Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
(or a big rave for Formulated games)
"For girl's who aren’t afraid of a mouse"
Herinteractive has been around for a number of years, putting out games
aimed at girls and to use what is fast becoming a catch phrase, "the
casual gamer". I have always loved their company slogan, quoted above. I
first ran into this company when they released, "The Vampire Diaries". It
was a point and click game based upon a popular juvenile fiction series of
the same name. About that time - I learned they had produced another title
based upon an even more popular series - the Nancy Drew mysteries. It was
"Secrets Can Kill" and I ordered it post haste. I have loved the Nancy
Drew books - since I first read the original 1930’s versions, from my
Mom’s childhood book collection. It was a slide show point and click, with
two levels of difficulty and higher end graphics for the puzzles you
interfaced with. Lots of word puzzles, a few sliders and assorted
characters and even some games over moments to add a thrill. All told - I
was so happy with the game. It wasn’t too hard, had delightful music at
the load screen and was pure entertainment, without the brain strain.
Since that time, Herinteractive has expanded the series to 7 Nancy Drew
games. Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake is the most recent and I think one of the
best so far.
The Nancy Drew Formula
The subsequent games have seen subtle improvements since that first
release. The point and click interface remains - which I personally like
for these games. The graphics have been enhanced over time and the quality
of the environments, additional characters and story lines have improved
as well. But essentially much of the details of that first game remain.
There are still eight save slots, the main page and familiar Nancy Drew
theme music are still there. You can select night or day time frames with
the use of a clock, going to bed and other such devices. George, Bess and
now the Hardy boys are available for hints and tips with a phone call.
There is a mystery at hand and Nancy has to question suspects, people and
solve her share of challenges to get to the heart of the enigma. In short
- what starts out as a routine request from a friend or family familiar
takes a sudden twist and Nancy is once more chasing after another mystery.
Yawn - some may say - what’s new about that? Well I for one love the old
soft chair and comfy slippers feel to the whole thing - but I’ll get back
to that later..
When we last saw Our Heroine..
In the game before Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake, Nancy had successfully solved
the Secret of The Scarlet Hand. At the end of the game, Nancy mentions
that she is now on her way to Moon Lake to visit an old friend who had
bought a house formerly owned by a notorious gangster of the 30’s. Her
friend is getting the house fixed up and needs Nancy’s help, as things are
not what they should be at Moon Lake. At the beginning, we find our ace
girl detective arriving at an old cabin in the woods. The house is
accessible only by the one road and from the water access via Moon Lake.
Suddenly, a tree mysteriously crashes behind us, blocking the road out. We
enter the house, to find our friend gone, leaving only a cryptic message
urging us to flee. There’s also a cell phone number. We call this and the
mystery deepens. Night closes in and we are .. trapped at Moon Lake, all
alone.. or are we? Well, it looks like Nancy has fallen into another fine
mess and a major mystery. Who or what are the ""Ghost dogs?".. Where has
our friend fled and why? .. Why won’t the doors lock?.. and what on earth
does Nancy do now? Well, without giving away too much of the story - you
get the drift.
Moon Lake and Beyond
The look and feel to Ghost Dogs is classic Herinteractive artistry. Always
graphically well designed, the newest game is no exception. Moon Lake is a
crescent shaped lake set in the deep woods of a national park. We have the
typical inhabitants, an uptight and by the book park ranger, a cranky
people hating bird lover, a colorful country store owner and who knows
what else lurks in the woods. The house itself has few accessible rooms -
but who knows what Nancy will fall into or uncover as she puts her
detective skills to work. The character look and voice talent is great and
improves little by little with each new game. I enjoy the voice talent
used for our girl detective and have always found this area to be
exceptionally well done. The ambient sounds are another well crafted
feature that add to the spooky atmosphere of these titles and Ghost Dogs
gets this part right. You have to make frequent trips out into the
surrounding woods in this game. During the daylight hours, birds sing, the
trees whisper in the wind. At night - well you definitely wish you weren’t
alone out there. Of the series - Ghost Dogs is definitely one of the
creepiest.
What will that girl do next?
The puzzles in this game are challenging. I am surprised that after this
many in the series, the developer still finds ways to have unique dilemmas
and situations. We have a maze like woods, an interesting critter hunt,
secret doors and an assortment of other surprises. I could be wrong - but
it seems as if this game had more to solve and interact with then some of
the other Nancy Drew games. Again, one of the things I liked is how the
puzzles are logically integrated into the environments and plot. And our
favorite girl detective has some spiffy new tools. We have a PDA at our
disposal, where Nancy keeps her notes on what she has found, conversations
and phone numbers. I used it quite a bit at the beginning, but being a
compulsive note scribbler, I tended to rely on it less as the game
progressed. It is a nice new feature for gamers to access though.
Comfort in the Familiar..
I mentioned that the Nancy Drew games follow a familiar format. I like
this factor among the most in these games. I happen to have a number of
television shows that I watch with varied degrees of devotion. I enjoy
knowing that when I sit down on Wednesday night I will hear those same old
musical refrains that signal the start of Law and Order, meet the same
familiar characters and sink into the comfortable predictability of the
style of the show. The stories and details change and provide all the
variety that I want, without having to break new ground elsewhere. Such it
is with all the Nancy Drew titles. I know that when I load one of these
games - I will hear that same theme music at the start screen. I know, I
will see a letter on my screen and hear Nancy narrate the beginning of
this latest adventure. Immediately, something will go amiss and off we are
on another sleuthing episode. If I get stuck, and it does happen in these
games, more than I care to admit.. I can call on my old chums and get a
hint or just check my progress. There will be mysterious clues, secrets to
uncover or unlock and a big showdown with the person behind all at the end
of the game. All of this added to the low system requirements and the
absence of glitches create a game that just about any system can load and
play with no hassles. Is it a formula - yep. But there is a lot of gaming
comfort in the familiar and pleasure in just enjoying the game story and
challenges.
The end of this tale..
I would recommend any and all of the titles in this series to adventure
gamers everywhere. Of the lot, Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake is one of the best.
I am pleased that Herinteractive acquired the rights to produce these
games and that there are more to come. I think that if you want the gaming
equivalent of slipping into your favorite PJ’s and coziest chair for an
engaging and fun mental diversion - you can’t do wrong with Nancy Drew in
general and Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake in specific. So with that in mind -
this reviewer gives Ghost Dogs an A grade.
Minimum System Reqs.
Win 95/98/Me/2000/XP
200 Mhz
16 Mb RAM
160 Mb HD space
16 bit color card
16 bit graphics card
8X CD Rom
copyright © 2002
GameBoomers
