So there are these PC games that star Nancy Drew, girl detective. Adventure/mysteries with clues aplenty, multiple suspects, and at least half a dozen ways to meet your teen-sleuth-demise. I've played eight of them so far; the latest -- just released -- is The Secret of the Old Clock, based on the Nancy Drew book by that title, as well as the book The Mystery At Lilac Inn and perhaps others. I'm going to take you along while I play this one, so that you can see just what a Nancy Drew game entails. And if you have any intention of playing this game in the near future, be warned... this definitely contains plot spoilers.
Hello, my name's Nancy! How are you?
Here we are at Lilac Inn. Look at that spiffy roadcar! That's mine, allll mine. Sure, she gets horrible mileage, but she's blue, darnit, and daddy bought her for me. Daddy's name is Carson Drew. He's a lawyer and he's incredibly famous and generous.
Okay, now down at the bottom of the screen, you see icons for my trusty toolbelt, my handy notebook, and my peachy purse... which is just full of shiny pennies and nickels. Oh, how wealthy am I!
Did I mention it's 1930?
Oh, hello, desk lady!
What's that...? Your name is Jane? You're the legal guardian of 17-year-old Emily Crandall, the girl I came to see, whose mother used to own this inn before she died a horrible and yet very recent death...?
Yes, I'll go upstairs and see Emily now.
Gee whiz! Emily had a box containing her mother's jewels, which she asked me to keep safe for her... but then the stove downstairs exploded!! And after the fire was put out, she came back upstairs to discover -- the jewels were gone!!! Is she ever distraught!
It is now up to I... I mean me... Nancy Drew... to uncover the case of the missing jewels AND find out why the stove exploded... oh yes AND find out why that old geezer Josiah Crowley left everything in his will to the local psychic and not sweet, dear Emily (to whom he promised it with a wink in his eye many a time). I must find out all these things, or my name is not Nancy Drew!
But first I have to call my dad.
Da-ad... I KNOW to get gas if the gauge is near empty. I KNOW to avoid potholes! You're so overprotective! Yes, yes, I know how to change a tire. Wait a minute... do you know something I don't? Are you telling me about changing tires because I, Nancy Drew, will inevitably need to change one at some point during this
Daddy wants me to pick up some papers for him at the bank. I am so darn dutiful, I will do it without hesitation. Let me just hop in my roadcar...
Oh, driving is such jolly fun.
Well, I picked up the papers and ran 45,000 other errands for people, had a chat with the local banker, and also delivered telegrams for twenty-five cents a pop. Boy, am I now tired! I think I'll go a'snooping over at the neighbor's property! That property used to be Old Man Crowley's, but now it's in the hands of that psychic guy, Richard Topham, because he got left everything in the will, the cad.
What's this? A path leading into the woods? I'll follow it! Tralala.
Why, it's a miniature golf course! Swell! Insert ten cents? Okay... all right, time to play!
Oh, I'm terrible at this! What do you mean I have to get par to win a prize? Can't I just cheat? You know... kick the ball in with my foot or drop it in the hole when no one's looking? What kind of cheapsake establishment is this?
Thirty-five!? This is rigged. This is the work of sinister forces, trying to keep me playing this game all day instead of solving my mysteries!
*twenty-three games
*
I did it! I won a pony! 'Bout flocking time.
I think I'll pay a visit to the neighbor's house, now. Yeah, yeah, I know I said I was going to, like, five hours ago, but I got distracted by the pretty golf course. Can you blame me? Hey, psychic guy. Mind if I "look around" a bit? Thanks.
*snoop, snoop, etc.*
Wow, there are clocks everywhere. There was a clock at the banker's, there's one here, and there's one back at the inn... what could all this mean? Well, not much else to see here, guess I'll head back to the inn.
Hey, I think I'll just have a seat on this comfy-looking chair... WHAT?
Hurray, I've accidentally uncovered a secret passageway! It's a tunnel. And it leads to a trapdoor in Topham's house! Could he have been the one who stole the jewels? No, too obvious. Besides, Jane says she saw him in front of the house while the firemen were about. Unless she's lying... no... my money's on the banker. He reeks of guilt.
I think I'll go upstairs and check on Emily. She's still sitting on her window seat! Does this broad ever move?
