Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion

Rating:
Summary: Fun, but confusing
Review: "Message in a Haunted Mansion" was my second Nancy Drew game (my first was "The Final Scene.") The graphics are beautiful, with numerous little details that really made the Victorian mansion come alive. Nancy is staying with a friend and helping her fix up a Victorian mansion that she is going to turn into a B&B, except strange accidents keep happening that delay the grand opening. Is the house really haunted?

The only problem I encountered was that I must have played out of order, because I kept finding clues and I had no idea what they were related to. The story seemed disjointed and not as in-depth as with "Treasure in the Royal Tower." But I really enjoyed the bandit/Chinese subplot, the séance, and the many puzzles. The sound effects were genuinely creepy: one minute you will be walking down the hallway and the sound of a woman crying comes from nowhere. Or you're walking up a deserted staircase and you hear ghostly whispers.

There are two levels, junior and senior detective. The puzzles are slightly harder for senior detectives, but the plot is the same. If you get stuck you can call your friends Bess and George for hints. I needed to look online for hints quite a bit since, as I said earlier, I must have missed clues since large parts of the story were missing for me.

One of the things that bugged me was the fact that there really weren't many places to explore. You can't leave the house, and you only have access to your room and one other room, the attic, the dining room, parlor, and basement. I was hoping for more rooms/secret passageways to explore. Not having more locations really cut down on the game's length/replayability.

Overall, "Message in a Haunted Mansion" is a fun outing for detectives: a chance to explore a spooky haunted house, gather clues, learn about Chinese art and writing, and dig up clues about a timeless love story and hidden treasure.

Rating:
Summary: You'll Love It!
Review: My sister started to get into the Nancy Drew series, so for Christmas, my Mom bought my sister Nancy Drew: Message In A Haunted Mansion. My sister started it, but she really has no enthusium for computer games. So it sat by our computer for a couple of months until curiousness got me. I didn't expect much and figured I'd be bored because I'm 15 and this looked a little juvenile to me. I was completley wrong. Right from the beginning, I was hooked. I would be on my computer for hours trying to solve case. I was completley intrigued. I was playing the game so much that my family had to tear me away from the computer just so they could check their mail. I loved the story line, the fun chinese history that tied in with it, I loved all the mystery, problem and puzzle solving, and spending hours working on the mystery. I would definetly recommend this game to everyone (even my 9 year old brother played it and loved it)who wants to spend countless hours on the computer trying to solve a fun, mystery filled, and exciting case. It's a great game, you'll love it!

Also recommend: Nancy Drew: Treasure In A Royal Tower. It's even better then Message In A Haunted Mansion!

Rating:
Summary: Great game for Boys and Girls!
Review: My son was 9 when we played this game together. It was a lot of fun and we spent about 2 weeks solving it. It was very satisfying and not as frustrating as other Nancy Drew titles. I highly recommend this game. This game is not for girls only! My son loves most of the Nancy Drew series.

Rating:
Summary: Fun But Could Be A Lot Better
Review: I read Nancy Drew religiously in my early teenage years and although I outgrew the books about ten years ago, I was still anxious to try these games when I heard of them. I have now played three of them (SCK and FIN are the other two) and The Final Scene is the only one of them that I would recommend to anyone. This one was fun, but it just isn't worth buying. It has some cool puzzles and clues to solve, but it just didn't take long enough. I finished it in about half of the 20 hours that the package promises and I played on senior level. And I'm not a genious or anything. I even failed a couple of classes in high school. The characters in the story were kind of flat and dull, too. And the game is just way too limited. From the title, I was expecting a big mansion with lots of rooms and secret passages to explore. Upstairs, you can only go in to one bedroom besides Nancy's and then the attic. Downstairs, you could only go into the front entrance area, the parlor, library, and dining room. Then there was the basement. There just wasn't enough places to explore. Another complaint I have about this game, along with the others I've played, is that, for the most part, the characters stay in the same places doing the same things. They leave at certain times so you can search the areas they're in, but other than that they're always in the same places doing the same things unless it's absolutely necessary that they be somewhere else. It would just add so much realism, not to mention length, to the games if you could go more places and if you had to search for someone when you wanted to talk with them instead of being able to just go right to them. It's not like the game designers have to put the characters in fifteen or twenty different places. Just having the characters in two or three places throughout the game would be enough. There should also be more interaction with the characters. It would also make the games a lot better if George, Bess, or Ned were actually in it instead of just being on the phone. Or maybe have Nancy's father or Hannah in it and Nancy could go home and discuss the case with them. Sure, this would make the designers' jobs harder, but if you're going to do something, do it right. Because I really do not feel like paying 20+ dollars for a game like this if it's only going to take me a few hours to play it. Because these games are really not that good after you've played them once. Most of the game is just searching for clues and talking with suspects and once you know where everything is and what everyone's going to say, the game is just not that fun. I'll play them a second time just to see if I missed anything the first time, but after that they're pretty much useless.

