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4.5
This is my Eighth review and completed adventure in the Nancy Drew series.First, I'd like to start by dividing my review into two factions.1) The game itself2) My personal detective work.* PART 1 *PLOT: Acting the part of an Egyptologist and thwarting the curses that restrict you from living as you try to find the Long-lost queen Nefertari?! Hell yes I want to play! :)INITIAL SCORE: 85CHARACTERS:Abdullah Bakhoum: This lead-assigned archeologist from Kingston University comes on as supreme in his field and he lets you know right up front with his posturing. He never once hinders your investigation, yet never gave any worthwhile information as you secretly conducted your undercover exploits. I had my eye on him out of respect, but mainly was only concerned with the actual mysteries of the tomb.Professor Jon Boyle: Many fans thought him rather dry, but I actually gained knowledge from him that reflected my general attitudes about the culprit behind his sandstorm attack.Professor Hotchkiss: She is a fan-favorite in some respects and I did get vital clues from her on how to analyze some puzzles. I thought she'd come off as a bother, but it actually worked out rather well.Bess Marvin: Or should I say "Classic Bess". She is a laugh-riot and I never tire of her personality. Over these last eight adventures, I look forward to the dialogue tree when on calling her.Lily Crewe: I was surprised that HER INT had made Lily's speech patterns and neuroticistic mannerisms much the same as Bess. If you closed your eyes, you might not be able to tell the difference which makes me wonder if the writers in this series know of only one brand of funny; the self-deprecating, scaredy-cat, side-show quipping entertainer. Lily was suspicious in my eyes, but it is hard to take her role of main antagonist seriously when all she did was lay on her cot. Hard to rule the world from there!Jamila El-Dine: I absolutely loved her real authentic backstory. Hard to imagine how people could be driven to perform such traditional events relegated to centuries past indoctrinations. Hey folks, that's religion for ya! Always dangerous to the sheep!Dylan Carter: Slouching, laid-back idiot. I didn't hate him or anything, but for Nancy to humor him in his flirting was a bit off-putting. If Nancy could tread that sort of line with Ned as her boyfriend, that doesn't speak well of humanity or as a message for little kids. I give HER INT points for reality though!CUMUL SCORE: + 1 = 86SCORE/GRAPHICS/SOUND EFFECTS:One of the top two scores of the series thus far! The Egyptian-themed music was very relevant and unique in the series. The crumbling stones and whisperings had you wondering if the supernatural was in play! The graphics were one of the best detailed games HER INT has put out, because I think it would HAVE to be when you involve hieroglyphics and the detailing that these pharaoh tombs actually had.CUMUL SCORE: + 2 = 88PUZZLES: Tons of puzzles! The most of any game in the series I think. You would expect that since curses, puzzles, and ancient script all go together in its Egyptian-styled theme. As always, I loved the colored puzzles and the Cryptograms actually were fun to solve [as opposed to your daily newspaper.] Slider puzzles were unique into itself and anything involving interpreting hieroglyphics posed a solid challenge.CUMUL SCORE: + 1 = 89ENDING: I am not going to argue with the ending if that is what HER INT'S vision of the plot was, but I really would have liked to know how the culprit initiated the traps and snake placement without becoming suspicious. I understand that they might have had a head start in setting it all up, but the person is not known as a craftsman in making these pitfalls so it didn't make any sense to the adventure unless it was explained. HER INT has a habit of giving a great prologue for its character's futures but never tying up its own loose ends or revealing the "behind the scenes" to unveil these poignant mysteries. Again, there is no player involvement with deciding who the culprit was either.CUMUL SCORE: - 4 = 85* PART 2 *I try to solve cases without any hints, walkthroughs, etc, even if it were totake weeks! Well, it took me EXACTLY one year to the day [8 game hours in total] and I gave myself aDetective Score Of : 57My Strong Points: I really feel that I attacked most of the puzzles with voracity and was successful in all but the seven children hieroglyphics task without cheating. The culprit was actually second on my list of choices if I were asked, but it wasn't a tremendous surprise.My Weak Points: I hit many stopping points in the game where I was confused on what to do next [so I looked up my next move]. I overlooked areas that needed careful exploration so I docked myself harshly when it became sloppy.OVERALL GAME SCORE: 85 + 57/ 2 = 71 [C minus]BOTTOMLINE: Not the most exciting adventure involving Egypt that I've encountered. More could have been done with the story such as REAL curses and/or examining the actual mummy. I never felt I was in actual danger or that the payoff for my efforts were realized in game time.Thus far, on my list of the eight completed ND games, TOMB ranks....# 61) THE SHATTERED MEDALLION * 89.52) GHOST OF THORNTON HALL * 873) THE CAPTIVE CURSE * 784) SHADOW AT WATER'S EDGE * 76.55) TRAIL OF THE TWISTER * 726) TOMB OF THE LOST QUEEN * 717) ALIBI IN ASHES * 70.58) SECRETS CAN KILL [REMASTERED] * 70
