![]() Since she's a ghost hunter, it works perfectly. If you replace the last four numbers of Savannah's phone number with letters, it spells out 555-GHST which stands for ghost.HeR hints at the next game in the series (The Captive Curse) by having the first guest that checks out of the Ryokan be German.HeR In teractive wrote a mini-blog for Yumi as a promotional item leading up to the game's release.When you try and take Nancy's picture in this game, the camera malfunctions taking a blurry picture of Nancy.If you pre-ordered this game from HeR Interactive starting September 20th, 2010, you would receive the Special Edition of the game which featured the same sticker on the case as was used for Trail of the Twister.This is considered by many to be the scariest Nancy Drew game to date.If more of the later games are like Shadow at the Water’s Edge, I’ll keep on playing. On the other hand, the focus on interactivity in regards to the puzzles and mini games is also a positive step. I miss the days when the player had to figure out who committed the crime, instead of being told or instead of it being just so obvious. I do wish Her Interactive would focus on making the mysteries a little more…mysterious. Fortunately Nancy has enough locations to explore–Yumi’s bento booth, Yumi’s apartment, the arcade, and the ryokan (with access to various rooms and the garden) to keep things interesting. The game does not focus on figuring out who is behind the ryokan hauntings, but instead just advances along as new clues fall into Nancy’s way–a broken mirror, some footprints, a key card to access locked rooms. That is, there are only four suspects and players can rule out two immediately. I don’t like feeling exasperated when playing something meant to be fun, so this was a relief. Often I find I need to look up a hint to solve a complex puzzles, but in Shadow at the Water’s Edge I generally felt I could solve the mini games given enough time (I took three or four days to solve one, but I got through it). The puzzles Nancy is required to solve to advance the mystery hit just the right spot between too simple and too challenging. Clicking on the correct dotted lines won’t help anyone create something in real life. And these elements are too obviously supposed to be educational opportunities to be as much fun as the puzzles–after all, as a player, you’re not really doing origami. Other interactive elements include Nancy learning about origami, tea ceremonies, and calligraphy, but these are one-time deals once Nancy leaves the origami lesson, there’s really now way to go back. ![]() The mystery itself follows the trend in later games–Nancy captures the villain in the act, instead of having to confront different characters and accuse them of the crime (hopefully correctly, if you don’t want it to be game over)–so these mini games are really what allows players to tap into their logic skills. Players can spend hours solving Sudoku puzzles or nonograms, assembling bento boxes (a logic puzzle), playing pachinko in the arcade, and creating avatars to send to Nancy’s friends and to save on her phone as contact pictures. Immediately I’ll note that I enjoyed this game so much largely as a result of its plethora of mini games. Fortunately, Shadow at the Water’s Edge combines many of the best elements of previous offerings to create a game with just the right mixture of complexity, mystery, and fun. Though I love playing Her Interactive’s Nancy Drew PC games, the quality of each varies, making each new adventure somewhat of a surprise: you might find yourself playing in a complex, interactive world like that of The Secret of Shadow Ranch, or you might feel trapped by the limited locations of games such as Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon or Alibi in Ashes. Can Nancy solve they mystery in time to keep the ryokan open? Review The ryokan Nancy is staying at, however, seems to be haunted by an aggrieved ghost. Nancy, Bess, and George are in Japan–Nancy to teach English and her friends to attend a technology convention.
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