Her Interactive has been producing the Nancy Drew adventure games for many years now. The recently released Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy was number 19 in the series. The games are all the same basic gameplay format of traditional first-place adventure games, with certain distinctive features in all the later games: a mixture of inventory and manipulative puzzles, educational facts germaine to the main plot, mini-games and some type of PDA or computer to keep track of information. This is a successful formula and Her Interactive has been wise to stay with the status quo.

However, there is nothing wrong with branching out into new additional territory, while maintaining the traditional way of doing business as well. Her Interactive has introduced a new, additional line of “casual” games with the Nancy Drew trademark, which are very different from their previous adventure games. These games are Hidden Object games, where players have to find certain items in a static environment, somewhat like I Spy or Where’s Waldo books. These hidden object games are very popular in the casual game market, and several of them are based on well-known literary characters like Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and now Nancy Drew.

Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! takes the hidden object format, and adds a new dimension in keeping with the detective theme of solving mysteries. Players not only have to find the hidden objects, but they also have to combine them together in order to solve the current task at hand. Each scene requires players to solve a piece of the mystery. These scenes take place in set locations that have several hidden objects. When Nancy finds these objects, she will combine them together in sets of two, in order to either form a new object for use later, or to cause something to happen.

Finding the objects isn’t actually the focal point as in most hidden object games, as these items are highlighted by flashing lights when the magnifying glass is passed over them and are not difficult to find. Rather, the purpose of the game lies in figuring out the relationship between the many found objects and solving the puzzles. This is more in line with adventure games. Each object has a pop-up informational clue that will help players decipher how best to use the object. These puzzles can be a bit challenging further into the game!

The interface is fairly easy to use and mostly just requires players to use different action icons at the bottom of the screen to look at things or to manipulate the environment in some way. The number of objects to be found is displayed, but the specific items are not listed. There is no timer as in many hidden object game, so players can solve at their leisure.

The game looks very similar to the original Nancy Drew games and features the same type of artwork, which is always well-drawn and attractive. There are characters that Nancy will interrogate, which is also similar, but this dialogue feature is designed differently in that Nancy has to choose the “right” conversational topic out of several, rather than freely choosing any topic and receiving a rational answer. Here, there is only one right choice and all others will elicit a nonsensical answer. I don’t know the purpose of this design and found it slightly irritating.

Nancy Drew appears to be voiced by the same actress, which is great for those who’ve been playing the regular Nancy Drew games for several years now.

This is definitely a title that any fan of casual games will want to play, especially anyone that enjoys hidden object games. Requiring players to solve puzzles with the hidden objects is a good idea and one that works well with the overall gameplay format. I believe that Her Interactive has found a new niche for Nancy Drew fans, and also possibly a new audience amongst the casual game crowd. I recommend this game to any casual game enthusiast and any Nancy Drew fan that is interested in a light game that doesn’t require a lot of time to play in one sitting.

Gameplay: 8.0
Nancy Drew Dossier is a good example of a well-designed hidden object casual game. The story is interesting, the puzzles challenging but not too difficult, and the game can be picked up and played very easily. Good fun!

Graphics: 8.0
The game is visually attractive, which is important in these types of games that depend on people looking closely at the scenes to solve the puzzles.

Sound: 6.0
The music is average and not very memorable, because I can’t really remember it very well now that I am writing about it!

Difficulty: Medium
This game is of a medium difficulty. The objects are easy to find, but the puzzles are challenging to solve.

Concept: 8.0
The hidden object theme isn’t new, but the added feature of requiring players to combine objects together is somewhat unique (I haven’t seen it before, anyway). The execution is good, too.

Overall: 8.0
A good casual game that will offer lots of enjoyment. This would make a good gift for any fan of casual games, and would also be a good choice for family members that may not play many computer games. It is available for purchase by download, and so can be purchased and played instantly. Nancy Drew Dossier is a great new entry in the world of casual games, and I look forward to more to come.