Customer Reviews

Nancy Drew: The Final Scene

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

After playing all 5 Nancy Drew games, I can fairly say that this is one of the best. I do not think that it was the best for one reason: in the other mysteries, what you had to do next was either clear cut, or Bess, George or Ned would give you hints as to what to do next. In this game, they were a bit tougher on you, giving you clues such as "Start questioning your subjects...see if they have plausible alibis" but once you did...they said the same thing (not telling you that your subject had more to say.)Other than that, it was thrilling and intriguing. Once it DID get started it was so exciting that things just rolled along. It was a great deal of fun, and I will definitely play it again and again.

Some hints:
1. Never leave a room unsearched, anything that you find can further your investigation, and if it doesn't at least you will be sure that you didn't miss anything.
2. Try and get around your suspects, read into their personal lives...do what detectives do best (snoop ;-) )
3. Lastly, trust no one except you, Bess, George and Ned. Never let all of your hopes ride on the innocence of one suspect. Things are never as they seem in Nancy's world, so try and act the same way towards it in your own.

Happy Gaming!

Like the other Nancy Drew games, "The Final Scene" was great. In each Nancy Drew game, you get to be the famous detective and solve a mystery. It's not easy, though. You have to search for clues and find secret passageways. You maneuver through the game with your mouse, using arrows and magnifying glasses on the screen -- and sometimes, trinkets and trapdoors can only be found by viewing them at a particular angle. This allows for hours of fun -- or hours of being stuck, whatever. (This is what the HerInteractive site's message boards are for!)

The graphics in this game are incredible. The people look 3-D and although they do look a bit robotic, they're realistic and believable. The attention to detail is amazing as well. The scenery is beatiful -- there are cool things to look at that don't really pertain to your mystery, but then again, you don't KNOW for sure if they do or not -- it's always good to keep your eyes open and remember where certain things are.

The dialogue is clever and witty, and often funny and silly (but in a good way). My only complaint on this subject is the fact that sometimes the dialogue doesn't make sense -- sometimes a character speaking to you will tell you to try doing something you've already done, and Nancy (you) will say "OK, I'll try that" -- when in fact you've already done it! Obviously the game's programming can't handle ANY eventuality. But whatever. This is a small thing and it is a small annoyance at the most.

"The Final Scene" is so fun. All I can ask for in the next Nancy Drew game (and please, PLEASE keep making them!) is more puzzles (there were about five in this game; all pleasantly challenging) and, also, give us more game time! The box says it can take over 20 hours. I did the senior level and had it completed in 6 or 7. Then again, I'm in my twenties. (Yes! Adults, do not be ashamed to play this! I have gotten several of my friends hooked! However, I've also played one of the other games with a 10-year-old... she needed a little help but did pretty well on her own, so this is for all ages!) Also, like many people, I've played the other four games -- so I guess after awhile you get the hang of the games and that makes them go faster.

Synopsis: if you want many hours of good, mind-boggling and exciting fun, buy this game. Nancy Drew rocks!

I've played all the Nancy Drew games and like this one the best. You see, Nancy has to help find her friend Maya who has been kidnapped. The other characters in the game are good. This game is great because it is a little bit different from the other ones. The start of the game has you watch a kind of movie that tells you what the story is and you realize what the mystery is and that is very excited. My mom didn't play the game but she thought it was really good when I had her look at things or needed help.

My son (age 9) and I play the Nancy Drew games together. All the games are fun. They are mystery games in which you have to find clues to help Nancy solve the mystery. The details are great and the people look more and more realistic. The game does not look cheesy or cheap. There is a help feature. You can use the telephone in the game to ask your friends questions if you are stumped. But, they don't give you the answer. They give you hints about what to do next or what to find. There are some different levels you can choose before starting the game. (Junior, Senior, Master) The box says it is for girls age 10 and up. In my opinion, these fun mystery games are for anyone, any age. The Final Scene is about a movie set in which one of the stars gets threats and you have to find clues and talk to people to help solve the mystery. We usually spend about an hour a day playing the game. It lasts for about 2 weeks this way. The game is done very thoroughly and well done.

As with all Nancy Drew games this one is a hit. Also, The Final Scene was a bit more tricky than some others. Keep in mind that if you are a first time Nancy Drew gamer then you'll be a little confused in the beginning. Once you play one you'll have the "Nancy Drew knowledge" to play the rest. Basically the people speak to you and you go find clues and use the telephone for help. Pay attention to all details in objects and clues because you might need the information for a code/project later in the game. If you like mysteries and finding clues then you will love this game. After you've got some experience, try playing Nancy Drew - Haunted Mansion...our favorite. A couple years ago we bought Haunted Mansion and have been playing Nancy Drew games ever since. We've played them all besides the newest one...Moon Dogs. HAVE FUN!

