Nancy Drew: Secret of the Old Clock

aka: Les Enquêtes de Nancy Drew: Le Mystère de l'Horloge, Nancy Drew 12
Moby ID: 18402
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Description official descriptions

Released to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Nancy Drew, this is the 12th in the series of point-and-click, 1st person adventure games in which you take the role of the famous teen detective.

Taking place in the town of Titusville during the Depression era, the surroundings, clothing and manner of speaking are representative of the early 1930s.

A friend asks Nancy to go see 17 year old Emily Crandall who runs the lovely Lilac Inn. Money is tight, but a kindly neighbor tells her she will inherit his estate after his death. But, when he dies, the will leaves everything to someone else! In addition to this unexpected and suspicious occurrence, there have been some strange things happening of late. For instance, various things have disappeared and suddenly reappeared .. strange whispers have been heard in the halls when no one is about .. items on the walls move suddenly on their own. Nancy deduces that there is more to Emily's predicament than meets the eye. Determined to get to the bottom of it all, Nancy settles in to solve the mystery.

During your investigation, explore the town of Titusville, talk to its people, find and use inventory objects, and solve unusual adventure-type puzzles.

Spellings

  • Нэнси Дрю: Секрет старинных часов - Russian spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

116 People (65 developers, 51 thanks) · View all

Story Concept
Lead Design
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Script Writer and Producer
Art Director
3D Artists
2D Artists
Engine Developer
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Executive Producer
President & CEO
Chief Financial Officer
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[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 77% (based on 16 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 15 ratings with 2 reviews)

Good who-dun-nit keeps you guessing until the end

The Good
A little research tells us that Her Interactive took the stories from the first 4 1930 Nancy Drew novels and merged them together to create this game. (See Trivia Section) In an undertaking such as this, you'd think that the continuity and plot would suffer. Not so! While playing this game, I never noticed a thing. The story flowed seamlessly with a plot full of questions and mystery.

I wasn't alive in 1930, but I've watched many old movies and it appeared to me that the "Depression" theme was carried out very well. Period background music plays throughout and conversations contain expressions of the times (like "big cheese", "the cat's meow" and "horse feathers").

All of the Nancy Drew games have been graphically pleasing and Old Clock is no different. The "world" you find yourself exploring is colorful and clear. The point-and-click interface is easy to use with easy-to-see icons for direction and object finding. The only fault I can find with the graphics is with one of the characters who appears more blurry and pixelated than the others. This in no way detracted from the gameplay aspects, however, since everything else was wonderful.

I chose "Junior Detective" rather than "Senior" even though I am an experienced game player. From what I've read, Juniors get more responses from Nancy while playing (which I like). Juniors also have a "checklist" within Nancy's notebook which the Seniors don't (another thing I like).

Puzzles were marvelously intertwined into the story and most were cleverly disguised as "mini-games". Solving each one rewarded you with the an important prize needed to finish the more complicated puzzles in the game. Some of the easiest puzzles were: unscrambling a picture (jigsaw), organizing pies for delivery (follow-the-directions), tile match (concentration) and dominoes. The difficulty of the puzzles increased as you got closer to the end.

Eye-to-hand (or should I say "screen-to-mouse") coordination is necessary in many segments too. Playing putt-putt golf and driving around town in Nancy's roadster are two such instances. I can't say I really liked those parts, but they were cleverly done.

Finally, I had no idea who the "bad guy" was! It could've been any one of the characters.

The Bad
I do have just a few dislikes about this game.

For one, Nancy needs money for phone calls, to buy things at the General Store and to put gas in her car. The only job she can do to earn money is by delivering telegrams - which also uses gas. Very few of the locations she visits during her "job" are important to solving the mystery. To earn enough money, you must spend quite a bit of time delivering those telegrams. (Too much time in my opinion) There could have been more ways for her to make the money she needed. (Delivering pies? Running other errands?)

My second gripe involves the clues for the puzzles themselves. The actual clues are fine, but there are portions where you must refer to something you've picked up or seen in order to solve a puzzle. This means either you write it all down or grab a screenshot of the clue and print it for reference (which I did). If the reference document is in your inventory, you can look at it, but it opens in a full screen. (Rearranging the pies is one example.) So, unless you've written it all down, you'll need to open and close the inventory window many times to read the clue step by step. A little tedious.

Thirdly, you aren't able to explore all of the rooms of the Lilac Inn. The doors are there, but you're not able to go inside. This is true for one other location too. Even if they're not important, I wanted the opportunity to at least take a peak inside those rooms. The same is true for any bureau that has drawers and every closet. Why not let us explore everything?

Lastly, I thought the "end game" sequence was stupid. I won't spoil it for you here, but suffice to say that it is another one of those "action" segments I mentioned above.

The Bottom Line
To converge 4 stories into one is no easy feat, but Her Interactive accomplished it flawlessly.

Overall, I'd say this is one of the better Nancy Drew games. Experienced game players should be able to finish it without the help of a hint file or walkthrough. Some of the puzzles are brain teasers even for the most mature player. Gamers of all ages will find it fun and entertaining to play.

Windows · by Jeanne (75956) · 2006

A fun game for when it's raining outside and just play with yourself or with friends or family, it's a fantastic game!

The Good
Practically everything. I'm 12 years old, and I play about 1 game a year, since i think i was...8 or 9. "Secret of the Old Clock" is so far one of my favorites. The music is very good in my opinion, as it can totally freak you out, or get you in a good mood. The characters where very well made, i though the graphics for them could have been a bit better. The plot was genius, as there were always difficult puzzles to do and parts of the mystery to be solved. All in all, this was a very well done game, the plot and the way it always keeps you guessing on what to do next. I also loved at the time it was set, 1930, and her interactive did a very good job implying it. Good job Her interactive!

The Bad
There are flaws in every fantastic game, as in this one. Though fun at times, the job you get as a telegram deliverer can get very annoying at times when you need money. Especially when you never get any tips.... The characters graphics where a bit blurry, but the other objects were spectacular. This is one of 4 Nancy drew games I have completed, and the shortest one of them. Her interactive, I realize the pressure from all Nancy Drew fans for there to come out a new game, but don't you think they'd enjoy it much more if it took longer time to come out, but also was a much longer game period?

The Bottom Line
This game is fantastic from all ages really. I play it myself and with my parents, so go ahead and try them. The game is exciting, scary, and the drive you feel as you have started to play the game to find out who the criminal is makes you want to play for hours and hours. Try it!

Windows · by erika hvistendahl (11) · 2005

Trivia

The blue convertible roadster that Nancy drives in this game has a history. In the books, Nancy’s father gave her trusty blue roadster to her as a birthday gift. After a brief stint as a maroon roadster, it went back to snappy Nancy Drew blue, eventually morphing into a blue convertible to keep up with the latest styles.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Jeanne.

Additional contributors: Stratege.

Game added July 14, 2005. Last modified February 4, 2024.