Customer Reviews

Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

IF your like me you have probably played all the Nancy Drews games. (some probably more then once) but if not dont worry. The good thing about these games is you can start at any game and not feel like youve missed anything. Nancy Drew and The Phantom of Venice was a great game. I have to say out of the 18 games there are this one is in my top 5.The Story line is very exciting. An elusive phantom is stealing from Venice. He wears a mask and no one can seem to figure out who he (or she!) is! so thats why the police of Venice call on YOU as Nancy Drew to crack the case. Your undercover and ready to uncover all the secrets Venice has to offer. The characters are fun to talk to, the music is new and goes right along with the Venice theme, the puzzles and games are a challenge and the graphics have progressed so much in the last few games. If you cant wait for the game after this one there is a teaser about the next game after you finish this one...But im not going to tell you what it is! Thats something your have to sleuth out on your own!

We have enjoyed all of the Nancy Drew games so far and The Phantom of Venice is not an exception. Here are my observations:

This game has a great interface and it is very easy to master moving "Nancy" and accessing the inventory.

Some of the puzzles were a little less challenging this time around (we did have to look up a "cheat" for one), but still very fun.

The plot was better than average and was a very good mystery.

The game play time was a little shorter than previous Nancy Drew games.

We played this as a family (12, 16, & adult) over three days and everyone enjoyed it.

We recommended this and the entire series for good family entertainment!

OK. I've played all of the ND games, and though this is not as good as the first ones, it is very good. Here is my review.

The Plot: In this game, you play as Nancy Drew who is working for the government organization called the GdiF. Your goal is to uncover the phantom who has been stealing Venice's valuable artwork. Even though the idea of a teenager working for the government is highly unlikely, you were somehow able to believe it in this game! I would give the plot a 10/10.

The Puzzles: The puzzles in this game were very easy in my opinion. They were not nearly challenging enough. The good thing about the puzzles were that many of them were more like mini-games. Therefore, you can play them over and over. I give the puzzles a hesitant 7/10.

The Characters: The characters were very well developed in this game. They were all realistic and believable. You felt like you knew them by the end of the game.

The Length: This game was just a tad short. Not as short as the previous game, Creature of Kapu Cave, but still pretty short. It only took me 3 days to solve! I give the length a 7/10.

Overall: This game was good. It was almost as good as the first ones, but not quite. If this is your first ND game, I would start with a different one. If you've already played the other games, I think you will really enjoy this one!

Hope I helped!

Nancy Drew 18: The Phantom Of Venice

-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.

-Interface
The game uses a point-and-click interface (meaning you click in a direction to move from environment to environment), which is easy to use and has been the preferred way for all eighteen games. On the bottom of the screen are the inventory, checklist, notebook, PDA (new icon for this game), save, load, settings, and exit icons. On the top of the screen there is Nancy's purse and her fashion icons. The fashion icon shows an outline of Nancy and what she is currently wearing. The PDA icon opens Nancy's PDA which has three features which come in handy with her undercover mission. I like this interface and I find it easy to use and the "Second Chance" option is great because you don't have to restart the whole game if you don't want to.
*****


-Plot
Nancy is off to Venice, Italy, where she has been hired by the Gdif (Italian Police) to stop Il Fantasma (Phantom) dead in its tracks. This game has by far the most detailed plot in the series. The story has many twists and turns and leaves you guessing until the very end. It is so detailed and intriguing that you never want to stop playing the game. The plot flows along nicely and you don't come to an unexpected abrupt end like some past games (Usually leaving you with many questions instead of answers). Kudos to the writers at Her Interactive because the story is so great!
*****

-Characters
There are five characters, each with different personalities, in this game. There are three main characters who preside at the Ca' Nascosta: Colin Baxter, Margherita Fauberg, and Helena Berg. Colin is an art restorer (with a rather noticeable crush on Nancy) who is working for Margherita. Margherita is a snooty Venetian socialite wannabe who owns the Ca'. Other characters include Enrico Tazza, the owner of Casa Di Giochi (House Of Game), and Antonio Fango, the electronics engineer and possible criminal Nancy is sent to spy on. Phone characters include Ned, and Prudence Rutherford, from Secret Of The Scarlet Hand (her voice can get very annoying after a while though!) All in all these characters were great. However one of the characters you do not even talk to at all in the game, but still a very important character. There was more character interaction than previous games but still not as much as I would have liked.
****