... Someone just climbed out of my wardrobe." I laughed out loud when the Simone, one of the colorful characters in this game, said that. I am totally addicted to these games, and HerInteractive just keeps pumping them out and making them better and better. It's interesting that some people criticized it for being too easy... others for being too hard. I guess it depends on what things you're good at. I was very happy that this game did not include one of those sliding tiles puzzles (like Secrets Can Kill and Message in a Haunted Mansion) as I'm terrible at those puzzles. Also, I was pleased that the part where you have to solve two puzzles to get to a particular thing remained solved, so that you don't have to solve those puzzles again to get in there the next time(unlike the wall panel in Nancy's bedroom in Message in a Haunted Mansion, among others).

Also, like in Treasure in the Royal Tower, Ned, Bess and George are actually useful and give good hints (Another funny thing was when asking for Bess and George for help after doing the game on the "Senior Detective" level, they gave some sassy answer about finding it out on my own, being that I'm a senior detective... I applaud the increasing sense of humor in the games).

In any event, I do love all of these games and I thank HerInteractive for giving me hours of shared fun with my daughter (I'm a 40-year old man, and I love these games at least as much as she does).

There's a series of Nancy Drew detective stories out. These are great games for any puzzle solver in your life, young or old, male or female!

In this installment, Nancy Drew is in St Louis to visit a friend, Maya. Her friend is kidnapped, and Nancy has three days to help rescue her before a theater is torn down - perhaps with Maya inside it!

I was very encouraged to find Nancy done as an intelligent young woman who was still very realistic. Other games involving female heroines, like The Longest Journey and Syberia, tend to make them 'girly' and bubble-headed. This definitely isn't the case with Nancy. Nancy loves to chat with her friends and boyfriend, and shows her youth, but she also has a level head and intelligence.

The game is on a relatively small map, so you're not trekking around from world to world. You get to know the theater quite well, and the few people that you deal with. On one hand this is good, because you don't have hours of wandering back and forth to do. On the other hand, this can get frustrating. You've already talked to the main people involved ... but suddenly after doing one trigger action they've vanished, or have thought up something new to say? And you don't ask the obvious questions like 'where were you?' until much later? So you end up wandering around the theater, going back to every single room, going to talk to every person, multiple times until they move into their 'next stage' of conversation.

I played at the senior level, but found most of the puzzles extremely easy. The two puzzles I didn't solve immediately were both incredibly annoying. In one, I read the manual several times and tried everything I could think of to get the pieces to spin. I must have clicked on the pieces hundreds of times. But apparently I wasn't clicking on the piece in the exact right spot, and my boyfriend had to fight with it for a while before chancing on that. In the second sticker, I had a PDA with a secret code required to get into it. I had a wallet full of numbers including the character's boyfriend's birthday. I tried for eons to get various codes to work. The ending solution was a totally random one. In both cases I was very frustrated to have wasted so much time for that solution.

I actually lived in St Louis for a year, and my then-boyfriend worked at Wash U near a building they mention. I was impressed that they did their research well, mentioning streets and areas that exist around there. Unfortunately my ex in real life turned out to be pretty slimy, so during the game I was rooting for him to be caught in the theater when it collapsed :) It was both fun and bizarre to have all sorts of very recognizeable St Louis references come up in the story.

The scenes are very lovely, but they're all static. Unlike most modern day games that let you walk through an area smoothly, in this one you're restricted to moving through a 'picture book' of scenes, where you can only turn to certain angles. This made it frustrating when I wanted to go to a certain door or look a certain way. Often I had to circle around a few times to get pointed in the direction I wanted, or the game prevented me from looking at the object I wanted to see. Some drawers would open, others were magically withheld from you. It took away from the sense that you were really "there".

Still, except for the few nasty puzzles, the majority of the game was very pleasant, and lasted maybe 5-6 hours. If you have a walkthrough guide within reach while you play, you can enjoy the rest of the experience sort of like an 'animated story book', and it's great practice for the more advanced puzzle games that exist out there.

I have played every single Nancy Drew game and I have to say that 'Final Scene' is without a doubt the best. This game kept me on the edge of my seat! I am an aunt of 9 nieces and you can bet what they are getting for Christmas. They think these games rock too. Well done!

