gzsfrk
09-07-2010, 09:40 AM
Title: Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill - Remastered
Platform: PC / Mac
Platform Reviewed: PC
Developer: Transgaming (http://www.transgaming.com/)
Publisher: Her Interactive (http://www.herinteractive.com/index.php)
MSRP: $19.99
Writer: Matt 'gzsfrk' Williams
Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill Review
Putting the “Myst” In Mystery
I’m a big fan of remakes, especially those that are done well. From the Apogee resurrection of Jumpman (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/jumpman-lives) in the early 90s to more modern makeovers like Bionic Commando Rearmed (http://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/b/bcrearmedxboxlivearcade/) and Earthworm Jim HD (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/e/earthwormjimxbla/), few things in this brilliant hobby of ours make me happier than a well-executed re-imagining of my fondest gaming memories. And apparently I’m not the only one; remakes are big business these days, as evidenced by the steady stream (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_remakes) of re-releases which have made their way to market in recent years. Far from being a console phenomenon, the PC is also seeing its share of game make-overs, some of which are for games you might never have even heard of the first time around. Witness Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill - Remastered.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/nancy_drew_world_map.jpg
Never heard of it? Me either. But here’s a brief bit of history:
For those unaware, “Nancy Drew” is a long-running series (first introduced in 1930) of mystery novels targeted at young women that detail the sleuthing adventures of a young high-school girl who is also a part-time detective. Secrets Can Kill is the first novel in The Nancy Drew Files (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Drew_Files), a re-imagining of Nancy Drew that was darker and contained more mature content than previous incarnations. Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/nancy-drew-secrets-can-kill) (released in 1998) was the first video game created around the Nancy Drew license. There was nothing groundbreaking about the title, although it was based on the well-written (if not short) story and was more similar to puzzler-favorite Myst (http://www.mobygames.com/game/myst) than most traditional adventure games.
In celebration of the first Nancy Drew novel published 80 years ago, publisher Her Interactive decided to create a commemorative edition of the game titled Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill - Remastered. Mostly a graphical update, the Remastered edition actually changes up some of the story elements (including the ending) in an effort to keep the tale fresh for those who played the original or who might have read the book. And while the graphics in the new version have certainly been given a good once over from the 1998 release, it’s actually surprising to compare screenshots from the two and see how little has actually (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l13f5aKU_V4/S7P_3OSo-dI/AAAAAAAACmg/B7y856wiObE/s1600/Nancy+Drew+1+-+Secrets+Can+Kill+2.jpg) changed (http://i52.tinypic.com/6hjbed.jpg). For some parts, it appears as though the developer took the concept of “remastering” a bit too literally, as a few of the locations appear all but identical if not a bit higher in resolution. The most notable upgrade is to the characters Nancy encounters during her investigation. In the original game, they were comprised of 2D illustrated characters (http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/764/19092_full.jpg). This time around, however, nice-looking (if not a bit generic) 3D models are used.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/nancy_drew_secret message.jpg
The gameplay itself remains identical to that of the game’s Myst-like predecessor. Rather than moving around in a real-time rendered 3D world, the player instead navigates a series of still photos with the only significant animations delivered in the form of pre-rendered cut-scenes. While this might have been dated even during the time of the game’s original release in 1998, it was still at least somewhat understandable that a game which required detailed, high-fidelity screens for the player to inspect might have to make some compromises with regard to animation in order to achieve the needed level of visual detail. However, given the abilities of even low-end modern PCs and Macs, taking the same approach in the remastered edition makes the game feel extremely dated if not outright antique. It’s all the less forgivable seeing as there are only three locales for Nancy to visit: the school, the diner, and her aunt’s house--rather a small game world.
Obsolete engine aside, the actual investigative aspects of the game and the associated puzzles are surprisingly intricate and challenging. Bear in mind that I have played through literally dozens of adventure, mystery, and logic puzzle games over the years as they are all favorite genres of mine. But I have to admit that I was genuinely challenged during at least two parts of Secrets Can Kill. To be sure, I made it through the entire game without resorting to help from a walkthrough. But there were several occasions during which I reached the point of having to scratch my head and wonder, “Well--what now?”
