Goodbye (but only for a little while!)

Hi everyone :) Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Life has gotten really busy lately and I just haven't been able to keep up with this blog. I won't be posting for a while, but eventually I do want to get the blog up and going again when I have more time. I'm not sure exactly, but that will probably be sometime around March/April.

~Sienna

Puzzles :)

     Hello everybody! I can't believe it's the last day of November already! I'm on break from school now, so I should be able to post a lot more this next month! For now, here is a puzzle for you all to work on! All you have to do is unscramble the ND titles and guess if it is a game, book, or television episode! Enjoy :)


het ecuraetr fo puka vace (game - The Creature of Kapu Cave)

eht luce fo teh renkob colket (book - The Clue of the Broken Locket)

crestes nca likl (book and game ;) - Secrets Can Kill )

eht sermyty fo teh hewstgritrso riseuc (tv episode - The Mystery of the Ghostwriters Cruise)

eth rife gradno yesmtry (book - The Fire Dragon Mystery)


~Sienna

P.S. Highlight for the answers :)

The Shattered Medallion: Clues, Hints, and Theories

     Today is part 2 of our discussion on The Shattered Medallion! Here is a list of what we do know. If you have any questions about how this information was discovered, just leave a comment and I will be happy to help you!

Abbreviation: MED
Location: New Zealand
Characters: Nancy Drew, Bess Marvin, (most likely) George Fayne, 3 other male characters, 3 other female characters
Phone Friends: ???
Plot: Nancy and George are contestants on a Survivor-like tv show called Pacific Run. The actual mystery is unknown.
Book based on:

     I will update this list as we learn more about the game. Now onto the rumors. My first thought (and as I've seen on the HeR message boards, many other people thought the same thing) was related to this:

The production company for Pacific Run

     Doesn't that just scream Sonny Joon??! If it is Sonny, is he trying to lure Nancy into a trap, or will Nancy just bump into him again (and maybe even see him this time!). Another theory is that there will either be no culprit or a returning culprit (possibly from RAN??). The accidents happening to the contestants could really just be nothing more than accidents. 

     Another thing to note is that we have not heard from George in quite a while. Either something has been going on with her and it will be revealed in this game, or HeR is having come problems with the character and/or voice actress. In the trailer, Pacific Run accidentally refers to George as "Greg". Some fans are afraid that this may result in a problem and Nancy will really end up on the show with an unknown "Greg" and George will not be able to make it.

     On Tuesday, Little Jackalope hid a secret message in her post on the Amateur Sleuth blog. It said "He is coming." Who is he?? No one knows yet, but I think it sounds like another hint towards Sonny Joon! What are your thoughts?? Let me know in the comments!

~Sienna

ND Game 30

     Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have been sooo busy! At the beginning of the month, HeR Interactive publicly released the name and trailer of ND Game 30. It is called *insert drumroll* The Shattered Medallion!!! Here is the trailer:

     So far, the title and trailer are the only official pieces of information that have been released. In the next day or two I will post about all of the things that have been discovered by fans and some of the theories about the plot, characters, and books the game may be based on. Until then I would love to hear what your first thoughts were! You can leave a comment to let me know :)

~Sienna

Classic Reissues & Fansites

     While I was reading through Jennifer Fisher's Nancy Drew Sleuths blog earlier today, I discovered that the first four books in the Classic Nancy Drew series are being reissued! They will get new covers, but the text will remain the same as it has been since 1959. Here are the covers:

     Personally, I think it is a fabulous idea and I love the new covers! They are bright and intriguing. I have yet to discover the artist's name. They will be priced the same as the regular Classics ($7.99) and the internal illustrations will remain the same as before. They will be released in May of 2014.

     Also, I have found some great Nancy Drew fansites recently and wanted to share them with you!

     littlenancydrewthings.tumblr.com

     everythingnancydrew.tumblr.com

     Can You Name the Nancy Drew Characters (for the computer games)

     and I don't think I've ever shown you this ND song by reliant K:

~Sienna

The Nancy Drew Diaries

     The latest Nancy Drew series to be written is the Nancy Drew Diaries. It began February of this year, shortly after the Girl Detective series ended. There are only four books in the series so far. The first two books (Curse of the Arctic Star, Strangers on a Train) were written about the same mystery. It does not appear that the authors will continue writing this way. Erin McGuire is the illustrator for this series. In my opinion, Ms. McGuire draws Nancy a little younger than she actually is, but aside from that, I think her illustrations are fantastic! Here are the first four:

     Below is the illustration for the fifth book in the series, which has not been published yet. It is set to be released at the beginning of next year.

