When I was a little girl, I remember hearing about these Nancy Drew novels, but even though I was an avid reader, they just never appealed to me. Recently I had the opportunity to play Secrets Can Kill, a Nancy Drew PC game that is a remastered version of the 1998 original, and I admit, I was pleasantly surprised.
One of the main reasons I never picked up a Nancy Drew novel was because I was never a big fan of stories with female heroes or protagonists. While that might seem strange to some of you seeing as I am female, a lot of it was because they female was always made out to be whiny or weak, so why would I want to read something like that? It was a relief knowing that Nancy Drew is a strong, intelligent, brave female lead and something that little girls and young women can look up to.
Prior to loading the game, I went and read the case, so I could know a little bit more about the game. For being rated E for Everyone, and suggested for ages 10+, I was a little caught off guard because the main plot deals with the murder of a high school student. I’m no prude, and I love playing games with a darker theme to them, but as a parent, I know I wouldn’t feel comfortable with my daughter playing a game that dealt with murder at the age of 10. So with that being said, I’d probably recommend that children who are at least in their teens play this, and probably no younger than that.
One thing I instantly loved, right from the beginning of the game, was how it was in first person. There are just certain games where having it in first person really helps draw the player into the game, and it certainly worked. I was able to read through all of these notes on how to play the game, which wasn’t long and tedious at all, plus I was able to get a feel for what Nancy Drew is all about. After reading all that I could, I began the game and it starts off with Nancy going to visit her Aunt Eloise who lives in Florida. Eloise just so happens to be a librarian at Paseo Del Mar High School, the same school where a student, Jake Rogers, has been murdered.
Your main objective throughout the game is finding out who murdered Jake, and what their motive was. Apparently Jake wasn’t too popular at his school, and was actually hated by many of his peers, so finding out exactly who did it proves to be a little tricky. Hal Tanaka, a Japanese exchange student, has his locker right next to Jake’s, and with him being under intense pressure to do good in school in order to get a college scholarship, he is a definite suspect. There are other students that you come across in the high school like Hector Sanchez, the typical jock who might be abusing steroids; and Connie Watson, the girl in the Student Lounge who knows Judo.
Nancy Drew fans who played the original will still have plenty of reasons for wanting to get this remastered version. In addition to the graphics getting an overhaul, there have been some major changes like a new ending, new puzzles, and everything is on one convenient disc – no switching required. Oh, fans of the games will probably remember how there are some pretty fatal mistakes you can make, and I made one of them where I accidentally blew up myself and the Diner that Jake worked at. How was I supposed to know that I needed to replace bolt cutters with a ladle?
Playing the game itself was actually simple, and the game made sure to tell me how to navigate through rooms, hallways, and other places. It was also really easy to learn how to check out the notes Nancy’s made, how to use the phone and call the numbers I picked up along the way, and other functions of the UI. If somebody asked me if there was one thing that sort of put me off, it was the feeling like I was going back and forth a lot. Granted I was trying to solve a murder, so I had to question the students and other people several times to see if I would get new information out of them, plus solve puzzles, but that was probably the only thing I had an issue with.
For fans of the Nancy Drew books and PC games, this is sure to not disappoint. It has everything they’ve grown to love, some slightly macabre undertones, great graphics, and it’s a pretty long game so you get your money’s worth.
To pick up your own copy, check out the Her Interactive page for Secrets Can Kill where you can either purchase it and download it immediately, or have a physical copy shipped to your front door!
Sidenote: Remember the little virus issue we had not that long ago that completely crashed and destroyed our computer? It was when I was playing through Secrets Can Kill in order to review it, but unfortunately I lost everything I was working on, including my save file. So, I got to start it all up again, which is why this has taken so long. Apologizes dear readers!
