Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion
Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion | |
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Developer(s) | Her Interactive, Handheld Games |
Publisher(s) | DreamCatcher |
Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance, Windows |
Genre(s) | Adventure |
Mode(s) | Single player |
Message in a Haunted Mansion is the third installment in the Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure game series by Her Interactive.[1][2][3] The game is available for play on Microsoft Windows platforms as well as Game Boy Advance. It has an ESRB rating of E for moments of mild violence and peril. Players take on the first-person view of fictional amateur sleuth Nancy Drew and must solve the mystery through interrogation of suspects, solving puzzles, and discovering clues. There are two levels of gameplay, Junior and Senior detective modes, each offering a different difficulty level of puzzles and hints, however neither of these changes affect the actual plot of the game. The game is loosely based on a book entitled The Message in the Haunted Mansion (1995).[4][5]
Plot
Nancy Drew is helping Rose Green, a friend of Nancy's housekeeper, with some renovation work in an old Victorian mansion in San Francisco that she is converting into a bed and breakfast. But, there are other uninvited guests, visitors from the past—spirits who want the place all to themselves. Strange accidents are slowing down the renovation, and Nancy is trying to figure out who, or what, is trying to scare everyone away. Nancy suspects that there is another force at work: greed.
Development
Characters
- Nancy Drew - Nancy is an eighteen-year-old amateur detective from the fictional town of River Heights in the United States. She is the only playable character in the game, which means the player must solve the mystery from her perspective.
- Rose Green - Rose is a friend of Hannah Gruen's who invited Nancy out to San Francisco to help her with some renovation work on her Victorian mansion. She plans to open a bed and breakfast with her friend Abby. However, several accidents have caused her to worry about being able to open on time. She's invested her entire life savings into the mansion, but is she reconsidering this venture? If so, how far will she go to regain her money?
- Abby Sideris - Abby is a close friend of Rose and co-owner of the mansion. When Rose’s bid on the mansion was too low, Abby pitched in her savings to help her purchase it. Abby has a fascination with the supernatural. She believes that the mansion is truly haunted and that the accidents are being caused by restless spirits. Abby thinks advertising the mansion as haunted and holding traditional séances for the guests staying at the mansion will bring in lots of business. Could she be faking these hauntings to bring in guests? Is she also somehow involved in these so-called accidents?
- Charlie Murphy - Charlie is a young man who is helping Rose with renovations on the mansion. He recently moved to San Francisco from Iowa and studies history at the local community college. Charlie is inexperienced as a handyman and gets very uncomfortable when the accidents are brought up in conversation. He seems friendly and sincerely nice, but could it all be an act?
- Louis Chandler - Louis is a suave, middle-aged antique dealer who owns Chandler Interiors and specializes in antiques of the Victorian Period. Rose lets Louis use the library for research in exchange for his services as a consultant on choosing authentic décor for the mansion. He claims to not know anything about the mansion, but is he lying? Could he be the one causing these accidents so he can have Rose sell the mansion to someone else?
Cast
- Nancy Drew — Lani Minella
- Rose Green — Janis Page
- Abby Sideris — Valerie Mosley
- Charlie Murphy — Scott Carty
- Louis Chandler — Brian Hargus
- Hannah Gruen — Maia McCarthy
- Emily Foxworth — Shannon Kipp
- Bess Marvin — Katie Denny
- George Fayne — Lindsey Newman [6]
Reception
Edge has named the game one of "The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century".[7]
References
- ^ Wild, Kim (March 7, 2008). "Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion (GBA) review". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
- ^ "Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion". PC Mag. February 6, 2001. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
- ^ Charles Herold. "GAME THEORY; Prowling And Spying With Nancy Drew, The Un-Barbie". The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
- ^ [1], Message in a Haunted Mansion Teaser Trailer
- ^ "Nancy Drew Message in a Haunted Mansion | Girl Games Online". Her Interactive. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009.
- ^ "Nancy Drew Message in a Haunted Mansion IMDb".
- ^ "The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century". Edge. August 25, 2006. Archived from the original on August 21, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.