Nancy Drew The Secret of Shadow Ranch – Preview

Nancy Drew is one smokin’ lady lately, what with newspaper articles, radio interviews and a soon-to-be-announced major motion picture.

We met with Megan Gaiser, CEO of Her Interactive to discuss the newest Nancy adventure, The Secret of Shadow Ranch, which is not only based on one of the best-selling Nancy Drew books of all time, but is also the very first Nancy Drew book ever published in 1931.

This episode finds Nancy on vacation at Shadow Ranch in Arizona where the appearance of a glowing, galloping horse is causing the resignation of employees and threatens to close down the ranch. Local legend says the horse has come to avenge the hanging of its master and that misfortune will befall whoever sets eyes on it.

Experienced sleuths should be thrilled with the improvements to the game – the most noticeable being a larger game window that allows you to become more immersed in the story. This new user interface features a journal, a To Do list that must be checked-off when you finish a task, a cellular phone and the dialogue box. As with most girls her age, Nancy’s cell phone doubles as a laptop and offers the options to surf the Web, receive e-mail and call friends for hints.

Among some of the activities in which Nancy can participate will be barrel-racing and horseback riding. The horseback rides were a new and welcome perspective as was the experience of listening to one of the ranch-hands warble an off-key ballad that will have you covering your ears. There will be two difficulty settings and once again the ‘Second Chance’ option will be present so that mistakes may be corrected. The game also features a nifty ghost town where legend has it there are strange nocturnal sightings of the Just Adventure logo.

So if you’re looking for some mystery without the mayhem, then prepare to saddle-up, but holster those six-shooters for The Secret of Shadow Ranch is thrilling adventure without the violence.