Poor Emily. She's still depressed over the loss of her jewels. She's also frightened because one of the pictures on her wall keeps tilting, and she's been hearing noises. Perhaps she heard me in the passageway! Should I explain? No... no, I mustn't tell of my exploits.
Hmmm. Now what? I think I'll drive around town a bit more.
Just as daddy predicted -- a flat tire was my fate. I had to cash in one of my nine lives after this little incident...
...but I am fine now, thank you for asking. Have I mentioned I hate the local gas station attendant? You'd loathe yours, too, if he said: "Welcome to Zippy's, where zipless service is zippily zapped and zippy service is the zippiest!" every time you got gas, which for some reason, for me, is about every five minutes!
Anyway, I'm back at the inn again, and I decided to explore that tunnel once more. When I got to the end of it, I listened at the trapdoor and realized that Topham was with a client, which meant it was a perfect time for me to sneak into his living room and pry! So I did. And I found some interesting clues in his copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Also, his cat meowed at me. Also, I broke a vase, and Topham came rushing out at me, threatening to call the sheriff. Gosh, what a killjoy. Luckily, I traded in another life, didn't break the vase this time, and all was well.
Oh hey, did I mention that in one of Josiah's notebooks, I found four clues to a puzzle? And that puzzle involved the key to opening Josiah's shed? Oh, and did I mention that I've now managed to somehow open (via tricky puzzles) all three of the aforementioned clocks, and that each contained a small mirror? That Josiah, what a coot. I wonder what all this means? I don't know, but I do know that the mirrors fit in special slots inside the shed, but there's still one empty slot which means I have to open another clock and find another mirror so that I can pull the special lever and have the light shine on all the mirrors and... no, I have absolutely no idea what will happen, do you?
*much
, although still the same day*
Whew. What an afternoon I've had! Long story short, I found the last mirror. I put it in its proper slot, flipped the switch to open the window... and voila! Light came in and the mirrors set forth a contraption that allowed a ladder to come down! I climbed up and found more clues in the loft! I found a scrap of paper with the word "Marcel" written on it. Also a note about some quartz Josiah Crowley ordered, before he died. I also found a broken ham radio. Mmmm, ham. Our housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, makes the best ba--
uh, hi.
Afterwards I went to talk to Topham again.
He forced me to participate in one of his
So I did. There were also some letters and things in the drawer, but when I went to touch them, Emily growled at me and accused me of being a snoop! I am going to smack her in her sleep tonight! Anyway, in the band of Marcel the hat, I found a key. I think it's the key to Josiah's safe deposit box! Why, maybe his REAL will is in there! The real will that leaves everything to Emily, and not that crazy Topham fellow! I think I'll drive on over to the bank this very instant!
Ugh, that pesky banker says he won't open the safe deposit box unless I do him a favor. Oh be still, he's married! His wife's birthday is coming up, as a matter of fact, and he wants to make her a dress, but he can't afford to pay a dressmaker. Might I sew the dress, he asks? Oh dear, I don't know how to sew. What gender-stifling year does he think this is, anyway -- 1929?! Fine, I'll do it.
While I'm in town, I might as well take that piece of quartz to the jeweler and have him shape it so that it can go in the ham radio and make the radio functional. Not that I even know how to work the darn thing... oh well, I'm sure it can't be difficult.
Right now I have a more pressing matter to attend to: that darn dress! Emily says I can use her sewing machine, but the machine is missing a needle. Emily says Jane might know something about it.
Jane says she will have to look for the sewing box. While she is oh-so-busy doing that, she says, could I please arrange the pies for delivery?
*arranges pies*
Now I'll go back inside to see if... what the--? Where's Jane? She has vacated her post! Oh boy! Here is my chance to snoop!
Oh my gosh! I just found a photograph back here, and it was taken inside that secret tunnel. PLUS... on the back of the photograph, it says that the entrance is under the window seat! Well I already knew that, of course, but if Jane had this photo then that must mean she's aware of the secret tunnel!
Emily says the picture on her wall keeps moving... and I don't go into the tunnel that often... sure, I did it that one time so I could go sneak around Richard Topham's house, but... oh, and when I was in the tunnel, I heard noises, and I felt as if someone was watching me!
My mind is reeling. I think I'll call daddy.
Daddy and I always have such meaningful conversations.
Oh, delightful! I just went back inside, and Jane has found the sewing box!
