"Scopa!"
Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice (#18) is not quite as good as the previous entry in the PC adventure game series, but it does have more varied gameplay, which includes the high point, Scopa. Yes, in addition to solving mysteries you learn an Italian card game. You also learn how to speak some Italian, how to be a stealthy thief, and how to dress as a cat and dance in a nightclub. And that wasn't a joke -- it's definitely an adventure.
Nancy joins the GdiF (sort of like the FBI) investigation of a string of art robberies on the surveillance detail, but could one of the people in the Venetian palazzo where she is staying be connected to this operation, even as Nancy spies from the roof on another suspect in a neighboring building? Who is Il Dottore? Remove the Commedia dell'arte mask from this ringleader and close the case.
If you've played any of these Nancy Drew games, you'll know the drill very well. If they couldn't master moving through the spaces and turning in first person -- Click the arrows? Hold the mouse at the edge of the screen? They still don't know -- in #17, I guess there's no reason to expect they'll have changed it for #18, and they didn't. They also added these extremely frustrating pixel-hunting segments where instead of your magnifying glass turning red to indicate something interesting, all you are given is a green arrow. Somewhere in green arrow land there is something that warrants your attention, but good luck spotting it, whether it's the white tracking device pill, or the pigeon with the message tied to its leg. If you click more than four times and miss, you'll have to head to a new location and begin the search anew, so you can't even just desperation-click.
There is one area of the game where it goes all Bomberman-top-down style for a stealth level. Avoiding laser-sighted robots with the arrow keys and powering down security system generators via a memory-testing puzzle is way different than anything experienced in the game to that point, which probably makes it feel artificially more exciting than it really was. The same can be said of the basic Italian vocabulary they thrust upon you.
One thing that was fun for sure was playing Scopa. While having Enrico Tazza refuse to do business with the disguised Nancy until you beat him at a game (on a couple occasions) feels rather too contrived, the card game itself is actually a blast, and would be one almost compelling reason to buy this game. Except then I realized you can play the Scopa for free on Her Interactive's website (at least for now), not to mention that there is a really great (also free!) website where you can play vs. a real person, if someone is around. If UNO and Poker can get in, then Scopa should really be an XBLA title. Just putting that out there.
Closing Comments
While Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice oscillates quite a bit more on the fun meter than the last installment, it does have the exact same graphic and audio quality -- you might even say, “run of the mill,” considering we’re on #18. If you’re up for more mysteries, though, this should do you pretty well. As for me, the biggest take away was that Scopa goes very well with computers. Somebody should get on that.
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