Sabotage at Willow Woods

~Sienna

The Silent Spy: A Spoiler Free Review

     Wow! After pre-ordering the game over a month ago, my game finally arrived on Wednesday! I had solved the case by Thursday afternoon and I absolutely loved the game! Here is my review of the game. I have rated each category on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best possible score.

Plot (5)

     From the SPY game page: "Nearly a decade ago Agent Kate left home to neutralize a biochemical weapon in Scotland. While her assignment was a success, Kate died in a car accident. Or so we were told. Now the echoes of a similar plot reverberate and it's up to you, as detective Nancy Drew, to thwart the sleeper cell and expose the truth about your mother's tragic demise."

     The moment I saw the teaser trailer at the end of GTH, I was so excited. Ever since I began reading the books in 2007 I have wondered about Nancy's mom. Not anymore! I also loved the "spy" theme. I was afraid that HeR would overdo it and make Nancy's mom some crazy international spy. Thankfully, that did not happen! Kate was actually an investigative reporter who got mixed up in this crazy terrorist plot and tried (with the help of an organization called Cathedral) to stop them. She could have backed out, but didn't want to quit or leave the people of Glasgow in danger. I feel that in her position, Nancy would have done the same thing. Actually, I guess you could say she did do the same thing by solving this case.

Characters (4.5)

     Alec Fell: Alec was my second favorite character. He is the first person you meet as soon as you arrive in Glasgow. He's a great character, but I wish we got to know more about him. This is understandable though, because you really can't trust anyone in the game! You don't know who is good or who is bad until the very end!

     Bridget Shaw: Bridget, the second character you meet, was definitely my favorite! It is hard to tell you why without giving away a major spoiler, so I'll just say this: Bridget Shaw is not entirely who she seems to be and there is a chance we may be hearing from her again in the future!

     Moria Chisholm: I loved talking to Moira so much! She's one of those super nice, older characters who has great stories to tell. I love talking to characters like that, as long as they don't go on and on with their stories (like Takae and Renate ;)  ) I also loved that many of her stories were about Nancy and triggered memories of Kate.

     Ewan MacLeod: Ewan is your contact at Cathedral. Because he has access to so much information, he is very helpful when you are trying to learn more about the other characters! He also has a ton of great spy gadgets that you get to use!

Setting (5)

     The setting was absolutely amazing! By the end of the game I had counted nine locations you get to totally explore and two that you briefly visit to complete a few easy tasks. Everywhere you go is absolutely gorgeous and had so much to explore.

Phone Friends (4)

     Carson and Ned were your phone friends in this game. You get to have some really great conversations with them. Especially one with both of them after he catches Ned breaking into the Drew home (after Nancy asks him to of course!). Over the ending credits yo get to hear a really great conversation that Nancy has with her Dad once she is back home after solving the case. They mostly talk about Kate and it was really great! I'm not sure if this was only on the bonus edition or not. I only wish that we got to talk to Bess, George, and maybe even Hannah since this was a really big and emotional case for Nancy.

Puzzles (4.5)

     The puzzles were great! There were a lot of new puzzles in this game that we have never seen before. I loved the cookie puzzle you do to earn money throughout the game! A couple were a little too difficult for me, but for the most part I was able to solve them without needing spoilers.

Music (5)

     WOW! The music was absolutely beautiful! My favorite song was Kate's theme. I loved how they incorporated this song into the puzzles too! I don't own any of the soundtracks to previous games, but I will definitely be buying this one.

Culprit/Ending (4)

     I had a million different guesses as to who the culprit might be throughout the game! I was wrong almost every time! They definitely keep you guessing. You discover who the culprit is about thirty minutes before the end of the game. Once you figure out who they are, you have to catch them and then solve several puzzles to stop their plan of attack! I wish we had more of an explanation about their motive, but that is my only complaint.

Miscellaneous (4)

     It took me 7-8 hours to finish the game (2-3 days total). For me, that is the perfect length. The graphics were beautiful too! They get better with every game! The amount of snooping was enormous! You get to snoop in everyone's everything and find out a ton of stuff about them1 In this game you see pictures of Bess, George, and all of Nancy's other friends too. Everyone but Bess looks the same. I thought that the first Bess (from RAN) was okay, and that second Bess (from ASH) was almost perfect (she was just a little too skinny). I really didn't like this third Bess, though. Her hair was much shorter, and in pig tails. She looked no older than 16. Maybe a little younger. You get used to it though.


     Overall, this turned out to be my favorite game yet! After totaling the scores, it got a total of 36 out of 40 points! If you haven't purchased this game yet, you definitely need to! Digital pre-orders are still available for a couple of days, and after that the game will be available in stores! I hope you enjoyed reading my review! If there are any other games you want me to review, let me know! I can do and of the games available for Mac (22-29 & SCK2).

~Sienna