Nancy Drew: Haunted Carousel

You just can't keep a good girl down! That indefatigable sleuth, Nancy Drew, is on the case again, this time at an amusement park. There've been some mysterious goings-on (aren't there always?) with some of the rides, and the park has had to be shut down. The owner is a friend of Nancy's father, and Nancy has agreed to put her detective skills to work and find out what's behind all the shenanigans.

Nancy arrives at the Captain's Cove Amusement park, and after first visiting the security office, goes directly to her room at the Inn to check in. Here, she has access to her laptop where she can check her email and personal journal, plus look at a To Do list. She also has a cell-phone that she can carry around, which is very handy when she needs a hint or two from her friends.

After check-in, it's time to go interview the employees and investigate the amusement park. If she becomes bored, a handy "fun card" from Harlan, the security officer, will let her play arcade games for free.

As in all the more recent Nancy Drew games, this traditional "point and click" adventure is in first person. Nancy will interview suspects, collect objects in her inventory and use these objects on various puzzles. The laptop is a new addition and is very useful in keeping track of new information and tasks to be completed.

The mystery is involving, with each employee having a good motive to sabotage the park. The manager's assistant, the daughter of the former owner of the park, is especially intriguing, as her unhappy past unfolds. Her mother died when she was four and she has subsequently blocked all earlier memories from before that time. Her father, who died recently, left her a robot called Miles the Magnificent Memory Machine, who issues numerous puzzles as challenges to her lost memory. Of course, Joy needs help from Nancy in deciphering these clues. In the course of solving the case, players will pick up many interesting facts about carousels, plus a smattering of basics on circuitry, shorthand and band organs.

The story isn't as frightening as the previous Ghost Dogs, but is more negative. All the Nancy Drew games have several opportunities for her to suffer the consequences of making bad decisions, which often result in her death. In The Haunted Carousel, Nancy dies less frequently, but gets fired every few minutes for any little mishap. This seems pretty harsh as she is working for free as a favor, after all. And, the tone of the manager is always pretty snotty when she fires Nancy. Frankly, my feelings were hurt every time I was fired, and I was affected more than if I had died, silly as that may seem. However, there's always a Second Chance option offered, and termination and death are never permanent.

The puzzles aren't quite as difficult as many previous games, and many players will finish this game in a few days. Still, the game experience is quite fun, and players will learn some interesting trivia. And, those critical thinking skills will get a good workout. Her Interactive had some fun with the setting for this mystery by making arcade games available for players, a great idea! Playing them is a lot of fun and really adds to the game. The game's length could have been expanded more by having more locations to visit inside the park, but there is adequate variety.

[One note on a possible game bug: when trying to make a dowel for the band organ, I evidently went out of order, before some important information was collected by Nancy. This stopped my gameplay for awhile, as I couldn't move forward and certain actions were blocked for me. However, I repeated my actions in retrieving the broken dowel from the band organ, which then showed up again in my inventory, even though it wasn't visible in the organ anymore after picking it up the first time. Also, I now had two dowels, one in my inventory, and one still showing at the measuring ruler. The previously blocked actions were now available, and I was able to advance in the game.]