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Review
Nancy
Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor
Review
by Tally Ho
October 15, 2004 |
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Flip-Flop ain't so bad, is it?
 When I first started to
play this game, I was all set to give it a horrible, scathing review.
I had one complaint after another, but
something weird happened on the way through that I can't quite put
a finger on. By the time I had played the game a second time, I had
done an about-face, and was hooked. (I always play a game at least
three times when writing a walkthrough - once to play and 'enjoy';
once to write the walkthrough; then once again, by following the
WT to the letter, to make sure it "works" and doesn't lead
a player astray.)
Anyway, did I say hooked? The HER
Interactive team have really outdone
themselves. Following closely on the heels of Shadow Ranch, which
I would classify as a Very Medium game, Blackmoor is a sure winner.
It has a good, strong story line, the primo ingredient in any game,
and the developers have attended to details in a way that their enthusiasm
becomes apparent throughout the gameplay.
 Nancy finds herself in England, in an old manor, and as you would
expect, becomes embroiled in a mysterious situation. There is talk
of Lycanthropy (that's werewolves to us peasants) and characters
who speak English that isn't quite English (Bangers and Mash, anyone?)
and dealings with gargoyles, ghosts, and devious puzzles created
by several generations of eccentric owners of the mansion, all designed
to protect some mysterious 'treasure.' As usual, nearly every character
is subject to suspicion, and rightly so. You will meet a Houskeeper,
a Tutor, the Daughter, the Granddaughter, a Librarian, and some other
people on the phone. Except for Bess, George, and the Hardy Boys,
everyone comes under Nancy's watchful eye.
Loulou
An 87-year-old Parrot
provides a bit of diversion. She speaks Latin; though not for long.
She also provides the complete solution to one
of the puzzles, and delivers a never-ending stream of comments whenever
you pass her cage, even when the cage is covered with a blanket.
After while, she just becomes a pain in the butt, and her most appropriate
remark is "Ignore the bird behind the curtain."
 Speaking of that puzzle, it is the one big squawk I have with this
game. It's located at the foot of a long stairs, which are part of
a secret passage, and therefore dark. Nancy has to win a game in
order to earn a phosphorescent Glow-Stick from Jane, the Granddaughter.That's
not so bad, except that the Glow-Stick is only good for a couple
of trips up and down the stairs, when it burns out. At that point,
Nancy must beat the same game again to get another one, and since
she must get five different answers from Loulou, chances are she
will be playing that game yet a third and maybe even a fourth time.
We'll see who burns out first; the feeble Glow-Stick, or the frustrated
player.
Many Games
Actually, little Jane has a chest-full of games that Nancy will
need to play, each one yielding some kind of reward from Jane; either
an object or some useful information. One of the games felt familiar,
and when I went looking, discovered that it was lifted wholesale
from another Nancy Drew mystery. That's okay; it provides a bit of
continuity, not to mention some relief, since having beaten it in
the past makes it easier to get through again. All in all, since
I like puzzles and games, I give Blackmoor high marks for this aspect.
Sound, Music and Voice Acting
 Relative to the other Nancy Drew games, this one comes out best.
Understand that with a series of this scope, it seems reasonable
to keep the rating within the Nancy Drew games, and not attempt comparison
with the rest of Adventure games. By this time you either like Nancy's
games or you don't. The lip synchronization is better than ever,
though the characters' physical movements are somewhat wooden, as
usual. Hey, if it runs well on a fairly obsolete computer, I have
no reason to whine.
Graphics and Technical Considerations
As with the other aspects of the game, the developers continue to
tweak their quality, and the graphics are - no surprise here - the
best of the series. The playing area seems somewhat enlarged, which
is a good thing, and the menu system derseves mention as well. The
Load/Save menu looks the same as always, but it not only works better,
there are unlimited Save slots. (This feature is not brand-new to
Blackmoor, but it merits a compliment nonetheless.)
 I played Blackmoor Manor on my old computer, which just barely makes
the minimum, and it ran perfectly. A full-install option is available,
which requires a little over 600 megabytes, and I strongly recommend
doing that. The disk needs to be in the CD ROM drive to start the
game, but with the full installation, it is never accessed again.
All in All
Relative to the Nancy Drew series as a whole, this one rates well.
I would give it an A, in spite of the fact that I think
forcing the player to repeat a fairly difficult task again and again,
even after beating it is really unfair.
Enjoy the game, and hold your breath for Nancy Drew:
Secret of the Old Clock.
Final Grade: A
(find out more about our
grading system)
System Requirements:
- 400Mhz Pentium
- 64MB
RAM
- 300 MB
hard drive space
- 16-bit color graphics
video card with at least 16MB of VRAM
- 16-bit Windows-compatible
stereo sound card
- 12X CD ROM
- Mouse
and Speakers.
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