Nancy Drew: Secret of the Old Clock

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.