-Setting & Graphics
The setting was absolutely beautiful! It was so incredibly lifelike, from the glittering water to the old architecture in the squares and palazzos. It really was top notch. There were people talking in the background in Italian and although you couldn't see them it made the environment come to life with the rich Italian culture. There is even an activity in which you must know basic Italian to complete a mission. The graphics were also very beautiful and detailed. Each game progresses more and more with the graphics. Overall the Setting & Graphics were one of the best features of the game and really boosted the experience.
*****

-Puzzles/Activities
There was a good mix of puzzles and activities in this game, and there were no filler puzzles. Also a good thing is absolutely NO chores unlike ICE, which included constant cooking & cleaning. There were a lot of new puzzles, plenty of codes and numbers and a lot of snooping & spying. The "Nancy Undercover" idea is really stressed in this game. You have to wear disguises, you have to plant bugs in people's everyday items, spy on someone and eavesdrop a couple times. Nancy was definitely on a mission in this game! On a difficulty level there is a good mix of easy, medium, and a couple of hard puzzles. None of the puzzles were overly frustrating.
*****

-Ending
Sensibly the ending is the hardest part of the game. You have to navigate your way through a very different take on a maze. I don't want to spoil the ending, but I definitely found the ending pretty tough because it also includes a timed puzzle. Anyways, the ending made sense and everything clicked without a hitch, so you won't be like "What the heck?" when you get to the end. Also all your questions are answered at the very end, so no worries.
*****

-Overall
I can honestly say this is the most exciting Nancy Drew game to date. The setting was magnificent, the puzzles weren't overly challenging but some were, and the plot was simply outstanding. You will not be disappointed with this game at all, it really is a incomparable to previous games like ICE, DAN or CRE. Her Interactive did a fantastic job on this game, I can't wait for the next one! The Haunting Of Castle Malloy

Add all these up and divide by 6...
5 *'s (Interface)
5 *'s (Plot)
4 *'s (Characters)
5 *'s (Setting & Graphics)
5 *'s (Puzzles/Activites)
5 *'s (Ending)
= 29 Stars Divide By 6 (Categories) = 4.8 = Rounded to 5 Stars

-Recommended Games
Danger On Deception Island
Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon
The Secret Of Shadow Ranch
The Haunted Carousel

Thanks for reading my review!

I have gotten all the Nancy Drew Series. But this is by far the best and most entertaining and educational!! I have been to Venezia and awaited with much anticipation for the Phantom of Venice and I was not at all disappointed but enthused by everything it has to offer. I speak Italian but found the way they had of teaching others was surely one for the books of learning any language with much ease and enjoyment! I look forward to putting my cat suit on and dancing in the club! lol got many boos at first but became a dancing queen in no time and worked har for my euros to get all those Italian shoes!! I was even happy to pick through the debris throughout Venice to earn extra money. (even though Venice is pretty meticulous) I love Scopa!!! A favorite card game of mines and several times played endless games with "Enrico"! The Phantom of Venice was never boring! It had tons of excitement and puzzles that will keep you on your toes. Che` Brava` Nancy Drew!!! Complimento!! Who ever gets this series will love it! I give it 10 stars if I could!! Buon` Fortuna tutti!!!(Good Fortune Every one!)

In Nancy's eighteenth adventure from HerInteractive, Nancy makes good use of her passport in her second international outing, this time to Venice, Italy during Carnevale. Her old friend Prudence Rutherford (first heard from in Nancy Drew: Secret of the Scarlet Hand) has enlists her to discover the identity of the Phantom, a masked robber who's been making off with priceless antiques. The mysterious Phantom escapes detection, having knowledge of the security systems for each site.

Nancy's home base is Prudence's old palazzo, the Ca' Nascosta, now in a sad state of disrepair after Prudence sold it to a penny-pinching, ladder-climbing socialite. Nancy shares a room with Helena Berg, a young German journalist who is in love with Venice and hopes to move there. A British art restorer, Colin Baxter, develops a huge crush on Nancy while working on the Ca' and tries in vain to win her affection.

