dandj's Full Review: Nancy Drew: The Haunted Carousel for Windows
A Brief History
In 1930, the first Nancy Drew mysteries were published and became instantly popular. She has continued to grow insofar as modern progression, if not in age. Besides her original book format, she has been on television, in movies and board games. Now, she solves mysteries in three-dimensional interactive format on our computers. In 1998, Her Interactive released the first Nancy Drew PC game--Secrets Can Kill--based on the first of the Nancy Drew Files, a spinoff of the original series.
The Story
The Haunted Carousel, based on the book (#72) of the same name, is the eighth installment to the Nancy Drew series of role-playing games by Her Interactive. In these games you, as Nancy, solve mysteries using various methods of gathering clues and information.
This particular case takes Nancy to Captain’s Cove Amusement Park where there have been some strange occurrences of late. A horse from the carousel has disappeared, the carousel itself turns on and off of its own accord, and the roller coaster stopped mid-ride. This last occurrence caused the greatest amount of trouble when a passenger decided to sue the park for the whiplash he allegedly received when the ride suddenly stopped. Subsequently, the park has been closed down until an investigation into the matter is completed.
Thanks to the friendship between Nancy’s father and the park manager, Paula Santos, Nancy has been brought in to conduct an investigation of her own in an effort to get to the bottom of things more quickly. What she discovers is that some people believe the park is either haunted or cursed. The rumor is that the sculptor of the carousel horses claimed, should they become separated, just such a thing would occur. It’s up to Nancy to decipher whether this is the truth or if there is a more human hand causing the problems. And what about that jewel theft that took place twenty-three years earlier at the Captain’s Quarters Hotel, and the jewels that were recently found in the seat of one of the rides? How does that connect to what’s been going on? Or doesn’t it?
During her exploration of the park in an effort to solve this case, Nancy will meet an assortment of people, each suspicious in their own way . . .
Harlan Bishop is the friendly security guard who volunteered to stay on during the period of shut down. He says he loves his job and doesn’t find it boring to be around while things are so quiet. He’s quite evasive about where he came from and what he did before and a little overzealous when it comes to areas of the park he doesn‘t have access to.
Art director Elliot Chen benefits greatly from the park being shut down. He’s a procrastinator who is behind in his work. Now he’s got the opportunity to do some catching up. Initially, he seems irritated by Nancy’s presence, but he warms up quickly and invites her interruptions.
Joy Trent works in the office as a bookkeeper. Her mother died when she was four, so she’s blocked out all memory of that time period. Her father was an inventive man who had been co-owner of Captain’s Cove. He ran into some financial difficulties, sold out to Paula, and died practically penniless. Joy feels Paula could have bailed her father out and knows it, thus has given Joy a job out of guilt.
Ingrid Corey is chief engineer at the park. She seems to be quite knowledgeable in both her work and all things holistic. Odd then that she keeps losing track of tools and even the blueprints to the roller coaster. And just what is she doing with the phone number of the man suing the park, not to mention a watch worth over $20,000?
The most interesting and unique interaction Nancy will have is with Miles the Magnificent Memory Machine. This is a robot-like head that was created by Joy’s father in an effort to help her regain the memories she keeps hidden within herself. She’s been unable to get anywhere, though, because Miles gives hints in riddles. Maybe Nancy can also be of some assistance on that score.
In addition to the people she meets face-to-face, Nancy will also receive information or advice from several different sources . . . a parole officer, the chief of police, the man suing for whiplash, the carousel operator and a few others. Also on hand via cell phone will be Nancy’s always helpful friends Bess Marvin, George Fayne and the Hardy boys. This time around she will find some useful information through email from her recent online subscription to Sassy Detective, an electronic tip service.
Nancy will travel back and forth between several places throughout the park. These include the roller coaster, haunted house, carousel, midway games and the Captain’s Quarters Hotel she’s staying at, plus the work areas of the four previously mentioned people remaining in the park at this time. She will, once again, conduct interview, gather clues and trade favors for information. Some of the things she must do are reprogram a midway game, solder a macro resistor into place on a card-key lock and use a lathe to produce a correctly-cut dowel to hold a music roll in place on the carousel’s band organ. Thankfully, Ingrid has provided an engineering handbook that will be of great assistance in these activities.
Not everything will be work, though. Nancy also receives a fun pass from Harlan so that she can play the games on the midway and ride the carousel. She can return to him as many times as she likes for more. Of course, even the prizes from the games will come in handy during the course of the investigation. There is a purpose for just about everything she comes into contact with.
Game Play
Before you begin playing, you will come to the Menu screen wherein you can begin a new game, load or save a previous one, or continue with one you’re currently playing. This last option comes in handy if you save your game partway through but do not want to quit yet. This is a good idea to do from time to time just as insurance against losing anything should something happen during play. I did have a problem once where the game suddenly stopped and returned to my desktop, and I lost all the clues and information I had gathered up to that point.
Second Chance is a life-saving button, sometimes literally. If you make a game-ending mistake such as step under a falling object, forget to wear a helmet when kayaking, or get caught snooping, you will be sent home without solving the case. However, if you choose second chance, you will be able to return to where you left off without losing anything. This is one of the best features of these games.
In Game Setup you can fiddle with the voice, music or special effects volumes until they are where you like them. There are also options here for closed captioning and automatic movement.
