Review of Nancy Drew: Creature of Kapu Cave
Here's my review of Nancy Drew: The Creature of Kapu Cave
Ah, Nancy Drew, what amazing, adventurous case will we be starting with this time? Finding old pirate ships? Digging for lost treasure? Unfortunately, no. This time we are jet set off to beautiful Hawaii, to uh… make necklaces, snow cones, and go fishing. Oh, and find bugs.
In the 15th installment of the Nancy Drew series, Nancy is set off to Hawaii to be the assistant to a nasal-voiced Dr. Quigley Kim, an entomologist who is on the island studying, you guessed it, bugs, and she’s no Gil Grissom. Along the way, Nancy runs into a half botanist/half biochemist named Malachi craven, who is working in the newly closed to the public HiliHili Research Center. Also, the father/daughter pair Pua and Mike Mapu, who run the Bike Island Mike’s Immersion Excursion. And, for a brief second, we actually get a glimpse of the Hardy Boys, who, in true Nancy Fashion, look nothing like they did in Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon.
I enjoyed this game as I do all the others, however, this was the first installment where I had complaints as well. Like the first 14 stories, there are two options at the beginning of the game: Junior and Senior detective. Junior detective will allow Nancy to have a checklist in her notebook, allowing you to have something to retreat to if you are stuck between knowing exactly what to do and using a walkthrough. The puzzle in Junior detective are also usually much easier, allowing the player to not become as frustrated. Senior detective, as you may have guessed, is the exact opposite. You do not have the useful checklist, nor the easy puzzles.
Beginning the game, we are shown Nancy’s room back at her home. A brief glimpse will show us that it is immaculate, and Nancy makes us aware that she likes to “keep it clean.” Nancy, you’re anal. Just admit it. Be free! A quick tour around her desk lets the player get acquainted with the controls of the game, with a few items to click on here and there. We are given a “How to be a Detective” book, which I think is a bit cheap. Most people do AT LEAST a 2 year study course at home in their spare time! Also on her desk are a scrapbook with tidbits from past cases, a case file for the upcoming case and a plane ticket, which the player clicks on to begin the game.
That being said, the game begins. The first thing I noticed when I began to play were the graphics. One thing I can say about Her Interactive is that they do manage to improve their graphics for the games constantly. In Kapu, the characters have very broad facial expressions and the scenery adds a feeling of escape. I actually began to feel relaxed a little when I was fishing off of Big Mike’s dock! Voice acting is okay, at best. They are in no way as bad as some of the games I’ve played, but it still isn’t up to the quality I expect from a company that has produced 15 games since their start.
Game progression was very fast. In fact, the whole game went by pretty quickly! Understandably, I am a 21 year old woman playing a game meant for 12 year olds, but Kapu was still amazingly short! I finished the game in a total of 4 game hours, something I was told would take 12 hours. I was actually surprised when I reached the end, thinking I was just heading to the next puzzle, I found myself staring at the credits confused and disappointed.
Length aside, the game itself was still up the quality I expect for Her Interactive. Actions performed in the game were smooth, characters once again had very life-like movements and facial expressions, and sound quality was crispy and uniform. Kapu also introduced us to a new form of play, a reversal of player characters between Nancy and Joe and Frank Hardy. With a swift opening of a cell phone, the player is able to call up the other person and instantly become them and take on their tasks. I found this refreshing and exciting, because it brought something new to a series that hadn’t seen new since the enlarged screen in Secrets of Shadow Ranch. With the addition of Joe and Frank Hardy, we lose out on Bess and George, Nancy’s ever useful friends. The only known friend we are able to call is Ned, Nancy long time (we’re talking 75 years long) boyfriend, and he is LESS than helpful. The most Ned is able to do is reiterate everything you tell him, and pretend to be jealous when Nancy talks about the Hardy Boys. I prefer Frank and Joe over Ned any day.
In the end, Creature of Kapu cave is a bittersweet addition to the Nancy Drew adventure game series. It seems like Her Interactive felt they could skate by with adding the better facial graphics and Hardy Boys switch, without having to extend game play and up the voice acting at all. This should not have been the case. But, besides all of that, Kapu delivers a fun experience albeit a brief one. I give Nancy Drew and the Creature of Kapu Cave a 6 poorly made shell necklaces out of 10.
