Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Nancy Drew 1: Secrets Can Kill REMASTERED
-Before I Begin...
My review will be spilt up into sections and have a in-depth look at that topic. Then at the end of the review I round up the stars and give an overall rating.
**Also you should know that this is not a completely new release by Her Interactive, it is a refresh of their very first game ever, which was made in 1998 and is rather outdated. With that said, I have not played the original Secrets Can Kill (except for the very beginning until I got frustrated with the two disk swapping, impossible to navigate, no direction of the game). So I do not know all the differences of the original compared to this Remastered edition.
-Interface
First off you should now that the original Secrets Can Kill (SCK) had a much different interface than this game does. SCK was very hard to navigate and play in with comparison to the refreshingly simple one in this game: Secrets Can Kill Remastered (SCK2). The inventory, task list, journal, and the camera icons are all new to SCK2. I love the interface Her Interactive uses, and is so much better to play in than the difficult original game.
***** -Plot
Finally, the first (and only thus far) plot surrounding a murder. You may have noticed with 98% of the Nancy Drew games that the plots are pretty tame. They usually revolving around a treasure, mysterious accidents, sabotage, or, every so often, a kidnapping. This game is refreshing because somebody was killed and there is a vicious murder on the loose. I was instantly intrigued and as you played through the game, the plot thickened and grew even more interesting as you questioned suspects and gained leads. And don't worry, the murder isn't shown or described in a gory detail (Her Interactive would never go higher than an E 10+ Rating) so you shouldn't worry about scaring yourself or any children playing this game. Although I would definitely say this game is older kids who can understand what is going on a little better because there is a steroid reference, a tiny bit of violence, and blackmail. Overall this simple plot is very entertaining and appeals to even older audiences.
*****
-Characters
The characters have been rendered from 2D in SCK, to 3D for SCK2. From the pictures I have seen, the 3D characters are a huge improvement from the lifeless 2D ones. Her Interactive did a great job at developing each character and giving them a distinct personality, background and motive for killing the school bully Jake Rogers. Also, SCK2 has a brand new character! If you would like to be surprised on who it is then don't read any further about the charcters. The new character is very helpful in solving the case, his name is Detective Beech and he hangs out at Maxine's Diner. He is pretty uptight and old compared to all the young teenager characters, but he is a great addition to the mix. The interaction with the characters was great too, there was a lot to talk about if you exhaust every question and find every clue. You felt like you were really getting to know the characters as real people, I had my own deductions and suspicions of each and every character. These characters and their interactions are what makes a fantastic Nancy Drew game that we know and love. I was throughly impressed with these characters!
*****
-Setting & Graphics
The graphics in this game are absolutey beautiful and realistic. They did a great job at updating the original 1998 graphics, which were very cheesy looking (no offense). There are three different locations you can explore from smallest to largest, Aunt Eloise's House, Maxine's Diner and Paseo Del Mar High School. The school is eerie and realistic, and the diner has a interesting 50's vibe to it. I loved exploring and snooping around every corner of the library and school grounds. The diner and Aunt Eloise's are pretty limited in exploring, but you will spending a majority of your time at the high school anyway. Personally I would have liked more to explore (but I always want more to explore anyway) in the school and Aunt Eloise's. Like seeing Nancy's room, searching a classroom for clues or getting food at the Maxine's diner. But Her Interactive still did a great job with the environments, and they managed to fit the entire game onto to a single disc.
****
-Puzzles/Activities
The puzzles in this game are very straightforward and only midly challenging. I understand because this was the first game that Her Interactive ever made, so they didn't really have a grasp on their puzzlemaking skills. Most of the puzzles are word/code puzzles which are fun and easy to figure out. But each of those little puzzles adds a piece to the ultimate puzzle near the end of the mystery which is only in SCK2, not the original. There were not a lot of puzzles so the game felt pretty short, I think I finished in about 2-3 hours on my first try. Also you can breathe a sigh of relief if you were expecting chores to be in this game, but there are NONE! The high school students don't ask for favors, they don't ask you to fix anything, they don't ask you to do their homework or anything else! It was very refreshing after the burdensome Trail Of The Twister. That's another reason why this is a great game, Nancy is focused solely on the mystery, not on being the gopher for every single character, which is something that has been detrimenting these Nancy Drew games for a while now. Overall, I enjoyed the puzzles and I only wish there were a bit more of them.
****
-Ending
The only word I can say about the ending is: WOW! I saw the original ending of SCK on YouTube and saw why they changed it for SCK2. There is a huge twist at the end that really surprised me and the defeating the culprit was logical and brilliant! I loved how you could really make your own judgement at the end and use the knowledge you have accumulated over the game to catch the culprit. All I can say is pay attention to the details of the game and you will suceed. Her Interactive gave a really great heartpumping ending to a short but sweet mystery. I was impressed, they even tied up every last "loose end".
*****
-Scare Factor
While you don't see the actual murder of Jake Rogers or Jake's body, the game was pretty spooky. Walking around the halls of the lonely high school was scary in it's own right. The library had some pretty scary sounds too, it felt like there was someone following you. Nothing ever really jumps out to scare you, but I was on edge with all the creepy sounds and scary music. The fact that a murderer is out on the loose also gives you the creeps, but this game is nowhere near as scary as Curse of Blackmoor Manor.
****
-Overall
I can honestly say that I have fallen in love with Nancy Drew all over again! This game has all the great factors that make it a standout, yet classic Nancy Drew title. There is a thrilling plot, fun puzzles, intersting characters and a spooky setting. Her Interactive did a fantastic job at remastering this game for Nancy's 80th Anniversary. The graphics are beautiful, its so much easier to navigate, no disc swapping, the characters are 3D and awesome, and the ending is just great! I would definitely recommend this game to all Nancy Drew fans, even if you have played SCK before, SCK2 has new clues and secrets to uncover. Also if you are new to Nancy Drew, this would be a great first game to try because the puzzles are straightforward and the plot is great. Secrets Can Kill Remastered is definitely one of my favorite Nancy Drew games ever! It is pretty close to Phantom Of Venice and Danger On Deception Island for me. As a side note, I also really hope that Her Interactive remasters other games, especially Stay Tuned For Danger because the characters are waxy and unrealistic, and you can easily get stuck in the game and have to restart. I am really excited for Nancy's next adventure with Bess & George in Japan! See you next time with Nancy Drew 23: Shadow At The Water's Edge!
Add all these up and divide by 7...
5 *'s (Interface)
5 *'s (Plot)
5 *'s (Characters)
4 *'s (Setting & Graphics)
4 *'s (Puzzles/Activites)
4 *'s (Scare Factor)
5 *'s (Ending)
= 32 Stars Divide By 7 (Categories) = 4.57 = Rounded to 5 Stars
-Recommended Games
Secrets Can Kill REMASTERED
Warnings At Waverly Academy (See my review of this game)
The Phantom Of Venice (See my review of this game)
Danger On Deception Island
Thanks for reading my review!
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