Customer Reviews

Nancy Drew: Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I just finished playing "Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon", and I was literally blown away by the amazing graphics - what an improvement over previous games! These graphics are definitely on par with the likes of "Myst", and other adventure games - although you do have to play for a little while before you get to enjoy them...

This Nancy Drew game is about a young rich girl who had her father restore an old train back to working condition. There are many rumors surrounding this train - especially since the original owner wound up missing in the mid 1800's, and his engineer was found still in the train, in the middle of the desert, dead... On top of this, the owners wife had died on the train at an earlier date, so many people thought it was haunted.

The reason the young girl had wanted the train restored was because story had it that Jack Hurley (the original owner), had found gold in a mine - and that the directions to find this mine were all hidden inside the train. She wanted this treasure, and invited several people (including Nancy and the Hardy boys) to help solve the mysteries, and find the mine.

This is one of those games that ropes you in. In fact, I couldn't stop playing it!!!

I think it's important for you to know that I am 36 years old - a testament to the fact that these games are great for teens and adults alike!!!

Overall, I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed (or is enjoying) the Nancy Drew Mystery series. So far, this is hands down the best ND game I've played to date! Just a note of caution though - I'd suggest you choose the "junior detective" regardless of your age, as there are several areas where it's too easy to become stuck, and if you choose this level, you have the benefit of a few more hints and the task journal - both big helps when you find yourself unable to move on...

I'm writing this review to help others. I purchased a Nancy Drew game, mistakenly assuming Windows Vista would be able to play XP compatible games. After some research I found there are 13 Nancy Drew games that are considered incompatible with Vista. The manufacturer suggested a "work around", which fortunately worked on my particular game, Danger on Deception Island but it may not work for other games. It's definitely worth a try.

This is a statement on HER's website ( http://www.herinteractive.com/prod/FAQ/faq.php?sid=1592316&lang=en&action=artikel&cat=5&id=8&artlang=en ) regarding Windows Vista:

"Unfortunately our first 13 games are not Vista Compatible, we are planning on re-releasing some of the more popular games with Vista compatibility but we don't have any set release dates as of yet. Starting with #14 - Danger By Design, all titles moving forward will be Vista compatible.

There is an unsupported work around that may work, if during installation you set the default path as "My Documents" then the game could possibly run under Vista. Unfortunately, we can't give any more support or help on older games running under the Vista Operating system."

The games that are NOT compatible with VISTA are:
Games » Danger By Design
Games » Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
Games » Secret of the Old Clock
Games » Curse of Blackmoor Manor
Games » The Secret of Shadow Ranch
Games » Danger on Deception Island
Games » The Haunted Carousel
Games » Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
Games » Secret of the Scarlet Hand
Games » The Final Scene
Games » Treasure in the Royal Tower
Games » Message in a Haunted Mansion
Games » Stay Tuned for Danger
Games » Secrets Can Kill

Although the Hardy Boys really didn't do much in this game, it was fun to have them in it. The game had lots of pipe puzzles, some slider puzzles (which I love) and lots more interesting games of chance and puzzles. It was fun to go all over the train and look for pieces to some of the puzzles. I have played all of the Nancy Drew PC games and really love them. I am in the over 65 age group and these never grow old. I am now looking forward to the next one.

I just finished solving this game, and it's definitely worth your time and money. It's longer than Secret of the Old Clock, though not as long as Curse of Blackmoor Manor. Similar to Secret of Shadow Ranch, I'd say. (These are some other Nancy Drew computer games, for those who may be unfamiliar with the titles.) There are lots of puzzles, but they're not too difficult. The graphics are good, as is the ending sequence. I can't really think of a complaint, except that perhaps it could have been scarier. Looking forward to the next one!

This game was definitely not what I thought it would be. I was expecting a really easy game, mostly geared toward young kids and something I may be bored with. Not the case...

THE GOOD STUFF
1. The characters - the mannerisms and the personalities of the characters were great. I loved the phone chat with George & Bess.

2. The puzzles - they had just enough challenge to keep you on your toes. It stumped me at one point which actually made me happy. They had just the right amount of serious puzzles and fun ones so you couldn't get completely frustrated.

3. The graphics - A+! I was afraid they wouldn't be as good of quality but I was wrong. The detail was pretty darn good for a game geared towards young kids. The mine ride was the most realistic I have ever seen in a computer game.


THE NOT SO GOOD STUFF
1. The length of the game. I'm sure they know what they are doing when it comes to timing the game to keep kids attention but I thought the plot could have gone on a little more.

2. The HARDYS. Ok, they're cute and all but seriously I got a little miffed that they got to sit around while I (as Nancy) did all the work.

3. Locations. I thought that they could have expanded on the areas a little more. I would have liked to travel to a few more places before ending the game. Also I think the train should have had more rooms to explore. A lot of time was wasted trying to see if the doors in the sleeper car opened.

This was the first Nancy Drew game I have ever played and after this, it's definitely NOT the last.

