Nancy Drew: Deadly Secret of Olde World Park

Release Date: September 18, 2007

Platform: Nintendo DS

The Good: Intriguing mystery; $tyle of the series is implemented well; Pleasant graphics.

The Bad: Fairly straightforward; Only one level of difficulty; Mini-games don't offer much replay value.

A year ago exactly, Majesco released Nancy Drew: Deadly Secret of Olde World Park for the Nintendo DS. Several games starring Ms. Drew have been made for the PC, and fans of the brave heroine will be pleased to know her debut on the portable system is quite enjoyable and ties well into the series.

Deadly Secret offers an interesting plot that definitely captures the essence of a Nancy Drew novel. Characters from the books appear in the game, and the story is presented with hand-drawn slides and comic book font. Nancy is asked by a friend to help locate a missing dress before the grand opening of a new amusement park. The teenage detective eventually discovers the creator of the park has gone missing days before the extravaganza and decides to investigate. It seems someone's after the famous owner and Nancy wants to find out before it's too late...

Gameplay mostly involves questioning and coercing individuals (which requires playing bland mini-games in some instances), exploring a variety of locations, and interacting with objects that advance the plot. (i.e. listening to a tape recording of a character who disappeared days later) Neat concepts come into play, such as lurking in the shadows and breaking into safes.

Graphically, DSOWP looks quite nice. It's refreshing to see a licensed game with polished 3D models and environments. They may not be overly detailed but the overall design is well done. While motions are limited, Nancy moves smoothly with very few glitches.

Unfortunately, no voice work is included, but players may prefer reading instead of listening to grating voice-overs. The background tunes are passable and fit the game well, but are easily forgettable.

The entire game is marred by interaction icons that reduce the amount of investigating by a large margin. This may be a welcome aspect for young audiences, but it would've been nice if multiple difficulty levels were offered or the option of removing the symbols was included.

The length of the adventure varies, depending on your eagerness to complete the game. Fervent fans may finish in just a few hours but playing the game in short intervals is advised. It's an excellent game for children to work through together. Once completed, though, there isn't much reason to revisit the same mystery.

Flaws aside, Nancy Drew's first outing onto the DS is a welcome one. Players looking for an amusing and interactive mystery should look no further than Deadly Secret. Although the follow up to it on the DS faltered this is a game worth checking out. Let's hope the third entry in the series follows in the footsteps of the original.

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