Nancy Drew - The Phantom of Venice
Ages: Everyone

I have traveled with Nancy in taxis and her roadster, but the gondolas in Venice are the best - so far. You get a real feeling of how to get around in Venice - water sounds, views going through the canals - even singing if you wish. The map of Venice indicates streets and canals, and you navigate from place to place by clicking on different nodes - nothing is straightforward in Venice.

The game is less threatening than some, fewer puzzles and most of them of the number/code variety. However, there is more attention paid to the atmosphere so you get the feeling of being in Venice. Unfortunately, many of the locations are circumscribed and limited to following the arrows, and so there is no wandering about - which is a disappointment - particularly in the Piazza San Marco.

In this game you almost get to "see" Nancy - there are a couple changes of clothes, and a cat costume that looks like Cat Woman, in which she has to do a dance audition. Her assignment is to track down the Phantom thief and recover the loot. Every one is a suspect, from Nancy's German roommate to the artist doing the restoration in the building. Voice acting is good with many different accents, and there is additional international flavor when Nancy has to translate information that is in either Italian and German. As the plot advances, Nancy gets instructions from the police to do some spying, shadowing, even impersonating a suspected contact. Heavy duty police action for our Nancy.

Fun Factor: A particularly interesting adventure
Female Factor: Nancy is a great role model
Player Friendly: Always the "Second Chance"

Reviewed by: Editor - 07/08