Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy
Number twenty-one in the Nancy Drew series develops a new trend for the games.
It is more grown-up and focuses more on the personalities of the characters but still maintains the mystery and puzzle solving style.
This game is set in an exclusive girls boarding school.
Nancy is asked to go under-cover as a student to find out who is the person behind the malicious Black Cat
pranks that have sent one girl to the hospital and the other so devastated that her parents withdrew her from the school.
The pranks are perpetrated only on the senior girls who are competing to be valedictorian.
The prize for the winner is paid tuition to the college of their choice. Could it be a way of eliminating competition?
The interiors are toned down a bit from the splendid mansions but there is a
magnificent library and the personalities of all the girls more than make up for the scenery.
Their characters are developed enough so that you will find yourself hoping that the
girl you have most bonded with is not the perpetrator.
Access to the computer, cell phone, camera and texting bring the game very up-to-date.
Puzzles are a bit more sophisticated - as one would expect from a valedictorian class.
In one, you assemble a DNA molecule with units of guanine, thymine, cytosine and adenine,
which can be intimidating until you recognize it as a "color" puzzle;
in another you have to pick out a 3-D model from plan views;
however, there is still the requisite, Diner Dash sequence of food prep and playing games like darts and air hockey.
There are six girls in the game, which is a huge number of active characters for a Nancy Drew game.
The facial and body animation is spot perfect from the lip sync to the shoulder shrug.
All come with a history that is enlivened with text messages and catty opinions that make
it a social/psychological drama as much as a mystery.
I think that Nancy Drew fans will be pleased.
Reviewed by: Editor - 11/09
Ages: Everyone
Fun Factor: A nice development in the ND series.
Female Factor: 'Ray for Nan.
Player Friendly: Still has the "Second Chance Option".