In there somewhere? In there somewhere!? Oh gee, HOW WILL I EVER FIND THAT GIGANTIC NEEDLE THAT'S RIGHT ON TOP?
*deep breaths*
Sorry, this mystery is just making me tense. And Bess and George are no help. Every time I telephone them, this nosy busybody on their party line picks up and listens in on our conversation, so it's kind of hard to have a decent discussion. Plus, I think my local switchboard operator listens in on my calls, too! I just loathe people who pry!
Shush, I never pry. I investigate. Shame on you for thinking that.
Meanwhile, I have the needle now, so it's time to go sew that dress. Oh, I'm awful at sewing. I get stitches all over the place. Can't I just pay off a dressmaker? I can afford it! I have $2.15! It's 1930 -- you can buy off a judge and three congressmen for half that! Not that I... would want to buy off... but anyway....
At last -- success!
All righty, so the banker liked the dress... for his wife... and let me into the safe deposit box. All that's in there is an old journal, which the banker let me keep, but it's locked. I have this decoder thing that's supposed to open it, but I can't make heads or tails of it.
Oh, I forgot to mention I got the ham radio working, but all I can get on there is static and some weird southern guy who won't stop yammering.
Somehow I have to figure out how to open the clock on the top floor of the shed -- but how? I have the clues, but they don't make any sense!
I think I'll explore the tunnel again. Hey... what's that? A lantern that... oh my... the wall moved! It's a tunnel within a tunnel! This sure does boggle the mind. Hey, there's a crack in the wall!
Emily's room! So this must be why that picture keeps moving. It wasn't my fault! But wait a second -- Emily's currently not glued to her window seat! Fabulous! I think I'll just go in there and poke around...
Ah, the forbidden drawer... letters! Notes! Oh, the clues, the beautiful clues! Now I better get out of here before Emily catches me going through her personal items.
So I don't know how to open the journal OR that danged clock in the shed loft. I've talked to everybody and nobody has anything to say. I'm stuck.
*thinks*
*thinks some more*
*one month goes by*
Wha-? Oh hi, it's me, Nancy Drew. Where was I, you ask? Oh, this silly mystery was so baffling that I simply went on vacation for a while. Where did I go? Um yes, well, you see... I went to the future. In a time machine. That I invented. I used it to go to the year 2005, where they have these things called websites and there's one that's all about me. It's true! Look!
Yes indeed, in the future, there are books about me, games... and websites! There's a message board on this one website, which offers hints and clues about how to solve MY mysteries! I thought, Surely it can't hurt to take a few hints from these boards. I'm stuck, after all. I'm not too proud to accept help! I'm still an ablebodied girl detective! I invented a time machine, didn't I? So I used the website all about me to find out what I should do next.
I, Nancy Drew, am brilliant.
I just hope that by doing this I have not somehow managed to keep my parents from meeting or some such silliness.
*high heel breaks*
*falls into a trench*
Damn.
All right, well I now know the code to the journal and so I'm opening it... oh my! Inside are the very clues I need in order to open that big clock! I have to use the ham radio to talk to some of Josiah's old pals to get clues from them, and then I'll be all set!
Well, that was a barrel of monkey fun, it was. The clock opened up and gave me a golden
As I approach the house, I see Jane in her car and she is trying to get away! Unt uh, I don't THINK so! I'm calling you out, Fraudo-Jane!
Oh no! She refuses to surrender and is driving away! I give her chase but... eek, what if I NEVER catch her? I must! I know! I'll cut her off at the pass! I've almost got her! OH NO, FAKEJANE, LOOK OUT FOR THAT--
...truck.
Oh, isn't that a pity?
Well, come to think of it... pity, no. Funny, yes.
Well, that's it, then. I have solved this mystery. FAUXJANE is the one who was scaring Emily, and she's the one who stole the jewelry! Now that the real will has been discovered, Emily will be able to keep the inn and live out the rest of her life in happiness and tranquility.
Darn right!
Her Interactive (http://www.herinteractive.com/prod/index.shtml) makes many Nancy Drew PC games, like this one! Suitable for ages 10 and up, and guaranteed to bring you hours of mysterious fun! Check 'em out.
9/14/2005
This feature was inspired by the book "Confessions of a Teen Sleuth," by Chelsea Cain.
All images are from the game and are owned by Her Interactive. They are used here to promote the games. If anyone from the company has a problem with me displaying these screencaps, please let me know.
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