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/nancy_drew_smart_guy.jpg
I’ll also confess that this is the first game in YEARS for which I’ve had to keep a separate text editor window open in order to jot down notes to work out some of the more dastardly puzzles. That’s not to say the game doesn’t give you a way of doing this internally; indeed, Nancy is equipped with a cell phone which she can use to snap pictures of any scene or piece of evidence in the game which can then be later referenced when needed. But due to the triple-layered complexity of the game’s central puzzle, I literally had to type out the data I had collected and then sequence it by hand--something all but unheard of in modern hold-your-hand-through-the-hard-part games.
There’s a legitimate complaint to be made that the game DOES, in fact, hold your hand a little too much in some ways. For example, it uses hot-spot cursor highlighting to let you know when your mouse is over an “important” place on the screen with which you can interact. It also has a built-in hint system of sorts in that Nancy can call her absent love interest Ned and ask for his guidance, after which he’ll provide either direct advice or an ambiguous clue as to what his sleuthy gal pal should do next.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/nancy_drew_puzzle.jpg
All said, it took me about 5 hours to complete the game, which for a budget title honestly isn’t too bad. But as much as I would like to strongly recommend Secrets Can Kill - Remastered, I really can’t do so except to the most dedicated adventure game enthusiast who didn’t play the first game (or, I guess, to the hardcore Nancy-phile). Despite the fact that I really enjoyed being challenged by the game’s old-school, no-mercy approach to its riddles, the obsolete implementation, short duration, and limited replay value (there are three levels of difficulty to choose from which change the game slightly) mean that this is one remake that holds a very limited niche appeal.
Score: 2 out of 5
http://evavhost.com/public/2.gif
The Good
The puzzles can be fiendishly hard--but in a good, satisfying way.
The story is actually pretty solid.
Umm... BREAKOUT!
The Bad
The game world is very small with only three locations you can visit, which also makes it quite short.
Even after being updated from the original game, the graphics are still quite lackluster. And the Myst-style navigation hasn’t aged well at all.
The voice acting is laughably bad.
The Ugly
Aunt Eloise’s alarming willingness to leave Nancy in the care of some strange, unknown man. (Heaven help Nancy if Sion (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1833688&postcount=4) were ever to meet her.)
Platform: PC / Mac
Platform Reviewed: PC
Developer: Transgaming (http://www.transgaming.com/)
Publisher: Her Interactive (http://www.herinteractive.com/index.php)
MSRP: $19.99
Writer: Matt 'gzsfrk' Williams
Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill Review
Putting the “Myst” In Mystery
I’m a big fan of remakes, especially those that are done well. From the Apogee resurrection of Jumpman (http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/jumpman-lives) in the early 90s to more modern makeovers like Bionic Commando Rearmed (http://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/b/bcrearmedxboxlivearcade/) and Earthworm Jim HD (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/e/earthwormjimxbla/), few things in this brilliant hobby of ours make me happier than a well-executed re-imagining of my fondest gaming memories. And apparently I’m not the only one; remakes are big business these days, as evidenced by the steady stream (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_remakes) of re-releases which have made their way to market in recent years. Far from being a console phenomenon, the PC is also seeing its share of game make-overs, some of which are for games you might never have even heard of the first time around. Witness Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill - Remastered.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/nancy_drew_world_map.jpg
Never heard of it? Me either. But here’s a brief bit of history:
For those unaware, “Nancy Drew” is a long-running series (first introduced in 1930) of mystery novels targeted at young women that detail the sleuthing adventures of a young high-school girl who is also a part-time detective. Secrets Can Kill is the first novel in The Nancy Drew Files (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Drew_Files), a re-imagining of Nancy Drew that was darker and contained more mature content than previous incarnations. Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill (http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/nancy-drew-secrets-can-kill) (released in 1998) was the first video game created around the Nancy Drew license. There was nothing groundbreaking about the title, although it was based on the well-written (if not short) story and was more similar to puzzler-favorite Myst (http://www.mobygames.com/game/myst) than most traditional adventure games.
