What did you think of this game?? (NO spoilers please)

[Girl Sleuth ♥]

I enjoyed this game! At first a was skeptical about how I would feel about it, because the game started off a bit slow. It quickly picked up though, and I'm glad to say I was hooked!

The plot was fun and engaging. I loved having another murder mystery, and it was executed well. The theme was serious, and the atmosphere was suspenseful. The only thing I might have liked was more historical information on Tesla. Otherwise, the plot was great!

I liked the characters and learning their stories as they unfolded.

The puzzles were awesome. I played on Master, and loved having to sleuth around to figure out what to do next. There were times when I would be stuck and not to what to do/how to do something, which is actually a plus for me.

I had more of an "eh" feeling toward the setting. It felt a bit cramped and claustrophobic, even though we could uncover more areas as the game progressed (which I loved!) There was nothing extraordinary about it, although I don't think there needed to be. The setting isn't the most important part of the game for me anyway, so it wasn't a huge deal.

I liked the ending/explanation for everything much better than the last few games! The puzzle itself was a little too frustrating for my liking, and it made the whole ending kind of anti-climatic. On replay I could feel differently though. Still, highly enjoyable.

There are a few small issues I had here and there (like, it would have been nice to have stairs along with the elevator), although I had a lot of fun playing it and is a great game, so I'd give it a 9.

ND # 28 looks awesome!

[Drew Detective]

I have NEVER rated a game a 10. This one I did.

Why? Well, I think that the plot was the greatest they've done so far just because it was so serious. A real murder case! Which they hadn't done since 1998 when the created they first 'Secrets Can Kill.'

Plus, I really felt like I was solving the mystery this time, rather than just having all the facts thrown at you, you really had to figure it out yourself! Often I'll get to the ending of a game and it's like they just chose the most unlikely person to be the culprit just to try to surprise you! Well this time you really narrowed down which of your suspects were trustworthy before hand. Like a real detective!

The puzzles felt important too, it wasn't just helping out with homework assignments like in WAC, or just trapping some pesky rodents like in TOT.

There was a great deal of history involved too, and of course science. Which was beyond me, but my brother certainly loved it.

And lastly, never before have they had such helpful hints along the way for Ametuer (Junior) level players. Why some puzzles even had screenshots! They were gradual clues that you could have right there if you needed them.

The music too was very thrilling. Bravo Her Interactive!

[sheerdisaster91]

Low Ratings

Seems like as I'm reading the reviews on this game (I haven't had a chance to actually start it, still waiting on mine to finish downloading) it sounds like this game is geared toward the older generation. If the puzzles are that much more difficult then I would assume that they are more mature puzzles.
I look forward to playing this one. I've been a huge fan of the Nancy Drew games since I was a kid. I hope this one to not be a disappointment.

[Kyokai]

At first I hated the game. Looking around the lab intimidated me because I'm not into physics and everything looked hard, and when the puzzles came in I thought "I knew it. Another Creature of Kapu Cave." The game moved slowly as I procrastinated on trying said puzzles, and the characters disappointed me at first because I didn't get to talk to them that much.

However...

Once I started getting into it, the game really picked up! I started to like the characters more, the game itself was thrilling!
It was such a good idea for HER to make this one a murder mystery; that really made the game. So I gave the game a 9 by the time I finished it, which is better than the 5 I would have given it at the beginning. This game is one of my favorites now.

[delarosa]

Kinda fizzled for me

I'm a fan of the Nancy Drew games, especially those that have multiple places to go. There was a clostrophia about the location of this game. I personally found it a big too technical and the characters (especially the men) were rather one dimensional. Both were either grumpy or sarcastic. There was a third fellow who provided some change of character but I won't go into details here.

The plot was interesting and I learned a lot about the science involved. I found that many components of the puzzles were scattered in different locations and I had no clue as to how to make them work. I kept forgetting what the various devices were and where to find them because they were things I was not familiar with and could not identify them at a glance.

The one bright light in this for me was the Aggregation game - I reached level 25 two times and found that satisfying.

I could not for the life of me see how Nancy and (a female person from a past game) hooked up together in this game. It provided some light humour but what were the writers thinking of?

Overall I guess I found some enjoyment in it but I'm a bit disappointed that I had to "cheat" by looking for answers in the forums more than I ever have. This game was just a bit too scientific for me.

Hopefully others, espicially the younger players get more enjoyment. Thanks HER for another game - but maybe make the next one a bit less technical and more fun.

[Daisysgirl]

I gave the game a 9. It was a great game and I wanted to give it a 10 but the puzzles were just too hard. I found myself constantly going to the hints in my checklist and I even had to use solutions a few times! Other than that, I absolutely loved this game! Great job HeR!
~Bellaruna

[Phthalo Green]

Phthalo Green's DED review

I gave this game 7/10. I've played nearly all the other games, and I found that this was the one I had to look on the message boards the most for (I was playing Senior/Master sleuth). The games were really fun, the graphics were lovely and the theme was interesting and original. However the format of the game was such that it's very difficult if you're stuck on a puzzle - although it's quite a small area you get to explore, some of the hidden clues are hard to find. If I was stuck on a particular challenge, I found it very hard to go and work out another puzzle and come back to it. Therefore it can be frustrating at times.

However once you do start solving puzzles, it does move quickly and I really enjoyed some of them. I learnt a lot from this game, it's got a lot of chemistry and physics in it. Even if that's not your thing, I think you can still complete the tasks. I'm doing IGCSE science and I was very proud of myself for working out all the periodic table solutions on my own!

