Nancy Drew: Secret of the Old Clock PC Game Review
Taking the role of Nancy Drew, the player arrives at The Lilac Inn in the small town of Titusville at the request of an acquaintance, 17-year-old Emily Crandall. Emily, who has been recently orphaned by the death of her mother, appears to be suffering from a nervous breakdown. Saddled with running the Inn aided only by a ditzy guardian (her mother’s friend Jane Willoughby), Emily is jumpy and fears that someone is going to steal her mother’s jewelry. She claims to hear strange things in the walls (and if you’re already thinking, “secret passages,” this is very much the game for you.) It won’t be long before the jewelry is indeed stolen . . . and the Inn’s kitchen mysteriously blows up . . . and suspicions about a neighbor’s will are raised. Nancy’s curiosity will be piqued, and so will the player’s. Did Jane steal the jewels? Did Emily, in her delicate mental state, forget to turn off the stove? Did the family financial adviser, Jim Archer, have something to do with all this? His bank isn’t doing very well in these Depression days, after all. And who is this smarmy Richard Topham, who has set up a school for the Study and Development of Paranormal Powers in the former home of a rich, recently deceased, eccentric neighbor?
It’s time to jump into your sporty blue roadster and find out. In this game, the player gets to interrogate suspects, snoop around, drive all over town (watch out for potholes in the road . . . and cows), earn gas money on the side, run errands for the local folk, and play a variety of games. There’s a fun miniature golf course, as well as puzzles involving logic, skill, and cryptic clues. Most are straightforward; only a few are tedious (ever try to sew a curved seam using a mouse?) Running around town delivering telegrams for money would be dull if it weren’t for the fun banter with townspeople. See if you can catch sly references to characters in Little Shop of Horrors , Jane Eyre , and Friday the 13th . And if you don’t know who Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is, ask your grandmother!
Secret of the Old Clock is an easy-to-use point and click game that utilizes different cursors to let the player know what she can do. A tutorial is available for those who are unfamiliar with the game’s mechanics; even players who have solved Nancy Drew games before may want to check this out, as it contains help on new features, such as driving the car and using money. Hints are not available during gameplay, as they have been in previous titles. However, very young players and those who need a little help would do well to play the game on the “Junior Detective” level, in which you have access to a handy checklist that lets you know what things Nancy needs to do to move on. (Some of the puzzles are also a bit easier on the Junior level.) Seasoned players can go right ahead and play on the “Senior Detective” level; just don’t expect the game to hold your hand!
The 1930’s atmosphere of Secret of the Old Clock is just beautiful. The graphics are detailed, the environments feature many fun objects to zoom in on, the music is jazzy, and the mini-games are well-designed and attractive to play. The characters are quirky, sometimes funny and sometimes exasperating–a lot like real people. Nancy herself is never seen; nor are her girlfriends Bess and George, who can be reached by a coin-op phone. This mystery as to the girls’ appearance was a good design decision; players can keep their own ideas of what these main characters from the books look like.
Expect to complete the game in fewer than three days, but keep playing longer than that. Many challenges, such as the mini golf course, can be played over and over. Try using different conversation starters with suspects. Don’t be afraid to do something dumb, like run out of gas: it may lead to a fun conversation and another puzzle. In fact, do a lot of dumb things. Contrary to the Nancy Drew of the famous book series, the game’s version is not a little-miss-perfect who never makes mistakes. Comical mishaps can happen if the player makes a poor decision. When Nancy’s investigation goes wrong, the game has a nifty “Second Chance” feature that lets you pick up right before the screw-up occurred.
It should be said that although the game, rated E for Everyone, may appear to be something for little girls only, the series has had great appeal for players of all ages (and possibly both genders, if boys dare admit it.) Nancy is a plucky heroine who doesn’t take any guff, sees through shady suspects, and isn’t afraid to poke around where she may not be wanted. The CD-ROM series has come a long way since the first game, Secrets Can Kill , was released in 1998. In terms of game length and useful features, each new game is better than the last, and it is clear that Her Interactive pays close attention to player feedback. Whatever demographic group you think you fall into, don’t hesitate to give Clock or any other Nancy Drew game a shot!
Although this game, unlike the previous eleven titles, doesn’t feature much educational or historical content, it has its lessons. Seventy-five years ago, “cool” was “keen,” not everybody could afford a telephone, and gasoline could be had for 16 cents a gallon. And pop-iconic girl sleuths? They were just getting started.