Rating:
Summary: Mystery and Fun for ages 12 and up
Review: In this game, you play as Nancy Drew, the famous girl detective. You're in an old Victorian mansion in San Francisco, helping a friend renovate it so that she can open it as a bed and breakfast. However, when you take a closer look, there have been many delays and accidents occuring. There are four suspects to interview - Rose, the worried owner, Abby, her business partner who thinks the house is haunted, Louis, an antiques dealer who has a strong interest in the renovation, and Charlie, the somewhat inexperienced handyman. Rather than just hearing Nancy talk, you can choose from a list what you'd like her to say. There are also four levels of the house to explore, including a basement and an attic. You use your cursor (which looks like a magnifying glass) to zoom in on clues. You can read books and magazines, snoop around in boxes and drawers, and solve puzzles to find important clues. Everything is important, and it's easy to overlook something. You can also call up your friends, Bess and George, Hannah or Emily to get information and even hints, but only if you want them. There are two levels of difficulty to choose from, Junior and Senior detective. The difference between the levels are the hints you get and how difficult it is to solve puzzles. The game is just difficult enough to be challenging, but not so much to be overwhelming. However, I think that it's definately too difficult for most ten year olds. This game is great because it's not only fun - it's educational,too. For example, you learn about the Gold Rush and investigate Chinese writing. It makes you think even when you're not learning, too. I took about four and a half pages worth of notes playing this game, including diagrams, clues, and Chinese characters. Even a super-sleuth will take a while to solve this game. It's really fun and entertaining for everybody, whether you play with a friend or sibling or by yourself. The animation is terrific, as well as the 3D setting. The actors who played the voices of the characters were fantastic as well, and the music fit the spooky setting perfectly. Overall, it's a wonderful game. Everybody should give this game a try, as well as these other Nancy Drew games: Treasure in the Royal Tower, The Final Scene, and The Secret of the Scarlet Hand.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This game is the next one to stay tuned for danger and is five times better than it, this is one of the best Nancy Drews by far.The graphics are great and is a bit scary too.At any point in the game, it never got boring and at some parts I had to let my sister control the mouse! If you are getting a Nancy Drew game, get this one(...).

Rating:
Summary: Great! Fun! And Thrilling!
Review: I have read every one of the Nancy Drew books and was always a big fan. I was delighted when I saw this game in the store. This is the first Nancy Drew computer game that I got and boy am I hooked.
In Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion, you, Nancy Drew, are asked to come to the mansion to investigate the unusual things that have been happening. You get to travel the mansion, look for clues, and talk to the suspects. Along the way you can find secret panels, rooms, doors, etc. Everyone has a motive and means to be behind the mysterious happenings at the mansion, but only one is the culprit. Even though I know it is just a game, I still felt that chill run down my spine and that impending sense of danger.
There are two levels in this game, Junior and Senior.
The Junior level is a lot easier and you get most clues read out loud to you. Special clues are illuminated and if you get stuck or don't know what to do, you can call Bess and George to get help.
The Senior level is a little harder.(Of course) You don't get the clues read out loud to you and well, you have to do more thinking for yourself.
But in either level, the villian is still the same. Remember to get all the tools that you can and that everything that is specially pointed out to you is very important. Take notes!
This is a really good game! A must for all adventureous and daring girls of all ages! I'm sure that the other Nancy Drew computer games are just as good, but this one is great!
Just a final note- Remember, what goes up, must come down.

Rating:
Summary: Get a clue!
Review: This game is a great deal of fun, but there are a couple of things to know before you buy it as a gift. First, some clues are written in journal / letter form in old style brown script making it tough for kids to read. Second, the help option is limited as the only option is phone calls from the parlor phone. Third, start off by writing down all the clues to keep from running around to re-check what you thought you saw or read. Fourth, don't go places without the pry bar or lantern, trust me on this, my daughter got fatally trapped. Then the second chance option is cool, and comes in handy. Master the clock settings to get you in the clear where you need to be time wise. And finally when you are ready to solve the mystery save the game right away before you make your final move. Because second chance won't take you back far enough to help you in the event of a surprise.Enjoy the game, it is fun to play with your child and the graphics are pretty good!

Rating:
Summary: Nancy Drew CD game- Message in a Haunted Mansion #4
Review: This is a great game that will have you on the edges of your seats. Lots of times I found myself startled by the spooky sounds and clues in this game. The important clues are well hidden and hard to find at times. I enjoyed this thrilling game.

Rating:
Summary: great game
Review: This game is great.You as nancy go to a seceance, sneak into abbys room and stop a fire.The graphics are much better than secrets can kill.
This was the first nancy drew game I played and I finished it in two weeks.This nancy drew game is great for beginers and fun for more expereanced players. You cant miss this game.