In this game, Nancy Drew has to find her friend Maya Nguyen who was kidnapped and is kept in an old theater to be knocked down in 3 days. There are several secret passageways, trapdoors, and puzzles all over. I was completely stumped on one of the puzzles.
Hints:
1. There are 4 ways to get kicked out of the game, so be careful.
2. Search every room carefully, or you will miss an important clue.
3. Talk to EVERYONE several times. Who knows what they might tell you?
4. Think hard when you do the puzzles- it's easy to get stuck!
5. You will be stunned when you find out who the kidnapper is.
6. At the end of the game, THINK QUICK!

"Nancy Drew: The Final Scene" is the first Nancy Drew game I've had the pleasure to play. After reading so many positive reviews from Amazon.com customers and game magazines alike, I decided that I had to try it for myself. The main attraction of the game for me was the thought of exploring a (dilapidated) vaudeville theatre, a (virtual) pastime of mine.

"The Final Scene" bears many similarities to one of my all-time favourite games, 1994's "Are You Afraid Of The Dark: The Tale of Orpheo's Curse." Produced by now-extinct Viacom NewMedia, "The Tale of Orpheo's Curse" also took place in a condemned vaudeville theatre built in the early 1900s. Both "Orpheo's Curse" and "The Final Scene" draw heavily on magic tricks and lore. Both theatres are full of faded splendour and faded memories: black-and-white photos of visiting performers, elegant, now-tattered wallpaper, and secret passageways galore.

"The Final Scene" is gorgeous. Intricate attention to detail, such as spilled popcorn, the texture of a canvas backdrop, and plaster moldings in the lobby really capture the feel of the once-elegant (and fictious) Royal Palladium. Character models are realistic, with good lip-sync and facial expressions. Voice acting is above-average, and the music and sound effects really lend the game a spooky atmosphere: slow, sultry jazz trumpets, creepy organ music, ghostly laughter.

The game offers two levels of difficulty: Junior Detective and Senior Detective. The storyline is the same for both games, only the puzzles are harder as a Senior Dective. There is a nifty "Second Chance" feature that allows you to start over at the precise moment before you "died." And yes, there are a number of possible deaths facing Nancy if she doesn't solve the mystery or watch her step, including electrocution, a falling box, a falling spotlight, and most terrifying of all, a wrecking ball.

Detectives have to carefully gather clues and interrogate suspects. There are four in "The Final Scene" : Joseph Hughes, elderly caretaker of the theatre, Nicholas Falcone, activist with a criminal past, Simone Mueller, power-hungry agent, and Brady Armstrong, teenage heartthrob movie star. Nothing is as it seems, and everyone has some personal involvement in the Royal Palladium.

The game begins with Nancy and her friend Maya Nguyen, a student reporter, at the Royal Palladium for the premiere of Brady Armstrong's latest film, "Vanishing Destiny." An appropriate title as it turns out, for Maya vanishes from Brady's (empty) dressing room as Nancy stands outside, helpless.

There are plenty of delicious twists and turns, and like Fox Mulder from the X-Files, you must "trust no one." Nancy has three days to track down Maya and her kidnapper before the building is demolished. This includes snooping through personal belongings, making phone calls, and exploring hidden passageways. Nancy also gets to play with some fun equipment. There is plenty of humour, most of it sarcastic on Nancy's part. "What's the requests?" asks Nicholas Falcone, to which Nancy answers, "Don't you mean...what *are * the requests?" "What are you, my freshman English teacher?" he snaps back, then asks again, "What's the requests?"

The side characters are just as memorable, including a spunky 96-year-old Russian woman, Eustacia, with her cat food coupons, who tells Nancy to save her gratitude "for my funeral." There's also a librarian with an accent straight out of "Fargo," and a bored, Columbo-like detective. Nancy deals with magicians, including Houdini, and young detectives learn several magic tricks along the way.

This is a fun, gorgeous, highly addictive game that will keep your young detectives busy for hours. There are plenty of exciting twists and turns and nooks and crannies to explore, and "The Final Scene" is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

I've played all the Nancy Drew games and like this one the best. You see, Nancy has to help find her friend Maya who has been kidnapped. The other characters in the game are good. This game is great because it is a little bit different from the other ones. The start of the game has you watch a kind of movie that tells you what the story is and you realize what the mystery is and that is very excited. My mom didn't play the game but she thought it was really good when I had her look at things or needed help.