Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society (DS)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.5 stars OK
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 5.0 (2.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Carolyn Petit
• Reviewed on: 07/22/2008
• Released on: 07/23/2008
• Originally published on GameSpot: Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society (DS) Review

Despite the fact that she's been around for nearly 80 years now, Nancy Drew hasn't aged a bit. She's still a hip 18-year-old with a boyfriend named Ned, a devoted single father, and a remarkable knack for solving mysteries. The character has a timeless appeal, and the concept of creating adventure games around her is a natural fit. Unfortunately, Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society is an overly simple, tedious product that doesn't do the old girl proud by a long shot.

The game kicks off with Nancy Drew receiving a letter from a clandestine organization called the Clue Bender Society. The society is composed, the letter says, of some of the greatest intellects in the world, and Nancy is invited to take part in a test to see if she is worthy of joining their ranks. With the blessing of her very trusting father, she boards a ferry to visit this shadowy group at their mansion on a strange, puzzle-filled island. It's not long before a book containing secrets so powerful that they could threaten the fate of the world is stolen, and it's up to Nancy to find the tome and unmask the culprit. The tale the game tells, with its secret societies, ancient tomes, and mysterious disappearances, has all the makings of just the sort of story that Nancy Drew fans and amateur sleuths should love, and it's told in an effective comic book style.

It's a shame, then, that the game fails to both deliver on the potential of the story and build a compelling game around it. You maneuver Nancy Drew from place to place, picking up items and initiating conversations but rarely being significantly involved in anything. Nancy carries around a cell phone, a fingerprint analyzer, a suspect journal, and other objects you pick up throughout the game, but you never have to figure out the proper time or place to use anything, as Nancy does this automatically. Nor do you ever have to piece clues together and form your own conclusions about any aspect of the mystery, as Nancy takes care of all of this for you. Sure, she is the great Nancy Drew and she probably doesn't need any help, but the game would have been far more engrossing if it made you feel like you actually had some part in solving the mystery.

Instead, all the game ever asks of you, aside from walking Nancy to the next key location, is that you navigate the occasional very simple maze and play the occasional very simple minigame, typically to unlock doors or one of the numerous puzzle boxes Nancy encounters. The most common minigame involves moving some colored baskets to catch matching colored balls that slowly bounce down from the top of the screen. A few others pop up once or twice, but they're all equally simple, and the game really could have benefited from a wider variety of more interesting minigames. You'll also frequently take brief trips via snowmobile or boat. These trips are presented from an overhead view and have you moving left and right to avoid obstacles and stay on a designated path. There's no challenge to them, but they do serve to break up the adventure a little bit.

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