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You, as Nancy Drew, are undercover at a prestigious girls' boarding school to discover the culprit behind threatening notes and dangerous accidents aimed at its valedictorian candidates! Is there a secret someone wants to protect or are the malicious pranks intended to scare away the competition - permanently? Solve the mystery before the threats turn deadly and you're expelled from the case!
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Technical Details
- Features young sleuth Nancy Drew as she goes undercover at a top boarding school- Help Nancy discover who has been threatening the academy's valedictorian candidates
- Blend in with typical high-school student behavior: text your friends, cram for projects and become familiar with social cliques
- Run the school snack bar and play air hockey in the student lounge to incorporate yourself on campus
- Jr. and Sr. difficulty settings offer different levels of challenge
See more technical details
By S. Scott (lebanon, pa)
The game would not load after several attempts. Tech support was no use. Hopefully, this is not a sign of things to come from Nancy games.
By J. Lentz (Virginia, USA)
I have played more than ten Nancy Drew games and honestly this one was nothing special in comparison to some of the past ones. It wasn't terrible and some of the dialogue was quite amusing in terms of boarding school drama but there weren't enough steps to get to the final conclusion.
By Veggiechiliqueen
"Warnings at Waverly Academy" (WAC) is Nancy Drew's 21st adventure with HerInteractive. In WAC, Nancy goes undercover at Waverly Academy, a posh girls-only boarding school in New York. Some of the girls have been getting threatening notes from "the Black Cat," which are then followed by malicious accidents. Nancy, as Becca Sawyer, has been asked by the school's headmistress to investigate.
Unlike the previous installments Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy and Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships, there are five characters (suspects) that you have to befriend: Izzy Romero, Mel Corbalis, Leela Yadav, Corine Myers, and Rachel Hubbard. True, the girls fall into somewhat predictable stereotypes (the jock, the Queen Bee, the Goth girl), but they've been given distinct personalities with backstories.
The first comparison that springs to mind is the benchmark of Nancy Drew games, Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor. The game is not nearly as long (or difficult!) as Blackmoor Manor. Other than the fact that both games take place in drafty Gothic buildings, there's really not much in common.
The school grounds are compact and make for easy (if limited) exploration. Inside the school, you have access to about ten or so rooms during the course of the game, along with limited space outside. I would have liked to see more areas to explore, particularly outside (there's an inviting-looking gazebo I kept wanting to explore). The puzzles fit well into the storyline. There's some filler in the form of "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" puzzles; if Nancy wants access to a particular item, she has to do something for another girl first. But these puzzles fit well and are subject-related (a science puzzle, a math problem or two). You're also responsible for working in the school's snack shop (you have to do it at least once a (game) day or you get demerits). You can die (there's a handy Second Chance feature) or get expelled (say, for pulling the fire alarm, too many noise violations, picking locks, or sneaking out at night), but it's smooth sailing for the most part.
Even though Nancy has had plenty of techno-tools in her arsenal in previous games, WAC felt totally current: you keep in touch with the other girls via Twitter, there's mention of MySpace (called URSpace), and part of your job is to help with the school's website. HerInteractive even did a cool "Watching Waverly" Twitter soap opera before the game's launch (the Twitter script can be read at twitter dot com/HerInteractive/watchingwaverly And the school has a "website" at warningsatwaverlyacademy dot com (the campus map got my hopes up that it would be explorable).
Overall, WAC was short, but fun. You really get a feel for the girls, the school, and the mystery. The historical storyline tied in well with the overall theme. The graphics look great, particularly the character animations (special mention to the modeling of Rachel; I thought I was watching a movie during cutscenes, she was so realistic). The music was perfect without being intrusive. There's a fun Easter Egg that you can find (there's probably more), and references to earlier ND games (including the ever-present Koko Kringles). And there's not much in the way of scare factor, so this is a good choice for younger gamers (much less of an emphasis on the supernatural than Blackmoor or Nancy Drew: The Legend of the Crystal Skull).
By Dolly Landrum
Definitely better than Ransom, not as good as some of the others. No need to go into a detailed summary of the game, as other reviewers have done that quite nicely. I didn't have a problem with the story-line (girls can be catty). After all, it is a game. But I really wish that HerInteractive would just stop with the cooking. I never did get a teacher's order correct! At one point in the game, I laughed so hard I was crying. When I solved the bird puzzle...the absolute worst thing happened!! I am not good at geography at all. Good going, HerInteractive. I was NOT expecting that. If you have to choose between Ransom or Warnings, I believe that Warnings is a better game by far. Of course, at the end, there's a teaser of the next game. I cannot wait for it to be released!
By A. Gooding
Nancy Drew 21: Warnings At Waverly Academy
-Before I Begin...
My review will be spilt up into sections and have a in-depth look at that topic. If you hate reading medium/long reviews or just don't have the patience I would not continue reading, but if you want to learn the most about the product before you buy it you'll continue.
-Interface
The interface is just the same as Ransom Of The Seven Ships and the other newer games. Just point in the direction you want to go in and click basically. There is a new icon though that is special to this game, that is the Phone icon. The Phone icon lets you go onto Nancy's phone to make calls, take pictures, get text messages, change the time in the game, and change the settings (background and message tone). I really liked the cell phone feature of this game because it has been missing from the games for a while (last seen in Legend Of The Crystal Skull and it only let you call people). It's a lot of fun to take pictures and change the background of the phone too.
