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ConnectTheDots' Review
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Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
of
Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
Bottom line: The lack of a real suspect-and-culprit plot derails this game from the tracks of HER greatness.
Plot
Another confusing plot. It was as if HER couldn’t really decide what the plot should be, so there ended up being no real plot at all. Instead, there was a mission – to discover what happened to miner Jake Hurley, the owner of the train that the group is riding on. After the beginning, nothing really happens to shake things up. One other incident occurs and is resolved rather quickly, and then all that’s left is the hunt for the mine. That means – you guessed it – no long-lasting suspense in this one that ND gamers crave.
Characters
The characters in this game aren’t really suspects, just passengers. Lori, the head of the treasure hunt, admits at the beginning that she doesn’t really know any of the people she invited, so why should I suspect the guests of having done anything? In fact, there’s very little to suspect anyone of, unless you are predicting that someone will do something in the future. The other characters on the train are just there for chatting. I actually like the suspects’ bold personalities in this game, although they are a little bit stereotypical and exaggerated, but that’s what makes them fun to talk to.
If you count Frank and Joe as separate people, then there are seven characters in this game. HER went a little overboard on this, but you actually don’t spend much time talking to any of them.
I know very few agree with me, but I did not like having Frank and Joe in this game. I’ve never read the Hardy Boys series, so I don’t really know how they typically solve mysteries, but I’m pretty sure that they don’t spend the majority of their time reading a pile of books. I know that this is a Nancy Drew game, but still, the way that the boys were presented in this game was pretty shameful. It would be nice for them to interact more with Nancy and the other suspects in future ND games.
Graphics
I have mixed feelings about the graphics of this game. You can tell that HER made some serious changes in the graphics department with this game. The characters seem to be a very different style of animation from the previous games, a little less realistic and a little more like characters from an animated movie. The character graphics don’t seem to match with the environment, which is very detailed. It kind of seems like the characters belong in a different world than the one that they have been placed in.
To sum it up, I really like the environment graphics and character graphics separately, but together, it just doesn’t work.
Music
I just played this game the other day, and I don’t remember the music at all. Was there music in this game? Seriously, I haven’t the faintest idea.
Puzzles
This is a game for the puzzle lovers, because that is pretty much all that you do. I found the puzzles to be easy in junior detective mode, but I did have trouble with a couple. I really struggled with the scale, for instance. Some of the puzzles, such as the dancing puzzle, were a little disappointing because they were “plug and chug*” puzzles when they could have been so much better! There was another puzzle that I would have never been able to solve if Nancy hadn’t flat-out told me what information I needed when I clicked on it. If you enjoy solving easy puzzles all game long and don’t care as much about the plot, then this is the game for you.
"The Scare Factor"
This game really isn’t that scary. If you are afraid of porcelain dolls, then steer clear of this one. The train is supposedly haunted, but you interact with the ghost very little.
Other Odds and Ends
- HER didn’t really take advantage of the fact that this game is set on a train. The train only stops twice, and Copper Gorge is the only town that you get to visit. I was very disappointed by this. They could have had the train stop at various places across the country! That would have been so cool.
- Speaking of Copper Gorge – I don’t like how this is set up. You get to see very little of the actual outdoors which, based on the map that you see instead, seems like a very cool area. After being stuck on a train with the shades down for ages, it would have been nice to see some trees, at least!
- The ending was okay… way too easy, really, but kind of cool. At least you got to explore a little bit at the end!
- No snooping in this game. =[
- Nancy has a really amazing cell phone. Service across the entire country! Wow.
* When I say "plug and chug," I'm referring to puzzles that don't require any thinking to solve, where you find all of the information in one location, such as a sheet of paper, and you just plug the information in to solve the puzzle.
THANK YOU for reading my review! Feel free to comment with your own thoughts. Feedback is appreciated.
"The spiders want me to tap dance...I don't want to tap dance!"
"You tell those spiders, Ron!"
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