Nancy Drew: Trail of the Twister Review

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(More customer reviews)Here's the setup: P.G. Krolmeister--yes, THAT P.G. Krolmeister--has hired you to investigate a series of accidents befalling a team of Oklahoma storm chasers. As expected, the storm chasers are a bit of a motley crew, with the stirrings of distinctive, engaging personalities. By completing a series of assigned tasks, you move the plot forward without too much free exploration or play. However, unlike the equally task-driven Ransom of the Seven Ships, these puzzles are thoroughly solvable and not too time-consuming--which is too bad, because that's pretty much what you do. Talk to Debbie. Receive tasks. Complete tasks. Move on. This goes along at a pretty good clip; I watched the credits 10 hours on the nose after completing installation, and I did not play the game the entire time.
With such a shallow experience, the ending felt sudden and forced, with barely any suspense and even less sleuthing. You do suspect various characters throughout the game, but not because you've uncovered surprising new clues. Instead, the game--at times literally--tells you to. There are no plot twists. There are no new phone friends. There are no secret passages leading to new locations. For that matter, there are hardly even any locations. This is very much a linear, what-you-see-is-what-you-get game.
And that's what's so frustrating--and disappointing--about ToT: it's the smart kid who bombed the big exam. There's so much potential in this game that simply goes unrealized. The combination of sharp writing, solid characters, a logical plot, and challenging but beatable puzzles sounds like a sure winner, and indeed it would be if the game did more than scratch the surface of what those had to offer. As it is, it's a fun diversion rather than an engrossing story.
It's worth noting, too, that if Warnings at Waverly Academy was the ND game for tweens and teens, then this is the installment for adults. The subject matter, the characters' back stories, even the vocabulary level of the written texts all seem geared toward an older audience. Not necessarily in a negative way, just in a "what fourteen-year-old knows or cares about tenure?" kind of way.

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