Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill [2001]

• Platform: IBM PC Compatible
• Release Date: 2001 04
• Genre: Adventure
• Style: First-Person Graphic Adventure
• Similar Games: Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective (Sega CD), Clue Chronicles: Fatal Illusion (IBM PC Compatible), Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger (IBM PC Compatible), Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion (IBM PC Compatible)

Game Description

Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill is a graphic adventure played out in detailed interactive 3D environments. This two-CD murder mystery is based on the Nancy Drew character first seen in Edward Stratemeyer's novels, written under the pen name Carolyn Keene. As Nancy, aged 17 or 18, you navigate using a point-and-click interface that allows examination and manipulation of the game's many objects.

In this adventure, Nancy, who is visiting her Aunt Eloise, investigates the chilling murder of a widely disliked student, Jake Rogers. Aunt Eloise, a librarian, lives near the high school where the heinous crime takes place, affording Nancy access to various pertinent locales such as the high school, Maxine's Diner, and a pharmacy. At all times, the player controls which environment Nancy is investigating.

In each environment, you must navigate 3D rooms and hallways while searching for clues such as notes left on bulletin boards or objects in drawers. An inventory box near the bottom of the screen houses Nancy's found objects until needed. In addition to finding clues, you must also solve other types of puzzles. Each area of exploration has its own ambient music and sound effects.

During the course of the investigation, Nancy must elicit information from several characters. Each is a 2D cartoon with individual facts and motives, a distinct personality, and personal reactions toward our heroine. When speaking with a character, Nancy is given a choice of questions or comments from which to choose, and, based on the responses she receives, investigates accordingly. If Nancy is killed by stumbling into a booby trap, a "Second Chance" option pops up, which if selected, puts her back in the game immediately prior to the fatal error.

Roots & Influences

Her Interactive has released several Nancy Drew interactive mysteries including Nancy Drew: Stay Tuned for Danger and Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted House. The teenage detective was created in 1930 and has advanced in age from 16 to 18 in the ensuing seven decades with more than 350 solved mysteries during those years. The original Nancy Drew book was entitled The Hidden Staircase.

Review: Overall

The first Nancy Drew mystery was published in 1930. Since then, Nancy has solved over 350 mysteries for a targeted audience of readers as young as eight and as old as 18 years of age. Her popularity has now brought her to the world of software games.

In Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill, you take the role of the teenage super sleuth as she arrives at her Aunt Eloise's house in Florida where she sets out to solve a murder that occurred the night before. Jake Rogers, a local high school senior, has been found dead on campus. Did he fall down the stairs, or was he pushed? Nancy must search and navigate four specific environments and question different characters, each with something to hide.

The game is engaging and enjoyable, especially for young adult players. While there are three levels of difficulty from which to choose, gameplay is not overly difficult, and it does provide a fun experience with a familiar background for the intended audience.

The areas of exploration are viewable in full 360-degree perspective and feature 3D environments with nicely rendered details. The clues are so numerous that it may well be possible to miss some and still solve the mystery, a factor on which the "not overly difficult" premise is based. Many of the clues are messages made with colored letters; for example, the menu at the diner may have the letters D-A-N-G-E-R highlighted in red. While this is neither a realistic nor particularly challenging way to glean information, it is fun to scrutinize the well-drawn environments for hidden messages and codes -- a perfect match for gamers who enjoy ferreting out details.

Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill has a "second chance" option, which turns out to be a terrific feature. If you blunder into a booby trap set by the murderer and die, a button pops up giving you the option to continue the game at a point in time just prior to the fatal mistake. In this way, the often-tedious requirement to replay the game from your last save is eliminated. More games of this type could truly benefit from this particular gameplay aspect.

Each character that Nancy meets and interacts with has a distinct personality and may or may not be lying, which keeps it interesting. The drawing of the characters in 2D looks odd at first glance against the 3D backgrounds, but doesn't detract from the adventure and one gets used to it quite easily.

Some puzzles must be deduced or figured out, such as passwords and codes, before you can advance at certain points in the mystery. Unfortunately, the way the game plays out is a bit disappointing since, as more clues are uncovered, the identity of the perpetrator becomes quite obvious. From there, the game simply moves on to its logical conclusion. The better method to craft a mystery is to allow the gamer to accuse a suspect from many, and then discover if he or she is right or wrong.

With all aspects weighed, though, Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill is still an enjoyable mystery romp for young players due to its ease of play and amusing nature.

Review: Enjoyment

Enjoyable murder mystery, but the lack of player participation in being able to select and accuse a perpetrator from possible suspects detracts from the overall effect.

Review: Graphics

The 3D environments are well-crafted and full of detailed clues. The 2D characters look a bit odd at first in the 3D environments, but are drawn nicely and the effect is easy to accept.

Review: Sound

Each environment has its own distinct ambient music playing, and the characters' voices show emotion.

Review: Replay Value

Once the clues are found and the puzzles solved, there's no reason to play again since, in this case, the identity of the murderer never changes.

Review: Documentation

Documentation is detailed and clear.

Production Credits