Nancy Drew: The Deadly Device

When it comes to Nancy Drew games, I have played them all. Starting with Secrets Can Kill, I have solved every puzzle, exhausted every conversation blurb between characters, called all phone friends, and even beat the games more than once. I guess you can call me a Nancy Drew Veteran (Or crazed fanatic, take your pick.) When I finished "Tomb of the Lost Queen" last year, I had mixed feelings on the game overall. The plot felt rushed and the characters weren't developed enough. Something was missing. When I saw the Teaser for the Deadly Device, I have to admit, I was a little skeptical. After all, science and I don't really mix too well. When the game finally came out, I pushed that thought aside and bought it. What I got, was not what I expected...but better. Better than the fan favorite, Curse of Blackmoor Manor? That's for you to decide. In my opinion, Deadly Device comes pretty close. If you are looking for a Nancy Drew adventure that truly imitates the style of what made the original games enjoyable, then your search is over. With Deadly Device, I felt like I wasn't playing a Nancy Drew game at all. For the last decade, HeR has shifted their game's audience to a younger generation. In this electrifying 27th installment of the series; however, they are calling back their veteran fans, listening to our requests and removing the childish mini-games and monotonous chores. This welcoming return of the classic Nancy Drew that we all know and love comes across as very nostalgic and refreshing. Another thing that I liked about the game was that HeR focused the mystery solely on the development of the characters. While the classic Nancy Drew games used backstories to carry the plot, Deadly Device lets the historical Tesla references take a back seat. Instead, the game is entirely focused on story driven gameplay. I found each of the suspects to be very unique, mostly because they all had good reason to kill Nico. I found myself suspecting multiple characters, especially when discovering new evidence. In terms of the gameplay, Deadly Device does not disappoint. Unlike the previous games, Nancy can now combine various items to solve puzzles. While the ratio of table puzzles to item integration ones is still much larger, I did like that HeR is making more use of Nancy's new inventory system. One of the recurring features in the game is the Day/Night mode. Whenever Nancy wants to explore the various areas of the lab, talk to certain characters, or solve time-related puzzles, she'll have to go to her bedroom and change the time. This in itself did make the game feel less linear and more open to the player's input. In my opinion, I found snooping at night to be much more scary than in the morning. The soundtrack in Deadly Device was also very memorable. I liked the Research and Discovery themes since they made the tone of the game less disturbing and more cheerful in such a grim location. The Danger Themes were also very well made and never ceased to scare me. So why did the game not receive a full "5 star" rating? Like anything, nothing is perfect. There was a few things that I still didn't understand... At the beginning of the game, your boss tells you that power outages happen very frequently throughout the lab. This only happened in the game once. Why include that tidbit of information if it doesn't affect the storyline whatsoever? In my opinion, it would've been best taken out. Throughout the game, Nancy keeps a box of evidence that contain key items from her investigation. While this was a cool idea, Nancy doesn't do anything with it. Why not bring it back to her bedroom and make suspect board out of it like in Alibi in Ashes? Nope, it just sits there, collecting digital dust in your inventory. Another issue was the game's achievement system. After solving the case, it shows me all the possible achievements that I could have won. Why show me the achievements after I beat the game? It would make more sense if the achievements were accessible at the main menu, that way players know what to do and look for them as they play. I know this may seem like an afterthought, but HeR should definitely reconsider this feature if they plan to keep using it. Overall, Deadly Device was definitely a fun Nancy Drew game to play. The characters were definitely more developed than they were in Tomb of the Lost Queen. The plot in Deadly Device was also much more engaging as it was scary. I would definitely recommend this game to any Nancy Drew fan or adventure gamer looking for a good challenge.

One of the better Nancy Drew mysteries. I've played almost all of them and was quite pleased with this one. The puzzles were really challenging, but I was interested to see what would happen next. A lot of interesting facts about Tesla and electricity are contained in the game. My only complaint is that the game consists of only two floors of a building and you have to constantly go up and down in an elevator, which can get tedious. The villain was pretty obvious from about the middle of the game-- I didn't have much reason to suspect any of the other characters, but the plot was still interesting enough to keep me going. No real jump scares in this game, although the electricity itself can be a bit intimidating when messing with the Tesla coil. I love Nancy Drew mystery games and am happy to have this one in my library!

I love playing Nancy Drew PC games, and have played almost every one. I was a little skeptical of this game at first after watching the preview, because I usually enjoy games that take place somewhere outside the U.S. and ones where you can explore different areas (in other words, where you are not confined to one building). However, this game turned out to be one of my favorites. The story line is great, the graphics are amazing, and even though you are in one building the whole game through, there is so much to explore and discover. The characters are each very unique, and depending on what time of day it is, you can snoop around their desks to uncover new things. The game makes you feel as though you were actually in a science lab, working with the technology and equipment to help you solve the mystery. You will not be disappointed with this game, and I recommend it to any other Nancy Drew fanatics!

This was not her best game ever. Still think the Japanese game was the best for spooky and fun games. This one had a nice twist (although as mom, I was thinking that the person whodunit was the culprit) that my girls enjoyed. The games in this one were on the more complex side - which was not a bad thing. Some were a bit frustrating, but that's okay for us. It is a bit difficult to try and help a child mid game - figuring out what they're doing, etc.We did like the way you could get hints/tips easily. There was confusion several times on where/who to go to to get things done and the hints being right there on the game were a welcome surprise. And when a child was too frustrated trying to get something done after multiple tries, to get a solution on the game was wonderful too. Much nicer than having to get on the chat board for help.Overall, a good game and one we will play again.

I bought this game for my (physics and electrical-engineer double-major) boyfriend and I to play. This was his first Nancy Drew game (my 9th?) and it was super fun for both of us! It was easier for him to play since he actually had experience in the puzzles, which were all very authentic to engineering and the sciences. For me they were difficult, so I'm glad he was there to help me. Definitely one of the more challenging games if you do not have a background in the subjects, but nothing too hard. This game got him hooked, and we've played other ND games since! Buy it!

Her Interactive is a great site. Thought I was done with ND at my age, but decided to go ahead and buy the last 2 and was glad I did. I have all of them. Love that some games are educational as well as entertaining and that the website is safe for young and old to view.. Their Positive message board is monitored. My child is too young yet to play, but I am saving the games for her and will let her view the website which is one of a very few that I am comfortable with. Great job H I your games get better with each new one. Just wish you could release more games each year. The waiting for the next one is just too long.

I purchased this CD for my granddaughter. She loves the interactive mysteries. This one as well as Ghost of Thornton Hall were great choices according to her. Hope they keep producing more.

Delivered on-time. Product is as advertised and as expected. No problems encountered. Thank you.

It's a good game, challenges your intelligence and clue solving skills in a fun way. Nancy Drew games rarely disappoint.

LOVE THIS GAME! Also works great on a Mac!

Bought this for my daughter who loves mystery games. This one did not disappoint.