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ConnectTheDots' Review
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The Haunted Carousel
of
The Haunted Carousel
Bottom line: The fact that CAR is one of the shortest games in the series makes it easily forgettable, but a certain subplot and fun activities add to its replay value.
Plot
Nancy Drew has been sent to Captain’s Cove Amusement Park to investigate the mysterious accidents that have been occurring throughout the park. The carousel has been starting up at night for no apparent reason, spurring rumors that the ride is haunted. To top it off, a horse has been stolen from the ride and the park’s rollercoaster stopped working one day mid-ride. It’s up to you as Nancy Drew to discover who, or what, is behind all of this.
Accidents? – check. Haunted? – check. This plot is a certified Nancy Drew game plot. :) I actually think the sub-plots of this game are much more interesting than the main plot, which is kinda sad. I do think the subplots are given enough time to shine in this game.
One of the underlying stories is so tragic that hearing it was a bit surreal for me; I couldn’t believe this was part of a Nancy Drew game! However, this subplot is really what stands out in this game for me and what makes the game worth playing again. It’s wonderful.
Characters
What I like most about the characters in this game is that they each have very different personalities. If you were to put them all together in one room, you know that they just wouldn’t be able to stand each other. It’s like HER took one component of each character’s personality and really exaggerated it. As I seem to always say in reviews, two of the suspects are much more developed than the other two with Eliot being the least developed, in my opinion. This guy has some clashing personality traits - he’s so lazy about his work, but he gets pretty heated when Nancy is messing around in his studio. I’m not sure what to make of him as a character.
I thought the voice actors did a very nice job in this one, although Harlan’s voice is a little too stereotypical and too familiar (the voice actor has been used in a few other games).
Graphics and Setting
The setting graphics in this game are… okay. They aren’t beautiful or great in detail, the horses on the carousel being the main exception. There aren’t enough vibrant colors in this game that amusement parks are known for. This game really disappointed me setting-wise. All we see in this game are a bunch of buildings when the game is supposed to be set in an amusement park. It just doesn’t feel like one.
The character graphics are really a mixed bag. I’m very impressed by Joy’s graphics; she seems very realistic to me, especially when she turns her head at one point. The others are not so well done, but they are still good. Not some of the best in the series, but far from the worst. Their mouths do move along very well with the words, but their movements are a little robotic and repetitive.
Music
The music in this game does have a very carnival-like theme to it. There is a song in the game that just doesn’t seem to fit this game, although it is very mysterious and catchy. Overall, I like the music. It’s a little creepy and very fun.
Puzzles
There aren’t that many puzzles, really, but there are some that are unique to this game. The puzzles are fun, for the most part; I even like the stenography stuff because it’s a bit of a challenge! I don’t really care for the engineering tasks that are assigned to Nancy throughout the game. That kind of stuff is just a little too technical for me.
Riddles, which I adore, play a major part in this game.
"The Scare Factor"
This is the real bummer of the game - the game can barely be considered scary. The carousel? Not one bit. You don’t get to move around the park at night, so no chance to see the carousel acting up except on tape. The only area within the game that might be considered scary is the haunted house, which is really just goofy, in my opinion.
Other Odds and Ends
- This game is short, really short, as in it only took three or four hours for me to beat it on junior detective. But the length really works for this one. There’s only so much that you can learn about carousels and only so much that people can tell you about it.
- I am a huge rollercoaster fan, so you can imagine my dismay to discover that there is only one ride that Nancy takes in this game, and that’s on the carousel. I would have loved to see what HER could have done animation-wise for the roller coaster, or any other ride, really.
- HER loves their phone friends, that’s for sure. I am not a big fan of them and, once again, I felt like I spent way too much time talking on the phone. If I had exhausted all of my phone conversations, I probably could have lengthened the game by at least an hour. That’s how much you can talk to people.
- I absolutely love a certain character in this game. Simply magnificent. ;-)
- The ending is fun. It's a one-click kind of ending, so very simple, but still... fun.
THANK YOU for reading my review! Feel free to comment with your own thoughts. Feedback is appreciated.
it got slightly boring!), but i LOVED the characters! they all had immensly different personalitys and i loved them. except a certain characters hair was very distracting at how messy it was... 
oh by the way great review!
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