Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor

In this, the 11th episode of Nancy Drew for the PC, our heroine finds herself visiting an ancient family manor in the moors of Scotland. What seems at first to be a simple visit turns unexpectedly odd, as strange voices and eerie, glowing red eyes try to scare Nancy away. Something's also a little off with the denizens of the manor as well. Can you solve the mystery before something makes Nancy disappear?

Though in many ways, this particular title follows the tried and true model of previous Nancy Drew titles, Her Interactive looks to have made some strides forward in this particular title. The graphics are quite good, and the puzzles and clues in game range from easy to ghoulishly complicated. Puzzle game fans may have to dig into the manual to figure some of these out. Like previous titles, gameplay is straightforward, though obviously linear (after all, the object is to solve a mystery, not an open-ended adventure).

There are only a few problems to speak of. Audio, like previous titles, gets annoying pretty quickly, with voice acting reminiscent of an after-school special. Also, since there's only one solution at the end of the game, it pretty much says goodbye to replay value.

I suppose the main reason I gave this game a 'Fans Only'? rating was the thematic elements in this Curse of Blackmoor Manor. Creepy, glowing red eyes, odd rituals, and other suspenseful items seem to be aimed toward a bit more mature audience than the average Nancy Drew reader, and the title's E rating (compared to the much more tame 'Danger on Deception Island's'? T rating) confused me even more. At best, the puzzles and more mature content point this title to a more seasoned, older mystery gamer, the Nancy Drew name tends to appeal to a younger crowd.

All in all, not a bad game, but I'm not certain who this game will appeal to more: The 'Goosebumps'? crowd, or the younger teen mystery gamer.