The characters are good but not amazing. They are very realistic and I found the voices didn't annoy me as much as they did on some other games. On the other hand the dialogue was a bit strange... and by that I mean there didn't seem much point to it sometimes and some things the characters said each time you meet them got very irritating.

Finally I thought this game had one of the best soundtracks. The music was fun and appropriate to the situation, and I never got bored of hearing it again and again as I worked on puzzles! There are a couple of points where I'm working out a puzzle and I can hear the sound of doors opening and closing behind me, and footsteps, which are a bit creepy and made me jump a couple of times even though there was no-one there.

My tips for people playing the game:
1. Keep a notebook handy to write down any clues you get
2. If Nancy doesn't say anything at the end of the puzzle, or when you complete the puzzle and - how can I put this - the task you're meant to be using it for won't work when you've finished (if that makes sense) then it's not right. There may be a pattern you have to follow.
3. Phone everyone regularly. You might have to ask them to do things for you.
4. At the end, watch the outtakes. I don't normally bother but these are very funny!

Sad I've finished this game.

[--GroovyGirl--]

I absolutely adored this game! There hasn't been such a great game in a super long time, and I loved almost every aspect of it! The plot was intriguing and suspenseful with lots of twists and turns which kept you on your toes, the graphics were beautiful (but there's no surprise there), the characters were very realistic with different and entertaining personalities, the puzzles were challenging without being impossible and actually fit with the plot, there was a lot of snooping and breaking into areas that you don't belong, the ending was intense and I was shocked (haha) at the culprit, and, well, it was a murder mystery!

I also really enjoyed the number of events and surprises that happened throughout the plot and how I felt like I had to hurry up and solve the case before someone else died (that someone else probably being Nancy). It was also awesome how all the characters hated each other (ok I know that sounds really messed up, but it was great to have some tension back!) The music set the scene well except for one song that would play a little too often that made it sound like we should be frolicking through a field of daisies rather than solving a murder case ;) I liked how DED actually made me think rather than spoon feeding me the solutions to everything (I'm looking at you ASH) and on the same note, the new hint system was perfect.

My only complaint would be the setting. I was never a fan of the high-tech style of the building, and the minimal amount of areas grew quite old after a while. But all things considered, this one little matter hardly dents the shiny surface of DED's awesomeness.

The best part about it all it that everything about DED alludes to what makes the classic games classic. If this game had come out ten years ago it wouldn't have seemed any different from the games back then. HeR has finally brought back what we have been begging for so long. And I'm proud to say that my faith has been officially restored in Nancy Drew games!

Kudos to HeR and a rating of 10!

[puppsydrew]

I gave DED a 9/10. Surprisingly, I enjoyed this game very much! When I first saw the teaser trailer, I wasn't very excited for this game at all. I was disappointed with TMB and thought the games were on a downwards spiral from here. DED was a very pleasant surprise!

I adored Deirdre's reappearance, and actually enjoyed calling/talking to her. I also thought the music was fantastic, and added a lot to the game from suspense to eeriness. Working with the Tesla Coil was also extremely interesting.

I would definitely recommend this game to any ND player, new or old.

Nice job, HeR!

- Ginger

[jatafoya]

8/10

I was really shocked I liked this game so much. When I first saw the trailer, I was a bit on the "eh" side because it didn't strike me as a usual ND game. But I really enjoyed how I felt a bit more in depth with this one. I bought three ND games the same day and assumed this one was going to be my least favorite. It was my favorite out of them.

I didn't really enjoy that I couldn't call Bess or Ned. That always bites for some reason; I really enjoy them. :)

I, also, didn't like how easy it was to get solutions. I found myself clicking that ? quite a bit. Usually, I would just sit there and lose my mind until I couldn't take it anymore and then check the forums.

Regardless, the storyline was pretty good. The ending would have been really surprising if I wasn't such a good guesser too. ;) Had that one picked out since the beginning.

[MysteryEye]

I gave this game a 9/10. I thought it was very entertaining and engaging. I also thought the plotline was fantastic. It really had me fooled regarding the culprit and I'm not easily fooled! Great job, HER!!

The only factor that keeps me from giving this game a 10/10 is that Bess & George weren't in the game. Still, it was one of the better games HER has put out in awhile. I would highly recommend it.

[mysteryluver14]

9!

I said 9 because I couldn't give it a 10 because it was not one of my favorites. There was a lot of snooping though and I loved being able to change at least part of the day. The characters were really good!! I wish we could have talked to them more. I feel like the game was more interaction with science and machines than with the people. But I still really liked it and it was a great game!

[Matrix08]

7

I vote DED a 7 although it has been a huge step up from some of the previous games. Some of the puzzles were annoying and others were simply easy (if you have played ND before). My overall fav will still be SAW (but only because I love the Japanese Culture)

[On the Case]

8.5. I rounded it to a 9. There were a lot of puzzles I didn't like, and the whole case was rather confusing to me, and the culprit is extremely predictable. However, this game was a definite step in the right direction. Everything about it made me feel like I was playing one of the older games. There's even a scary part paying tribute to SCK. It wasn't quite as scary as SCK, but it was still suspenseful all around. I was never sure when the game was gonna end haha. I kept thinking it was over for two hours, but there was always a new layer. I liked that.

[disneygirl12]

I give this game a 9 out of 10 stars. I think it was a really good game, and it had great puzzles, characters, and an awesome story. This is definitely one of my favorites in the series. ;D