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Tomb of the Lost Queen: released in May 2012
Based on the Book: Secrets of the Nile (A Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mystery, published in 1995)
How Closely Does the Game Follow the Book?: Not too closely. They both take place in Egypt and they both have a character named Jamila, but that's about it.
Location: Egypt
The Mystery/Crime: Assault; possible selling of artifacts on the black market
Mode Of Transportation: None, as Nancy stays in the tomb and nearby tents
Is there an alarm clock in this game?: No
What is learned about in this game?: Ancient Egypt (the rulers, the gods, the symbolism, hieroglyphs, etc.)
Brief Plot Synopsis: Nancy is hired to go on an archaeological dig in Egypt but shortly after arriving her boss is physically attacked.
Brief Character Synopsis:
1. Abdullah Bakhoum - An angry and arrogant archaeologist
Actor I would cast to play him if it were a live action movie/TV show: Amr Waked
2. Dylan Carter - A British tour guide who seems to show up out of nowhere
Actor I would cast to play him if it were a live action movie/TV show: Dan Stevens
3. Jamila El Dine - a woman at the site who believes that aliens built the pyramids
Actress I would cast to play her if it were a live action movie/TV show: Golshifteh Farahani
4. Lily Crewe - an archaeology grad student
Actress I would cast to play her if it were a live action movie/TV show: Dakota Fanning
Phone Characters:
1. Professor Beatrice Hotchkiss - a professor who gives Nancy information about ancient Egypt
2. Bess Marvin - Nancy's friend
3. Jon Boyle - The leader of the expedition who gets attacked
My favorite quotes:
"He's either the best or the guy who says "I'm the best" the loudest. Unfortunately either of those two things works equally well." - Dylan Carter
"Never trust the cute ones. They know what they can get away with." - Jamila El Dine
"It's okay. Everything's fine. (*sound of thud*) Never mind! Everything's a problem!" - Dylan Carter
"That can't be a real food item." - Nancy Drew, after Hotchkiss orders beef jerky salad with caramel vinaigrette dressing
"I find myself yelling, "Test your hypothesis before acting on it!" at all of the sitcoms." - Jon Boyle
My Thoughts: I like playing this game. I agree with other reviewers that the plot is a bit lacking and there are loose ends that never get explained, but I like playing it nonetheless. I love learning about ancient Egypt, playing Senet, translating hieroglyphs, and talking to Bess about the curse movie. I like the puzzles in this game and that most of them have hints to their solution somewhere in the game that is not too obvious yet not too cryptic. I also like that the puzzles relate to Egyptian history. The tomb is beautiful and fun to explore. There are a lot of non-essential things you can do as well (answering Hotchkiss' questions, for example), which gives the game replay value.
As I previously mentioned the plot could have been more fleshed out and certain things better explained, but there's enough there for me to figure out the essentials of what happened and why, so it didn't reduce my enjoyment of the game too much.
I wasn't overly thrilled with the cast of characters in this game, but I suppose it made sense in the end for those characters to be in the game. Bess and Hotchkiss were both fun to talk to on the phone, and the other characters do have interesting or funny things to say at times.
In conclusion, this isn't one of my absolute favorite games but I do enjoy it quite a bit.
My random comment: How and why does Lily know the fatality rating of white-water rafting with a hungry bear who has the bird flu and is holding dynamite???
My Rating: 7/10
Based on the Book: Secrets of the Nile (A Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mystery, published in 1995)
How Closely Does the Game Follow the Book?: Not too closely. They both take place in Egypt and they both have a character named Jamila, but that's about it.
Location: Egypt
The Mystery/Crime: Assault; possible selling of artifacts on the black market
Mode Of Transportation: None, as Nancy stays in the tomb and nearby tents
Is there an alarm clock in this game?: No
What is learned about in this game?: Ancient Egypt (the rulers, the gods, the symbolism, hieroglyphs, etc.)
Brief Plot Synopsis: Nancy is hired to go on an archaeological dig in Egypt but shortly after arriving her boss is physically attacked.
Brief Character Synopsis:
1. Abdullah Bakhoum - An angry and arrogant archaeologist
Actor I would cast to play him if it were a live action movie/TV show: Amr Waked
2. Dylan Carter - A British tour guide who seems to show up out of nowhere
Actor I would cast to play him if it were a live action movie/TV show: Dan Stevens
3. Jamila El Dine - a woman at the site who believes that aliens built the pyramids
Actress I would cast to play her if it were a live action movie/TV show: Golshifteh Farahani
4. Lily Crewe - an archaeology grad student
Actress I would cast to play her if it were a live action movie/TV show: Dakota Fanning
Phone Characters:
1. Professor Beatrice Hotchkiss - a professor who gives Nancy information about ancient Egypt
2. Bess Marvin - Nancy's friend
3. Jon Boyle - The leader of the expedition who gets attacked
My favorite quotes:
"He's either the best or the guy who says "I'm the best" the loudest. Unfortunately either of those two things works equally well." - Dylan Carter
"Never trust the cute ones. They know what they can get away with." - Jamila El Dine
"It's okay. Everything's fine. (*sound of thud*) Never mind! Everything's a problem!" - Dylan Carter
"That can't be a real food item." - Nancy Drew, after Hotchkiss orders beef jerky salad with caramel vinaigrette dressing
"I find myself yelling, "Test your hypothesis before acting on it!" at all of the sitcoms." - Jon Boyle
My Thoughts: I like playing this game. I agree with other reviewers that the plot is a bit lacking and there are loose ends that never get explained, but I like playing it nonetheless. I love learning about ancient Egypt, playing Senet, translating hieroglyphs, and talking to Bess about the curse movie. I like the puzzles in this game and that most of them have hints to their solution somewhere in the game that is not too obvious yet not too cryptic. I also like that the puzzles relate to Egyptian history. The tomb is beautiful and fun to explore. There are a lot of non-essential things you can do as well (answering Hotchkiss' questions, for example), which gives the game replay value.
As I previously mentioned the plot could have been more fleshed out and certain things better explained, but there's enough there for me to figure out the essentials of what happened and why, so it didn't reduce my enjoyment of the game too much.
I wasn't overly thrilled with the cast of characters in this game, but I suppose it made sense in the end for those characters to be in the game. Bess and Hotchkiss were both fun to talk to on the phone, and the other characters do have interesting or funny things to say at times.
In conclusion, this isn't one of my absolute favorite games but I do enjoy it quite a bit.
My random comment: How and why does Lily know the fatality rating of white-water rafting with a hungry bear who has the bird flu and is holding dynamite???
My Rating: 7/10