I have played almost all of the nancy drew games and in my opinion this is one of the best additions to the series. The addition of the Hardy Boys added a lot to the game and I have to admit that as the game kept going I had a bit of a crush on them... to bad they are fictional characters. The puzzles were not as hard as I would have liked them to be, but they still provided a hint of a challenge. And there were a few classic puzzles in there like the one on the box with the duck tape (the farmer, duck, dog, and boat). I found that intriguing. The music was fantastic and the lines were wittier and funnier which added humor to the game that a bunch of the other games are missing. Over all I had a bunch of fun with this game and was greatly surprised at the end. It had one of the best endings since Final Scene. The only thing I would say they could fix is that it could have been much longer. But otherwise I have no complaints!

Your children are going to end up being very upset.....when you take over the computer and won't let them have their game back LOL! This game was totally addicting (and I'm 36). I couldn't go to bed last night until I had finished it. So, ummmm, I'm operating on about 3 1/2 hours sleep today. :-D

My daughter got this for her birthday on Saturday. It's the first Nancy Drew game we own. My daughter just turned 9. I think this game is going to end up being a little too hard for her to do by herself, but now that I've played it, I'll be able to give her a few extra hints that you don't get even as a "Junior Detective." And there's a couple of things I'm going to have to outright guide her through, because even I had to take some serious notes beyond what's recorded in Nancy's notebook to solve a couple of the puzzles.

I'm looking forward to picking up a few more Nancy Drew games for Christmas -- for my daughter, uh, yeah, for my daughter <huge grin>.

If you enjoy adventure games that make you think, this one is great for ANY age.

This game begins with you, as Nancy Drew, invited by the Hardy Boys to solve a strange 100 year old mystery: What happened to Jake Hurley? Lori Girard, a wannabe actress who will do anything for attention, invited a world-known detective, a television star, a romance novelist, and the Hardy Boys to help discover anything that will lead to Jake Hurley's mine, which no one ever found. But when Lori mysteriously disappears, the real personalities of these people come out. Nancy Drew, with the help of the Hardy Boys, discovers the real reason why one passenger wanted to find Jake Hurley's abandoned mine.

Overall, it was fun to play, but hard to follow the story, which surprised me because usually HerInteractive does a very nice job with the story. The game was not overly easy, but not overly difficult either. I found my self going online only twice for help. And, as always, the graphics and the music is amazing! Another great job HerInteractive! 5 Stars!

Nancy sets off from the station to solve a new and original mystery, what really happened to the owner of the train a hundred years ago when he allegedly vanished soon after the death of his wife aboard his train. What she will discover is beyond her imagination. On the train are famous people who could help in some crucial way to the solving of the mystery. There's Nancy, of course. Then there are the Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe, who Nancy can trust. There are more characters with eccentric personalities; one character we've met before on a previus mystery of Nancy's! The puzzles are puzzling. I got stumped many times. Easy ones tied in though. The whole plot was really involved, probably one of the best I've seen so far. During the game there are thinking parts, logic parts, clue detecting parts, and exciting parts. My personal favorite was the mine ride...I wont say more... My sibilings (13, 11, 9, and 7) and all of their friends always beg me to play Nancy Drew games for them, and they very much enjoyed this game. Some even had to run away from the room for some scenes...be warned. I jumped a few times... Overall I enjoyed this game so much and could play it again. The ending is a suprise and has a twist but I have to say ends pretty abruptly. Maybe they were trying to meet a deadline? The mine ride makes up for that though and also the suprising twist that the story recieves. Nancy has some new gadgets too...including a CAMERA phone! Good luck and have fun!

Nancy Drew: Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon (13)

-Before I Begin...
My review will be spilt up into sections and have a in-depth look at that topic. If you hate reading medium/long reviews or just don't have the patience I would not continue reading, but if you want to learn the most about the product before you buy it you'll continue.

-Gameplay & Interface
This is a point-and-click mystery, the arrows and hands are simple and easy to use. They also have made and improvement in the arrows since the last game. The hands manipulate items or add them to your Inventory(Toolbox). When playing the game you also have a panel at the bottom of the screen including a: Inventory(Depicted as a toolbox, which I think should be a backpack instead) a Camera Cell phone and a Journal, Help and a Menu Button (Other games have a Coin Purse when money is used in the game). The Main Menu is pretty simple. However, the loading and saving a game is a little clunky and you can't delete saved games. It also prompts you about your decision; it makes saving/rewriting games take more than one click. For this type of game the interface is perfect, but I'll knock off a star for the irritating save/load page.
****

