So normally I would talk about which book this was based on the game strays very far from the book. This game was based on the book The Bluebeard room, and according to most, it's considered one of the worst Nancy Drew books ever written, and yet it got the Computer Game treatment, and aside from the Penvellyn (yeah I forget how it was spelled) name, and the behaviour the bride is exhibiting, this hardly has anything to do with the game, there may be a spoiler or two.



Gameplay and Story: So the game story goes like this, Nancy is off on her first international mystery (but not her last) of the game franchise, she's off to visit her neighbour Linda who had just recently gotten married, and her health had recently took a hit, and Linda's mother isn't sure why, so she asked Nancy to check in on her. When she arrives she's greeted by a strange creature that calls her name, just as Mrs.Drake answers the door (she's Linda's Aunt in law). Nancy also encounters Linda's step-daughter Jane and her tutor Ethel Bossiney, and she's probably the creepiest thing in the manor because she appears very suddenly, she only makes about 4 appearances in the game (which is saying alot considering that she was one of the culprits in the Bluebeard Room, spoiler alert). And the resident parrot LouLou who has been residing at the manor for over 80 years. Eventually we are on a quest to locate the Penvellyn treasure, in order to put a stop to whoever is hurting Linda

Graphics: Well the graphics have been kind of the same as it has been for the last several games but they still feel like of animatronic like they always move the same way, however starting with this game Her Interactive has a new logo, they keep this one for awhile.

Sound: Well I don't have much to say about the Soundtrack because this is one of those "scary" games that the Nancy Drew franchise can be best known for (haunted mansion, Ghost Dogs, Crystal Skull, Waters Edge, Thornton Hall) and yet for some reason it doesn't make the game look spooky.

Addictive:: I didn't get this done right away, but then again I had first gotten then back when our computer wasn't working very well, we were getting blue screens up the wazoo, I didn't get to finish til like the holidays or something, but even then I was still dealing with a blue screen, and this was almost 16 years ago.

Depth: I have no idea how long this is, this is the first time since Scarlet Hand that we've had the ability to tell time in the game, speaking of long overdue absences this is the first game since the final scene where we get to call Nancy's Boyfriend Ned, as the Hardy Boys are busy helping their neighbour, and Bess and George are at sailing camp (uh aren't they the same age as Nancy which is 18?) The book version dealt with drug smuggling.

Difficulty: Well I didn't have the easiest time I will admit, because like I said I was dealing with a very annoying blue screen problem. Back in the day I had to get by the most difficult parts of the games thanks to the hints part of the Her Interactive Message board, in this day and age I probably would have used Game Faqs.

Post Review Follow-Up: I don't know why but I feel like this game's ending was kind of a cop-out, I mean I think it would have made a little more sense if it turned out that Ethel was manipulating Jane into doing those terrible deeds to Linda, because she had the hots for Hugh Penvellyn, but no let's make the culprit a bratty child that can't handle her parents divorce. Again I wish the library had obtained more games.


This concludes my review, tomorrow is sunday which means another edition of Summer Gaming MAME-ories where I talk about the Coin-op games I played back in the days when I took summer vacations at hotels and back when they had arcades. Tomorrow I will talk about Daytona USA.