The ever-young and intrepid teen detective, Nancy Drew, is back in an all-new detective mystery game. What starts as a seemingly straightforward intern job at Beech Hill Museum in Washington, DC, quickly develops into a mystery requiring some serious detective work after a carving of an ancient Mayan king, Pacal, has been stolen.
Playing as Nancy in first-person perspective, children travel between the museum and its grounds and Nancy's hotel room via the Washington Metro system. As they progress through the game, more locations on the subway map open up (such as the hospital, only after Henrik winds up there). They meet up with Joanna Riggs, the curator who closed the deal on bringing a myserious monolith to the museum, and find out that they have a list of tasks to complete as part of Nancy's internship. They must find the Lab (which was very tricky for us to find!) and read the task list. Along the way, they meet with a number of characters. After completing some of the tasks, a siren sounds, and in the place of the jade carving of King Pacal is a Scarlet Hand.
As is true with all of the Nancy Drew mysteries to date, each person Nancy meets quickly becomes a suspect. Nancy engages in interactive conversations with these characters, multiple-choice style. Suspects include a somewhat haughty translator named Henrik van der Hune who was willing to take a pay-cut to come to the Museum in order to translate the glyphs on the monolith; Joanna Riggs herself (why did she say that cinnabar was no longer available?); a pretentious art dealer, Taylor Sinclair; and Alejandro del Rio, the attache to the Mexican consulate who is angry that the monolith is at the Museum.
There are plenty of built-in puzzles to complete throughout the adventure. For example, one of the tasks that Nancy must perform involves reordering a Maya Numbering exhibit in the exhibition hall. This requires learning the meanings of Mayan symbols--some numbers are represented by bars and dots, and others by pictures of Mayan gods. Before they can begin the reordering, players need to have found two misplaced tiles. Additionally, they will need to rely on clues left behind by a rather wayward, creative, and funny ex-employee. Another task involves completing a Temple Quiz. This requires reading and listening to the various exhibits in the Museum's exhibition hall.
The game demands plenty of retracing steps and thorough investigation of all areas--including filing cabinets, desk drawers, the exhibits, notebooks, journals, and more. Some items attach to the cursor, and players need to store these in their inventory and use them in appropriate locations later in the game (such as a key, floppy disk, and the Scarlet Hand itself).
This latest title in the series is more educational than previous releases. Players learn quite a bit about Mayan culture and history--even some unusual facts, such as dangling beads in front of infants' faces to encourage crossed eyes (they were considered desirable). They have to answer quiz questions by referring to the information provided in the exhibits (such as the name of the supreme god in Maya mythology).
An important new feature is found in Nancy's laptop computer in her hotel room. Her notes automatically appear onscreen, and these serve not only as a nice recap of the steps players have taken thus far, but they also provide hints as to what players might do next. More hints can be gained through phone conversations with Nancy's friends, Bess and George. And, for the first time in the series, Nancy even talks to the Hardy Boys on the phone. Players occasionally need to set Nancy's alarm clock to a later point in time. For example, if they need to speak with Joanna and she is not in her office, a stop back at the hotel will reveal that it is late at night, so setting the alarm to regular working hours will help. Players will also need to jot down phone numbers and other information as they move ahead in the adventure. This feature adds much to the fantasy of playing detective.
This program requires more attention to detail than the previous titles in the series. Scarlet Hand is quite complex and involving, but it is also engrossing and, ultimately, satisfying. The box states the game is for ages 10 and up, but we feel that 12 and up is more realistic.
The atmosphere of the game is wonderful, with some very true-to-life graphics, an eerie soundtrack, and excellent ambient sounds. We love the series' attention to details and responsible role models. Little things, like a male nurse (Nurse Bluefoot), amusing doodles and comments in Sonny's journal, and so forth, add much to the overall atmosphere.
In the end, Nancy catches the thief "red-handed", so to speak. This is our favorite game of the series. The characters are well-developed, navigation is somewhat improved (although we still complain about the extra step of having to click on the doorknobs in order to enter rooms), and it lasts longer than the others.
For those girls who haven't yet been turned on to the Nancy Drew mystery novel series, this program may just kindle an interest. Those who are already fans will find this game as addictive as the page-turning novels. Besides their powers of observation, kids need to exercise patience and perseverance in order to make it through to the exciting conclusion. Do keep in mind that this latest title is probably the most challenging of the series.
