Nancy Drew: The Crystal Skull

I own and have played all the games in the Nancy Drew series. I am a fan of the adventure game genre and this series has been, for the most part, both interesting and entertaining with the exception of #12 - #15. I consider these four to have been a serious deviation from the standard that had been set for these games up to that point. With four "duds" in a row, I had almost given up on the series. I was relieved to find the bar raised once again with #16 (White Wolf of Icicle Creek). The Crystal Skull has also kept within this standard though I would rate it a little lower in comparison to the previous game (#16).
The story line was interesting and believable and the characters were both colorful and creepy. The puzzles were challenging enough though I found some to be frustrating, giving little or no indication of what you were supposed to do or accomplish. One example of this was the "sneezing" contraption. I played the game as a Senior Detective so maybe the Junior level gives a few more hints. I also thought the clue hunting expedition through the cemetery plots to be too monotonous. There really were no "life threatening" timed puzzles or anything to get really excited over.
Being able to play as Bess was nice though it did seem a little strange that Bess seemed to have been given some pretty serious sleuthing assignments when she is portrayed as not possessing either the will or abilities to handle them.
The game seemed a little too short and I was disappointed in the limited locals to travel to and search. The house had only five rooms in it, a small count yard and then the cemetery. As Bess, there is the Shop with a small back room, the side walk cafe table and later a very short trip down an alley with two doors; one leads to the same small room in the shop and the other can only be knocked on, leading basically to a cut scene with no real interaction.
All in all, it was better than the "un-fantastic four" but there have definitely been better games in the series. If you're a Nancy Drew fan then go for it. If your not a fan or you are new to the games start at the beginning. You can get boxed sets that are a real bargain and worth playing.

Hi eikone -- welcome to GameBoomers. And thanks for that helpful review!

Hi Eikone, It's always great to hear our member's thoughts on games.

to Gameboomers

Thanks for the review Eikone. I assure you that if your Marine ever wrote a review I'd agree with every word

I would say however that in White wolf of Icicle creek that the fox and geese game was a bit much. I noticed that on the game boomer forums that many people had trouble with that particular section of he game. I do agree that the last few games before Icicle creek where a little of the beaten path that the other Nancy Drew games had made the way for. Being a Nancy Drew fan myself though I have played all of them and each one had some parts that I did enjoy and some things about them that I found a little off or just not enjoyable at all. All in all though it is a very good series for any one who enjoys Adventure and mystery type games.
Just thought I would add my two cents in.
Howlingwolf

Your two cents worth is very much welcome. Do you have a favorite ND game?

Nice review and I agree with everything you said.
One thing I've always wondered about.
The game covers state 10 yrs old to adult.
Sorry, have a hard time with that. I'm an adult and found some of the games very difficult.
10 yrs old and member of MENSA I guess.

RAL

I'm amazed at what some of these computer generation kids can do

To say which one of the Nancy Drew games is my favorite is hard to say. It just may very well be the newest one-however I am not completely finished playing it yet. I did however enjoy the secret of shadow ranch. It think that is my favorite so far. And yes my children seem to finish a game a lot faster then I can. They figure things out that I have trouble with sometimes. My oldest could probably create video games she already knows what to do before they even tell you what you need to do....hahaha
howlingwolf

Howlingwolf, it's always that way with today's kids

What were the names of the games #12-15? Are they all numbered?

Gaily, I don't think the games themselves are actually numbered. But here is a list numbered sequentially.

Thanks you a bunch, Looney, I'll keep the list as a back up.Interesting too, is that I had tried "blue moon" and was too bored to finish it back when. I was interested to see if it fell in the "not so popular" range everyone was discussing.It did, which tells me my taste isn't totally out of whack. It might be fun to start at the begining, as well. Nice wintertime fun to look forward to. I really enjoy these forums.

I thought this was an excellent game which I should have played in the dark - but the atmosphere was lost a little as the closed captioning couldn't be disposed of. (Uncheck the box but it's still there). I didn't mind the few locations and using Bess made sense, within the storyline. High standard of voice acting again. Turns out I'm good at getting rid of insects so that was a bonus. The next game sounds really inviting. I can't wait

Gaily, so glad you like the list. We enjoy having you here

Aretha, so glad you enjoyed this one--it seems to be a popular one

Hi

I'm late to your review, eikone, but many thanks for it all the same

Cheers.

Mad :witch:

Thanks for the thoughtful review eikone,and welcome to Gameboomers! I just finished this game, and agree with you in many ways. I thought it a shame with a locale as rich in promise as New Orleans, it was unfortunate that the game didn't reach into more areas. But I felt the atmosphere was right, and I had more fun with it than I've had with a Nancy since Blackmoor, although I didn't play White Wolf. Except for maybe the bowling puzzle - argggh.

Thanks eikone for an interesting review of the game - I haven't got round to playing this or White Wolf yet but good to know that you think they are an improvement on the previous 4 games, although I did like Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon.

I have never played any of the Nancy Drew games, I'm a hidden object fanatic actually. What would be a good Nancy Drew game to begin with?

Patty

Patty -- you'll find lots of Nancy Drew fans here, and many different favorites!

Personally, I would suggest starting with Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon.

Thanks for the tip.

Patty

I play all the ND games in order, but I suggest if you do that, start with #2 since the 1st one is nothing like the rest of the series. I have to play 16 & 17 yet.

I haven't play many ND games. This is my second one. The first was Curse of the Blackmoore Manor and i was truly disappointed. I liked Crystal Skull. The best think for me was the puzzles. Not hard but not easy either. I stuck only in one part of the game and it wasn't in a puzzle. And i agree the locations were very limited. I think after playing this game i'll start search for the previous ones to play them too...