Nancy Drew: Danger on Deception Island

The Good
I've played almost all of the Nancy Drew adventure games released so far, and I think this one is better than 80% of them. Even though I consider myself to be an experienced adventure gamer, I played at the Junior level and still enjoyed it very much.

The first thing you'll notice is that the Save/Load game screen has been redone. One of my "pet peeves" is being limited to the number of game save slots. Finally somebody listened because in Deception Island you seem to have an unlimited number of them. (Thank you HerInteractive!)

The graphics are still clean and colorful and are no different than what has been seen in the other Nancy Drew games. The background music and sound effects were nothing to write home about and quite forgettable, really. Although there are still too few characters to meet and far too few locations, the story itself kept me interested. The puzzles are aimed for younger players even though there are a few that even adults will find challenging.

Interacting with a whale was one of the best parts of the game, and the villain was a real surprise.

The Bad
The opening music is still the same as the past 6 or so games. A little more variety would make a big difference in my overall opinion, I think.

Nancy must ride a bicycle and row in a kayak to find other locations. This part is interesting but it has one flaw. She must pick up the "safety equipment" (helmet and/or vest) each and every time she wants to go somewhere. (If she doesn't, she has an accident and the game ends prematurely.) It would have been much better if those items were kept in inventory and used automatically the second time around.

The Bottom Line
The Nancy Drew games keep getting better and better. I recommend this one for players of all experience and all ages.