Then there are those other buttons such as Credits, Help, More Nancy Drew and Exit. The Help button does not give hints, but rather gives quick summaries as to how to use the cellphone, computer, second chance or get hints from friends. In More Nancy Drew, you get to see all the games up to this one, books and are introduced to the Her Interactive website. The main menu and the help buttons are always accessible during game play via buttons in the top corners.
When you first begin a game, you are taken to another screen with a few more options. Game Overplay is wonderful if you’ve never played a Nancy Drew game before. It will coach you on most of the important aspects of playing such as why the magnifying glass (your cursor) becomes red or why it turns into some objects that are in your tool box/inventory window (where your potential clues and useable objects are stored).
Then it’s on to choosing Junior or Senior Detective. Usually, the senior detective requires more skill, but in this particular game I didn’t find that to be the case. The midway games, lock combinations and movement of scrambled letters were the same between the two levels of play. The only difference I noticed was in making a dowel into a loading rod for the paper roll in a band organ. The measurements for where to cut using the lathe weren’t the same. However, that’s not something that would affect the level of difficulty.
As always, Nancy has what I like to call lifelines. Once again, Bess, George and the Hardy boys are just a phone call away waiting to help you along and give you hints as to what you should do next. The computer provides you with a checklist of things to do and a journal of what you’ve learned. Email is also essential to solving the case in many of the games.
Look at everything that you can, read everything that you can and play every game that you come upon. You never know when an article you read or a song you heard might be useful. Prizes from games may prove to be valuable at later times. Be extremely thorough and don’t think that just because something that the magnifying glass showed you didn’t do anything earlier it won’t later. As you perform certain tasks or talk to certain people, new items become available for viewing or using.
You control everything Nancy does. From what she picks up, reads or plays to what she says to people. You will be given choices for dialogue. Sometimes every available question or comment will remain available until you’ve systematically gone through them all. Other times, you’d better hope you choose the right answer or question, or you may just lose out on some valuable information.
Pros and Cons
The earlier Nancy Drew games have a screen that is split in two. The top two-thirds is the screen where all the action takes place. The bottom third is the dialogue and tool boxes. This isn’t anything that would be noticeable by someone who hasn’t played the newer games (Blackmoor Manor or Secret of the Old Clock). It can, however, be as distracting as a wide screen dvd for those who have played the more recent games with the larger screens.
Some people prefer the games that require more than one fictional day to play. This is not one of those. Everything in The Haunted Carousel happens in one day. This does not necessarily mean that the time it takes to play is lessened. It could take just as long as others. You just don’t have to worry about people’s schedules or particular times when you can do certain things.
All of the Nancy Drew games are geared toward an audience that is age 10 and older. There are those that I have found which could be difficult for the younger end of that age spectrum, but this game should not present any difficulties in doing so. Nancy talks to herself when she comes across something that is important which will prompt the player to jot down notes if they feel the need. Also, phone numbers of people that Nancy will need to contact for questioning will automatically show up in her cell phone’s directory.
While those are pros, they can also be looked upon as cons. The senior detective level should require more thinking and note-taking, but it doesn’t do that. The journal and checklist are both still available as are the automatic entry of phone numbers and Nancy speaking aloud when she sees or reads something that is noteworthy. These things should not be included in the higher skill level. Since they are, it really doesn’t make sense for there to be two playing level in this game. Either make it harder, or why bother?
The three-dimensional scenery and detail of the graphics is fantastic. Much of it is so lifelike you almost feel as though you are actually at the amusement park. I was quite pleased to note that the shadows and awkward movement of the earlier characters had been smoothed out in this edition. The characters had personalities that, although not always friendly, were enjoyable and believable.
Speaking of personalities, I love Nancy’s friends. They always have something going on in their own lives that make the story more interesting and fun. In this game, Bess is depressed that she hasn’t received a call from a guy that works that the movie theater. You can hear the disappointment in her usually cheerful voice, and later the relief and joy when she finally hears from him. I love that the same “actors” are used for the main characters of Nancy, Bess, George and the Hardy boys. They are wonderful at playing the parts, and it makes players feel more “at home” when they can hear the familiar voices from one game to the next.
The music was perfect . . . mysterious and tense at times, relaxing or happy-go-lucky at others. Much of the time, the band organ from the carousel can be heard, and I love how it sometimes seems a little ghostly when there are edgy moments or muffled when Nancy is inside a building.
One of the best parts of Nancy Drew interactive computer games is the knowledge one can gain when playing. Here, Nancy will pick up a book that teaches a lot about the history and construction of carousels. It’s very interesting and makes the game a learning experience without the younger players even realizing it. Safety is taught in each of the games because there are consequences if Nancy doesn’t use a helmet when biking, goggles when operating the lathe or turn off the power before working on wiring.
Nancy Drew games are just plain fun. They are also addictive. Once you try them, you’ll find yourself returning to the store or library for more. The good news is, The Secret of the Old Clock was just released in July and already Her Interactive is getting ready to release the next volume (Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon) in September.
Windows 98/Me/2000/XP
200 MHz Pentium Processor
16 MB of RAM
160 MB hard drive space
16-bit color graphics video card
16-bit Windows compatible stereo sound card
8x CD-ROM drive
Mouse and speakers
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