It is amazing how a series that is this long-lived still manages to stay fresh. In her 21st computer adventure, Nancy is off to an all-girl boarding prep school. She will be impersonating a transfer student in her senior year. If you imagine that this is a situation rife with possibilities for high drama, girl style, you are so right. Her Interactive has landed a winner again. 

Waverly Academy is experiencing a rash of nasty practical jokes, perpetrated by an unknown prankster with the pseudonym " Black Cat." The parents are upset, and one senior has left. Naturally, the administration is worried and has recruited Nancy to pose as a student to ferret out the culprit.

When Nancy arrives at the school, she is immediately approached by several of the important seniors who reside on the floor of the dorms reserved for the Valedictorian candidates. The characters are your typical goth, jock, misfit, mean girl and satellite, but they are well-fleshed out and interesting. Not only do they impart a lot of interesting information in their dialogues, but Nancy will also glean a good bit of interesting gossip from text messages on her cell phone and overheard comments at the rec room snack bar. 

Yep, these earlier features from previous Nancy Drew games have made their way back. Nancy will be cooking it up in the snack bar per customers' orders, and also has a phone. This time, the phone has texting capabilities, but Nancy will only receive texts and not send them. These are typical teen girl texts, though!

As always, there are lots of fun puzzles, which in this game are a bit easier than in many of the Nancy Drew games. This is not to say they are not fun, quite the contrary, in fact. In the previous Nancy Drew game, The Ransom of the Seven Ships, I had commented on the high quality of the puzzles. While that was a true statement, and the puzzles were quite challenging, I have to admit I had a bit more fun with the puzzles in Waverly Academy. They are interesting, without being so hard as to irritate. They are perfect for the target age range of young people ages 10-16.  

These puzzles are a range of spatial, memory, manipulative and logic puzzles. There is even an actual Logic Puzzle present. As in many Nancy Drew games, there are also lots of mini-games to play, with a mix of arcade and board style games. Players also usually learn lots of cool facts playing these games, and this time is no exception. Edgar Allen Poe is the main focus, and players will pick up some interesting trivia about the famous author and his books.

Along with many familiar features, there is a new addition of a camera activity. Nancy will be taking pictures during the course of the game for various tasks for people. For a somewhat static activity, this is actually funny at first because of the comments from the people who are posing. Another new feature is the addition of a "losing clause," so to speak, in the arcade games. If Nancy loses enough games, the opponent will let Nancy have the needed item anyway. This is only for the arcade games, though.

The mini-games begin with two arcade games, air hockey and scram (a type of darts game). They are both very fun to play, but scram takes some time to learn, for those who have never played it before (me). The motion controls are excellently executed and the graphics are superb. There are also board games to play in the rec room later in the game.  

This is not an extremely long game, but Nancy will be a very busy gal up to the end. She will have to run errands and play games with the characters, and solve lots of puzzles. The environment is not very large as compared to some Nancy Drew games, but there are many more characters than have been of late.

The graphics are in the same 3D style as previously, but it appears to me that they have been improved a bit, although this may be my imagination. The characters seem to be more sharply drawn and better detailed. Their look is definitely different, and they appear more animated. However, there is a sameness about some of the girls. Another graphical difference is the use of transparent menus, which I don't remember from previous games. The rooms are beautifully drawn, as usual.

This is THE Nancy Drew game for middle-school girls. Not only is the setting reminiscent of books like The Clique and The Gossip Girls, but the characters are actually handled sympathetically and are not wholly cookie cutouts. The plotting is interesting and fun and the puzzles are perfect for this age group. The addition of the cell phone with text messages is a plus. The total absence of directing Nancy Drew around as a tiny figure or a car ,controlled by the mouse, is a plus.

The Nancy Drew games have collected a following amongst many adult players, who always decry the tasks in some of the games, such as flipping burgers and driving around town for money. They also want very challenging puzzles. However, they need to keep in mind that Her Interactive designed these games originally for pre-teen and teen girls, who have different requirements than adults. They like easy tasks and don't mind repetitiveness. A good plot, interesting characters, and fun puzzles are what they like. Middle school girls love to experience what they imagine happens at high schools, especially amongst what they imagine to be rich girls. Waverly Academy is the epitome of a prep school for the privileged.

There is a wide range of quality in this venerable series. Warnings at Waverly Academy belongs right up there with the best of the series, along with Blackmoor Manor, GhostDogs, Train to Blue Moon Canyon and Secret of the Scarlet Hand. It is a bit easier than some of these games, and is best enjoyed by girls ages 10-14. Christmas is fast approaching, and I highly recommend this game as a perfect gift for this age group.

Gameplay: 9.0
The gameplay is fun and interesting, due to great plotting and a lot of variety in the puzzles and mini-games. The setting is perfect for this age range. The puzzles are engaging and not too difficult, and several of the mini-games can be played over again. The interface is easy to use and understand. 

Graphics: 8.5
The game is beautifully detailed and animated.

Sound: 8.0
The music and sound effects are good, with the same theme music as always.

Difficulty: Medium
The game is about a medium difficulty, even on the Senior Detective level.

Concept: 9.0
There aren't a lot of new features, but most of the good ideas from previous games are implemented, and none of the bad. The presentation is excellent.

Overall: 9.0
Nancy Drew Warnings at Waverly Academy is a great example of what a good adventure game for teens should embody. The setting is current and relevant, while incorporating imaginative details that are fun to experience. The puzzles are engaging without being too taxing, and are mixed into the story nicely. The plot is paced well. I just couldn't find anything about this game I didn't like, except that it is a bit short.

I highly recommend this game as a gift on anyone's Christmas list.