Nancy Drew: Ransom Of The Seven Ships Review

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(More customer reviews)The ND games are always at least moderately fun, but this one offers something of a departure from the feel of previous efforts. Largely, I found it fell short.
From almost the first moment of the game, you're presented with a lengthy and ever-increasing list of tasks to accomplish. Thankfully, these can be completed in pretty much whatever order you like; however, the motivation behind them is rarely more than "because El Toro/Johnny/that squawking bird said so." Even at the end, there's no real sense of urgency - perhaps because there's practically no one to talk to. No phone, no funny e-mails, no Prudence Rutherford. Just a stressed out George and a none-too-talkative beach bum. There are barely any suspects, and while the big villain reveal at the end is clever, for me it took away from the story not to try to figure out whodunit on my own. Also, the island, while beautifully depicted, is limited. Driving and sailing have always felt like time wasters to me - I much prefer the near-instant mass transit systems of some previous games - and the locations offer little to explore beyond the bare essentials.
As I mentioned, the game is highly task- and puzzle-driven. I found some of these puzzles to be obtuse or simply way too hard; at times I knew what I had to do, but I just couldn't do it in the limited time available or without what seemed like a lucky stroke. One of the mini-games is a (long) game of complete chance, which I don't remember ever happening in an ND game before and is really pretty boring. The puzzles might have been more of a pleasant mental exercise and less of an irritation if not that so many of them were timed. I've never needed so many second chances before, and found myself resorting to the Internet to get the solution because I got sick of either dying and restarting or leaving the puzzle to refill my air tank and return.
Unlike many of the previous ND games, I had little sense of discovery or excitement with this one. There's no deep storyline to unfold or layers of secrets to discover. There's just a lot of traipsing around the island collecting stuff that seems completely pointless until it's required by a later puzzle. If you like the ND games for the mental workout of the puzzles, you'll love this one; if you prefer the character interaction, the snooping, the suspense, and the wit of many of the previous games, this one won't be your favorite. It's not mine.

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What could be better than an all-expense paid vacation in the Bahamaswith Bess and George? But when Bess is kidnapped and held for ransom,it's up to you, as Nancy Drew, to discover the treasures of the sunken"Seven Virtues" fleet and find the missing artifact that the kidnappersare demanding in exchange for Bess. Team up with George to sail throughthe perilous waters of this mystery and defeat the dastardly villain!

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