Italian culture is everywhere, and Nancy must even learn some basic Italian in order to participate in an important stakeout. You carry an Italian dictionary, which comes in useful for translating signs and documents. The background audio includes several conversations in Italian, but if you don't speak Italian, these aren't crucial to the game. Many times, characters are simply commenting on the Phantom and his adventures, or about personal events. Also included are several flavors of Italian gelato, the Italian card game Scopa, the various Carnevale masks, and Venetian architecture.

Nancy is working with the Guardia di Finanza, Italy's version of the FBI, to track the Phantom. Because it's Carnevale season, there aren't enough officers to tail him, so Nancy is given a PDA with tracking capabilities. There are several possible suspects, including Antonio Fango, the shady IT dealer who works across from Nancy's temporary residence, Enrico Tazza , a member of the Machiano Crime Syndicate and a fence for stolen goods , Colin, who has past secrets to hide, and the mysterious (and ungracious) hostess La Contessa Margherita Fauberg. Nancy has three modes of transportation: on foot (free), via vaporetto (water taxi, free), or by singing gondolier (between five and fifteen euros per trip). The main map is clearly laid out and is easy to navigate.

Like Nancy Drew: Secret Of the Old Clock, Nancy must earn money in order to purchase items needed in her investigation, including books and costume accessories. You begin the game with 200 Euros, and if you budget very wisely, you won't need extra money (those fashionable shopping trips, gelato cones and singing gondoliers really add up!). If you find yourself running short, there are several ways to earn extra income, including dancing in a nightclub dressed as a slinky black cat (!).I loved the variety of the nightclub dancing, although the character animation was jerky and I would have liked to see Nancy move more than just rotating her wrist in-between moves. From my own experience, you can earn between two to over thirty euros per dance depending on how well you nail the cues (for the hearing-impaired: the dance cues are auditory, but flashing colored lights also tell you which colored button to press).

I played the game on the Senior Detective level, which offers fewer step-by-step hints (there's no to-do list, for one) and more difficult puzzles, and the majority of the puzzles were sufficiently intuitive, but still challenging. The graphics are gorgeous as always; in scenes of the canals, visible from your bedroom balcony, the water ripples in real time. If you choose to ride a gondola (the amount varies depending on the gondolier), you're treated to a combination of still photos of Venice and rendered scenery which proves quite effective (along with the various Italian-language serenades taken from Italian opera and popular songs). Unlike some prior greats such as Nancy Drew: The Legend of the Crystal Skull and Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor, the actual story in "Phantom of Venice" is spread a bit thin; the game could have benefitted from one or two additional suspects. But the variety of puzzles, some of which are new to the series (stakeouts, tracking, jewel heists), and the inclusion of Italian culture make up for these shortcomings.

This is definately the best Nancy Drew yet. This game is TWICE as long as the other games. This has to do with some puzzles that are very long to get through. (such as a card game that you have to win twice). Very fun puzzles, many surprises throughout the game. The animations are more detailed, just a great game!

I really enjoy the Nancy Drew Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice games and just wish there were more of the series compatible with Windows Vista. I am 57 and enjoyed this game as much as my 15-year old granddaughter does. Am anxiously awaiting the next one.

I think this is quite possibly my very favorite Nancy Drew game. Nancy is sent to Venice to track a thief who has been targeting wealthy homeowners and society events. The thief dresses up as a phantom (hence, the phantom of Venice). This game is long, offers fun and interesting puzzles, and has genuinely scary moments. The scenery is also beautiful. As far as the plot goes, it's excellent. There are some changes from the Nancy Drew book of the same name. All in all, this is a game well-worth playing.

I've played 4 Nancy Drew Games now including the newest The Hauntings of Castle Malloy; The Phantom of Venice is by far the best. 4 languages, English, Italian, German and Chineese are incorprated in this game as well as a very tough spot to get out of in the end, it took me several go's to get it right. I loved being able to catch the crook in the end. I would recommend this to adults as well as kids because it's challenging on all levels.