*****
-Plot
The plot surrounds the "Black Cat", a person who is sending threatening notes to valedictorian candidates and even causing them to leave the school by way of "freakish accidents". The most recent victims were either sent to the hospital because of an allergic reaction or locked up in a closet in the dead of night. I loved this plot because it was somewhat scary and it even tied in with some history of Waverly Academy and a real-life famous poet. I found the plot pretty straightforward yet very intriguing because there is a couple plot twists that add even more oomph. I really liked that there was basically one mission: find out who the "Black Cat" is! I just loved this plot a lot!
*****
-Characters
If you played Ransom Of The Seven Ships, you may have been extremely disappointed with the amount of characters/suspects there was. Well if you were disappointed then, you won't be with this game! There are five characters in this game, each with very different personalities. There is a goth girl, a straight-A outcast/nerd, a shy girl, a sporty determined girl, and the conceited gossip girl. You'll definitely have fun meeting all of them and hearing what they have to say about each other. I loved that there were so many characters! There was also a couple minor characters that you don't "see" that were cool too. Warnings At Waverly Academy basically makes up for all the lack of characters in Ransom Of The Seven Ships. There was a lot of interaction with the characters too, so it wasn't just like having one conversation in the beginning of the game and then not having anything else to say to them at all. I really enjoyed the characters and it has definitely been a step up from the character interaction from previous games like Haunting Of Castle Malloy or Legend Of The Crystal Skull.
*****
-Setting & Graphics
The graphics never seem to be a problem with the Nancy Drew games. And this game is no exception because the graphics are absolutely breathtaking. I loved the fact that the dorm was in an old mansion-like hall. There is a lot of places to go in the game. There is a library, rec room, and a whole bunch of dorm rooms to explore. Also there are some outdoor places like the big oak tree and the cellar. One thing I didn't like is that the setting was confined to just one building and sparse outdoor settings. I understand the game would need more memory to have more buildings but I would have liked to maybe go to a couple more classrooms (there is one in Ramsey Hall). Also the dorm rooms were really cool but there is not very many "angles" per say. I would have liked to do a 360 pan in each of the dorm rooms. Otherwise I really liked the way they designed Ramsey Hall and it is really pretty outside when it snows in the game (yes it does snow in the game!). You won't necessarily feel confined, but I did wish the game had at least one other building.
****
-Puzzles/Activities
Ransom Of The Seven Ships was definitely a game for those who love puzzles, this game is more revolved around the plot. The puzzles in this game were pretty moderate, none were as challenging as Ransom Of The Seven Ships. There was plenty of variety though which I enjoyed. You also got to do some fun stuff too like play air hockey, darts, and run the snack shop for merits. Speaking of merits, you could also get plenty of demerits. You can get caught being up after curfew, pulling the fire alarm, sneaking into people's rooms, climbing trees and etc. It's really fun to get demerits, but if you get 15 or more you get expelled. Another thing I liked was the use of Nancy's cell phone. A couple activities required you to go around and take pictures of things/people for the school website and you also get text messages concerning gossip. I found myself constantly wanting to run the snack shop because while you are working, some of the girls start chattering and their conversations are quite funny. Overall, you will have a lot of fun completing the puzzles and activities in the game even if they are not particularly challenging.
*****
-Ending
One disappointment of this game was the ending! I really didn't want the game to end because I was having so much fun! The problem with the ending is that it came kind of unexpectedly. The ending puzzles were pretty suspenseful though which was a great. Also the wrap-up/motive was really interesting and made sense. Although I didn't like that the ending came unexpectedly/abruptly, I did enjoy it and found the resolution to tie the game up nicely.
****
-Overall
I know that many people were disappointed with Ransom Of The Seven Ships, but this game kind of balances out Ransom. Warnings At Waverly Academy is solely surrounded by the plot and its characters while Ransom is more centered on its puzzles and setting. So if you had to pick only one to buy, I would base it on whether you are a puzzle junkie or like interacting with characters more. I really enjoyed this game just as much as I enjoyed Ransom. I just liked that they are totally different from each other so playing both of them makes me happy. Warnings has been a step up in a lot of areas like character interaction, plot and scariness. This game wasn't extremely scary, but it did have me curious and engaged. If you played this game on Halloween night you wouldn't be too scared at all (I would recommend Curse Of Blackmoor Manor, Legend Of The Crystal Skull or Ghost Dogs Of Moon Lake if you want scary). This game was definitely one of my top favorites, maybe even my number one because I just loved the setting and characters. I fully recommend this game to all mystery fans (although it may appeal more to girls because it takes place at an all girls boarding school) because it is a great mystery adventure game. It is definitely worth the $20! The next case will come out summer of 2010, Nancy Drew 22: Trail Of The Twister!
Add all these up and divide by 6...
5 *'s (Interface)
5 *'s (Plot)
5 *'s (Characters)
4 *'s (Setting & Graphics)
5 *'s (Puzzles/Activites)
4 *'s (Ending)
= 28 Stars Divide By 6 (Categories) = 4.6 = Rounded to 5 Stars
-Recommended Games
Ransom Of The Seven Ships (See my review of this game)
The Phantom Of Venice (See my review of this game)
Danger On Deception Island
Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon (See my review of this game)
Thanks for reading my review!
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