Nancy Drew is in Venice, helping the Venetian police discover who is behind a recent series of thefts of famous objects. Her old friend, Prudence Rutherford, is outraged about these crimes in one of her favorite cities and has arranged for Nancy to stay in rented lodgings in Venice, while helping the police in their investigation. The room is in an old house owned by another friend of Rutherford’s, who has agreed to have Nancy stay. This house is next to a canal, and Nancy will get to do a lot of traveling by gondola or river boat, if she gets tired of hoofing it.

This game begins a little differently than most Nancy Drew games, in that the opening game animation is set in the future. Once this is played, the game begins as a flashback. Players will commence play in Nancy’s room, where they can learn about this current assignment, pick up a book of simple Italian words and phrases, and grab a ticket to Venice.

On arriving in Venice, Nancy will explore the house and meet the inhabitants. There are three characters in the Ca’ (traditional Venetian house) that Nancy will meet: the owner, Margherita, Colin, the hired renovator, and Helena, a fellow house guest. Helena tells Nancy that there is a package for her, and when Nancy retrieves it, there will be information for her on how to contact the Venetian police for further instructions.

As in all Nancy Drew games, there is a mixture of methods required to solve the adventure. Nancy will gather clues by conversing with the characters, collect inventory items, and solve a variety of puzzle types. Unlike previous games, there is not a whole lot of direction on what Nancy needs to do. It seems there is much more information for her to sift through, but not many instructions or hints on what to do with a lot of it. For instance, there is a map provided in the game that Nancy can use to get around town. Locations of interest are marked with an eye, and Nancy can disembark at these respective towns and interact with different things. One town has a club where Nancy can dance in a competition and later dance for money. However, this is not explained or understood until later in the game, but Nancy can still dance immediately. It is disconcerting to walk in the club, click on a costume and be transported to a stage with no word of explanation.

Early in the game, Nancy will need to find an item in a store, one that has been placed there by the police for her to retrieve. Again, there is not a lot of direction on how to find this item, other than she needs to use the tracking mechanism in her PDA. This item will self-destruct in a few minutes, necessitating Nancy to travel to a different location and try to find the item again.

An exciting feature of the game is the way in which Nancy will conduct her investigation this time. Much more so than in previous games, Nancy is doing real undercover work, under the guidance of the police. She will be spying on people, searching their rooms, and tracking them around town. There is a definite feeling of immersion in this story. The city of Venice is displayed well, and players will get to see a lot of the famous town. However, there are also a lot of dialogue and verbal clues to sift through, which can make this game a little harder for younger players.

Other fun aspects of the game are the interactive mini-games of dancing, playing Scopa, a popular card game, and learning Italian through audio and visual techniques. The manner in which this learning is incorporated in the game is excellent. Players can dress up Nancy this time, which is a new feature, but it is meaningless as players can’t see Nancy walking around.

The puzzles are of the usual variety of manipulative and inventory combining types. The difficulty varies, with some easy and some more difficult. The puzzles aren’t quite as much fun on the whole as in some Nancy Drew games, but they are amusing enough.

This is the 18^th installment in the Nancy Drew series. It compares well to the others and is one of the better games, along with the recent Crystal Skull, and also Blue Moon Canyon, Ghost Dogs, Scarlet Hand and Blackmoor Mansion. Much better than Kapu Cave and Danger by Design. It is probably best for older players, as there is a lot of dialogue to work through, and not much direction. The Junior Detective mode isn’t much easier, as it really just adds a Task List to the game. However, for older players, this is a great game choice to while away those last few weeks before school begins!

Gameplay: 8.0
This Nancy Drew game is a lot of fun and will please most players. The story is exciting and intriguing; however, the puzzles aren’t quite as much fun as usual and there aren’t many mini-games.

Graphics: 8.0
The graphics are in the same style as previous games.

Sound: 8.0
The gondolier songs are cool, but it’s expensive to ride the gondolas!

Difficulty: Medium
The game can be a little difficult because of the lack of clear directions and the large amount of verbal clues, but the puzzles aren’t too hard for the most part.

Concept: 8.0
The game follows the same formula as in the past, but it is a successful formula. The presentation is good.

Overall: 8.0
This Nancy Drew game ranks among the better games in the series. An engrossing story, mixed with a good variety of puzzles and mini-games, makes for a good game. There could be more mini-games and better directions during the course of the game, but on the whole, this is a great game for older children.