In celebration of the first Nancy Drew novel published 80 years ago, publisher Her Interactive decided to create a commemorative edition of the game titled Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill - Remastered. Mostly a graphical update, the Remastered edition actually changes up some of the story elements (including the ending) in an effort to keep the tale fresh for those who played the original or who might have read the book. And while the graphics in the new version have certainly been given a good once over from the 1998 release, it’s actually surprising to compare screenshots from the two and see how little has actually (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_l13f5aKU_V4/S7P_3OSo-dI/AAAAAAAACmg/B7y856wiObE/s1600/Nancy+Drew+1+-+Secrets+Can+Kill+2.jpg) changed (http://i52.tinypic.com/6hjbed.jpg). For some parts, it appears as though the developer took the concept of “remastering” a bit too literally, as a few of the locations appear all but identical if not a bit higher in resolution. The most notable upgrade is to the characters Nancy encounters during her investigation. In the original game, they were comprised of 2D illustrated characters (http://www.gamershell.com/static/screenshots/764/19092_full.jpg). This time around, however, nice-looking (if not a bit generic) 3D models are used.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/nancy_drew_secret message.jpg
The gameplay itself remains identical to that of the game’s Myst-like predecessor. Rather than moving around in a real-time rendered 3D world, the player instead navigates a series of still photos with the only significant animations delivered in the form of pre-rendered cut-scenes. While this might have been dated even during the time of the game’s original release in 1998, it was still at least somewhat understandable that a game which required detailed, high-fidelity screens for the player to inspect might have to make some compromises with regard to animation in order to achieve the needed level of visual detail. However, given the abilities of even low-end modern PCs and Macs, taking the same approach in the remastered edition makes the game feel extremely dated if not outright antique. It’s all the less forgivable seeing as there are only three locales for Nancy to visit: the school, the diner, and her aunt’s house--rather a small game world.
Obsolete engine aside, the actual investigative aspects of the game and the associated puzzles are surprisingly intricate and challenging. Bear in mind that I have played through literally dozens of adventure, mystery, and logic puzzle games over the years as they are all favorite genres of mine. But I have to admit that I was genuinely challenged during at least two parts of Secrets Can Kill. To be sure, I made it through the entire game without resorting to help from a walkthrough. But there were several occasions during which I reached the point of having to scratch my head and wonder, “Well--what now?”
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/nancy_drew_smart_guy.jpg
I’ll also confess that this is the first game in YEARS for which I’ve had to keep a separate text editor window open in order to jot down notes to work out some of the more dastardly puzzles. That’s not to say the game doesn’t give you a way of doing this internally; indeed, Nancy is equipped with a cell phone which she can use to snap pictures of any scene or piece of evidence in the game which can then be later referenced when needed. But due to the triple-layered complexity of the game’s central puzzle, I literally had to type out the data I had collected and then sequence it by hand--something all but unheard of in modern hold-your-hand-through-the-hard-part games.
There’s a legitimate complaint to be made that the game DOES, in fact, hold your hand a little too much in some ways. For example, it uses hot-spot cursor highlighting to let you know when your mouse is over an “important” place on the screen with which you can interact. It also has a built-in hint system of sorts in that Nancy can call her absent love interest Ned and ask for his guidance, after which he’ll provide either direct advice or an ambiguous clue as to what his sleuthy gal pal should do next.
http://evavhost.com/i/reviews/nancy_drew_puzzle.jpg
All said, it took me about 5 hours to complete the game, which for a budget title honestly isn’t too bad. But as much as I would like to strongly recommend Secrets Can Kill - Remastered, I really can’t do so except to the most dedicated adventure game enthusiast who didn’t play the first game (or, I guess, to the hardcore Nancy-phile). Despite the fact that I really enjoyed being challenged by the game’s old-school, no-mercy approach to its riddles, the obsolete implementation, short duration, and limited replay value (there are three levels of difficulty to choose from which change the game slightly) mean that this is one remake that holds a very limited niche appeal.
Score: 2 out of 5
http://evavhost.com/public/2.gif
The Good
The puzzles can be fiendishly hard--but in a good, satisfying way.
The story is actually pretty solid.
Umm... BREAKOUT!
The Bad
The game world is very small with only three locations you can visit, which also makes it quite short.
Even after being updated from the original game, the graphics are still quite lackluster. And the Myst-style navigation hasn’t aged well at all.
The voice acting is laughably bad.
The Ugly
Aunt Eloise’s alarming willingness to leave Nancy in the care of some strange, unknown man. (Heaven help Nancy if Sion (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1833688&postcount=4) were ever to meet her.)