Ah, Nancy Drew, what amazing, adventurous case will we be starting with this time? Finding old pirate ships? Digging for lost treasure? Unfortunately, no. This time we are jet set off to beautiful Hawaii, to uh… make necklaces, snow cones, and go fishing. Oh, and find bugs.
In the 15th installment of the Nancy Drew series, Nancy is set off to Hawaii to be the assistant to a nasal-voiced Dr. Quigley Kim, an entomologist who is on the island studying, you guessed it, bugs, and she’s no Gil Grissom. Along the way, Nancy runs into a half botanist/half biochemist named Malachi craven, who is working in the newly closed to the public HiliHili Research Center. Also, the father/daughter pair Pua and Mike Mapu, who run the Bike Island Mike’s Immersion Excursion. And, for a brief second, we actually get a glimpse of the Hardy Boys, who, in true Nancy Fashion, look nothing like they did in Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon.
I enjoyed this game as I do all the others, however, this was the first installment where I had complaints as well. Like the first 14 stories, there are two options at the beginning of the game: Junior and Senior detective. Junior detective will allow Nancy to have a checklist in her notebook, allowing you to have something to retreat to if you are stuck between knowing exactly what to do and using a walkthrough. The puzzle in Junior detective are also usually much easier, allowing the player to not become as frustrated. Senior detective, as you may have guessed, is the exact opposite. You do not have the useful checklist, nor the easy puzzles.
Beginning the game, we are shown Nancy’s room back at her home. A brief glimpse will show us that it is immaculate, and Nancy makes us aware that she likes to “keep it clean.” Nancy, you’re anal. Just admit it. Be free! A quick tour around her desk lets the player get acquainted with the controls of the game, with a few items to click on here and there. We are given a “How to be a Detective” book, which I think is a bit cheap. Most people do AT LEAST a 2 year study course at home in their spare time! Also on her desk are a scrapbook with tidbits from past cases, a case file for the upcoming case and a plane ticket, which the player clicks on to begin the game.
That being said, the game begins. The first thing I noticed when I began to play were the graphics. One thing I can say about Her Interactive is that they do manage to improve their graphics for the games constantly. In Kapu, the characters have very broad facial expressions and the scenery adds a feeling of escape. I actually began to feel relaxed a little when I was fishing off of Big Mike’s dock! Voice acting is okay, at best. They are in no way as bad as some of the games I’ve played, but it still isn’t up to the quality I expect from a company that has produced 15 games since their start.
Game progression was very fast. In fact, the whole game went by pretty quickly! Understandably, I am a 21 year old woman playing a game meant for 12 year olds, but Kapu was still amazingly short! I finished the game in a total of 4 game hours, something I was told would take 12 hours. I was actually surprised when I reached the end, thinking I was just heading to the next puzzle, I found myself staring at the credits confused and disappointed.
Length aside, the game itself was still up the quality I expect for Her Interactive. Actions performed in the game were smooth, characters once again had very life-like movements and facial expressions, and sound quality was crispy and uniform. Kapu also introduced us to a new form of play, a reversal of player characters between Nancy and Joe and Frank Hardy. With a swift opening of a cell phone, the player is able to call up the other person and instantly become them and take on their tasks. I found this refreshing and exciting, because it brought something new to a series that hadn’t seen new since the enlarged screen in Secrets of Shadow Ranch. With the addition of Joe and Frank Hardy, we lose out on Bess and George, Nancy’s ever useful friends. The only known friend we are able to call is Ned, Nancy long time (we’re talking 75 years long) boyfriend, and he is LESS than helpful. The most Ned is able to do is reiterate everything you tell him, and pretend to be jealous when Nancy talks about the Hardy Boys. I prefer Frank and Joe over Ned any day.
In the end, Creature of Kapu cave is a bittersweet addition to the Nancy Drew adventure game series. It seems like Her Interactive felt they could skate by with adding the better facial graphics and Hardy Boys switch, without having to extend game play and up the voice acting at all. This should not have been the case. But, besides all of that, Kapu delivers a fun experience albeit a brief one. I give Nancy Drew and the Creature of Kapu Cave a 6 poorly made shell necklaces out of 10.