game! The museum setting is amazing. You learn about Myan history and art. It is such a fun setting. The characters are perfect for the game. You feel like you are in the museum. All of the Nancy Drew games are creative, fun and educational games. I can't help but play when my kids aren't watching. The problem is you don't want to stop until the mystery is solved. This is one of the greatest games yet, it even moves ahead of my favorite, Treasure in the Royal Tower. I can't wait to see where you will go in future games.
Rating:
Summary: Nancy did it again!!
Review: This game imerses you into Nancy Drew's life. You become the sleuth.You feel like you are actually there in the cabin, walking around in the woods. You can almost smell the mustyness of the cabin. It it an addicting game you are determined to play until you finish. It is such an intriguing creative game, with a great surprise ending!
Rating:
Summary: Ghost Dogs rock..........
Review: What a supurb game....It is so much fun to be Nancy and spend your day as Nancy.....I feel like I am at the lake...I thought the dogs were "scary" at first,,,,, because you feel like you are there in the cabin. But they are pretty cool after the initial game play with them.....You can go outside safely.....Its a great game, I highly recommend it for any kids over about age 8...
Rating:
Summary: Ghost Dogs rock..........
Review: I love playing all of the Nancy Drew games, and this game is no exception..... It has intrigue....it makes you think and solve problems......Best of all it is so fun to play.....I loved this game. Where will Nancy take us in her next game....I can't wait !!!...
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