-Plot
A fairly used plot in this series, finding treasure. But Her Interactive made this treasure finding story a little more interesting. Jake Hurly, a miner and owner of a custom-built train, falls in love with a young French woman named Camille on the way to finding gold. Camille later dies, Jake possibly finds treasure but he is nowhere to be found and his now "haunted" train is found out in out in the Nevada desert with the engineer dead. Many years later, Lori Girard (Daddy's little fame seeking, rich girl) finds the train and puts it back into shape for a trip to Copper Gorge, Colorado. She invites infamous guests along on the train to find out what happened to Jake Hurley and where his mine is using the clues Jake left on the train. A pretty simple treasure story (This series often uses that story but in different ways) now turned into a intriguing mystery, good work Her Interactive. The game also has some side mysteries like Lori getting kidnapped and someone throwing an emergency brake(Both happen to be publicity stunts). But you find who did those things only minutes after each event happened. What I didn't like was there was not really a culprit because there was no crime committed. The very end is when a crime is attempted after you find out who the culprit is. The Jake Hurley part of the plot was fantastic but the sub-plot(s) weren't very exciting.
****

-Characters
I loved the characters, but you couldn't really interact with them as much. Lori Girard was one of my favorite characters, I loved watching that dumb blonde trying to get publicity and how she always kept forgetting Nancy's name. Since Lori is the hostess she was probably the main character. Tino Baldcucci is a great character as well. He is a Private Investigator but all he really did to get such fame was being at the right place at the right time. He is as conceited as Lori, you'll probably interact with him a lot more than John Grey. John Grey is the first black male to be in this series, he is the host of Ghost Hunters, a cable show on the verge of cancellation about ghosts. He's a pretty good character but not a leading role unfortunately. Then there is Charleena Purcell a romance novelist introduced in Nancy Drew: Secret Of Shadow Ranch (10), who is nice and very smart. She is in the process of making her book that's on a deadline, who you'll find out used one of Lori's story ideas in her latest book without permission. I like her better now then when she was in ND 10, to bad she has no memory of that game. And finally there is Frank & Joe Hardy. These teenage brothers work for American Teens Against Crime (ATAC) and who were invited because their dad was friends with Lori's dad. The boys were nice enough to invite Nancy along as well. I personally liked this addition to the game because you get to play as Frank as a short-order cook. They really don't have much to do with the case, they are just a good source of info. I am looking forward to playing as them more in Nancy Drew: Creature Of Kapu Cave (15). I really didn't like how there was not a lot of character interaction in this game. But when you did interact at times it was really fun. That's something to add to ND 16 and beyond.
****

-Setting & Graphics
I love being on a train, the feel was so exciting. Seeing the scenery pass by in the windows were great. The cars were so detailed and beautiful. I think my favorite place in the train was the Projection Car. Later you stop at Copper Gorge, a little town in Colorado. There was the mysterious crypt and a Museum/Taffy Shop that was cheesy but enjoyable. The crypt was small and there wasn't much to do, but I mean in real life all you do in crypts is mourn. The graphics were great. Very realistic. Its amazing how much the graphics in this series keeps getting better and better. This was probably the most unique setting in the series. I personally love trains, boats and planes so this made me really happy.
*****

-Puzzles/Activities
The puzzles were fairly easy. I liked how a lot of the puzzles were combined into one to find where Jake's mine is. What was disappointing was the repetition of the puzzles. There were about four or five pipe sets you had to connect which got a little annoying. You also had to retrieve a lot of items like gemstones, tools, duct tape, a pen and other stuff. I don't understand how they made finding the gemstones easier than playing an almost impossible game with Tino to get a simple pen. Some of the puzzles were unique, like Camille's doll sorting puzzle and her favorite dance step, playing "Camptown Races" on the piano, and using metal slugs in a mathematical way to open doors on a scale. But some of these activities needed no skill at all like combinations, a word search, and a two memory games. This game had variety but also repeated some puzzles as well which brought down its score.
***

-Ending
Once you find out where Jake's Mine your sent off there to get a head start for a "treasure". You'd think that after all the puzzles you went through you would think finding the treasure in the mine would be somewhat harder than everything else. You open the entrance, memorize a couple things, follow some lizards and then use the info you memorized. Not that difficult if you are smart. Then you find the "treasure" and your so called "culprit". You wouldn't know this person is the culprit when he/she finds you in the mine and talks to you, but then he/she loses trust in you and you get caved in. Then you get out(I thought this was fun to do, felt like a roller coaster) to stop the "culprit". I liked the ending and what the treasure was but getting through and out of the mine was relatively easy. Although the culprit was kind of obvious, I liked what the culprit's plan or goal was. Overall it was good ending yet a little easier than I thought it should have been.
****

-Overall
This was one of the better Nancy Drew games out there. Definitely one to add to your shelf. The flaws in this game don't affect the game that much as they could have if the setting was different. The plot was pretty good and most of the puzzles fit into it. I enjoyed this game a lot after I played it more than two times. I think any game needs to be played more than two times to get the full experience. Some parts of the game are really exciting compared to other parts. The repetition of some of the puzzles isn't too bad. This game is outstanding but there is never going to be the best Nancy Drew game. It really depends on your opinion.

Add all these up and divide by 6...
4 *'s (Gameplay & Interface)
4 *'s (Plot)
4 *'s (Characters)
5 *'s (Setting & Graphics)
3 *'s (Puzzles)
4 *'s (Ending)
= 24 Stars Divide By 6 (Categories) = 4 Stars

Thanks for reading!