Nancy Drew - Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon

Point-n-Click, Mystery

October 2005

First Person

"In the thirteenth installment of the series, Nancy finds herself on a mystery train to Copper Gorge as the guest of – who else? – the infamous Hardy Boys! They were invited by tabloid favorite Lori Girard, who gives little reason as to why they are all on the train, and in any case disappears before she can reveal this little tidbit! In due time, Nancy and the Hardy brothers are hot on the case – but they have some competition this time around as they try to solve mysteries past and present on the last train to Blue Moon Canyon!

"First off, let me say that the animatics and character sprites in this game are just gorgeous...The voice acting in this game is also at a superb level, with the tone and delivery matching each character – from the preppy Lori Girard to the tough Italian detective Tino Balducci – to the maximum.

"The Hardy Boys serve mostly as NPCs in the game, although there is one situation in which you get to play as Frank Hardy...They are actually rather amusing companions during the ride as they banter in the way most brothers do, but I wish that they had played a more active role in the mystery.

"The main plot of this game will no doubt be familiar to fans of the series or the books: a dead man left a bunch of riddles to his treasure, you have to find it, and oh yeah there are ghosts lurking about.

"This new search for hidden treasure involves a mixed bag of puzzles. Some of them are entirely unnecessary because of their ridiculous simplicity...It is frustrating that at every step of the journey in this game there is a puzzle to solve, because it is easy to see that these easy puzzles are thrown in only to lengthen gameplay...However, through various puzzles gamers will naturally have a chance to learn about some topics that don’t quite make idle chatter these days: needlepoint and gemstones. The puzzles that accompanied these topics were probably the only good, challenging puzzles that experienced gamers will enjoy.

"This is an entry in the series that long-time fans will love. Despite its serious lack of background music, the game delivers strong in so many ways that you will look over any of the weak puzzles and enjoy another outing with Nancy, the Hardys, and the usual collection of goofy and humorous characters (even a recurring character from a previous mystery!), accompanied by dialogue that’s more crisp and witty than it has been in a while.

"If you’re new to the series, don’t start here – but think about how much you will enjoy this game once you have played some of its predecessors!"

A-

box front

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PC REQUIREMENTS:

Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP
1 GHz or greater Pentium® or equivalent class CPU
128 MB RAM
650 MB or more hard drive space
32 MB DirectX® compatible video card
16 bit DirectX® compatible sound card
24X CD-ROM drive
Mouse and speakers

2 CD-ROMs

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	Point-n-Click, Mystery
	October 2005
	Her Interactive Her Interactive
	*First Person* "In the thirteenth installment of the series, Nancy finds herself on a mystery train to Copper Gorge as the guest of – who else? – the infamous Hardy Boys! They were invited by tabloid favorite Lori Girard, who gives little reason as to why they are all on the train, and in any case disappears before she can reveal this little tidbit! In due time, Nancy and the Hardy brothers are hot on the case – but they have some competition this time around as they try to solve mysteries past and present on the last train to Blue Moon Canyon! "First off, let me say that the animatics and character sprites in this game are just gorgeous...The voice acting in this game is also at a superb level, with the tone and delivery matching each character – from the preppy Lori Girard to the tough Italian detective Tino Balducci – to the maximum. "The Hardy Boys serve mostly as NPCs in the game, although there is one situation in which you get to play as Frank Hardy...They are actually rather amusing companions during the ride as they banter in the way most brothers do, but I wish that they had played a more active role in the mystery. "The main plot of this game will no doubt be familiar to fans of the series or the books: a dead man left a bunch of riddles to his treasure, you have to find it, and oh yeah there are ghosts lurking about. "This new search for hidden treasure involves a mixed bag of puzzles. Some of them are entirely unnecessary because of their ridiculous simplicity...It is frustrating that at every step of the journey in this game there is a puzzle to solve, because it is easy to see that these easy puzzles are thrown in only to lengthen gameplay...However, through various puzzles gamers will naturally have a chance to learn about some topics that don’t quite make idle chatter these days: needlepoint and gemstones. The puzzles that accompanied these topics were probably the only good, challenging puzzles that experienced gamers will enjoy. "This is an entry in the series that long-time fans will love. Despite its serious lack of background music, the game delivers strong in so many ways that you will look over any of the weak puzzles and enjoy another outing with Nancy, the Hardys, and the usual collection of goofy and humorous characters (even a recurring character from a previous mystery!), accompanied by dialogue that’s more crisp and witty than it has been in a while. "If you’re new to the series, don’t start here – but think about how much you will enjoy this game once you have played some of its predecessors!" -
	A-
	box front




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	Hints
	*PC REQUIREMENTS:* Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP 1 GHz or greater Pentium® or equivalent class CPU 128 MB RAM 650 MB or more hard drive space 32 MB DirectX® compatible video card 16 bit DirectX® compatible sound card 24X CD-ROM drive Mouse and speakers
	2 CD-ROMs