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Nancy Drew: Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
 A big "hi" to my fellow sassy detectives! Nancy Drew is back in action and starring in her latest adventure Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon. But in this adventure you are not alone, (although being the kick ass chick that you are it wouldn't be a problem). In this ghostly case you'll have to team up with Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe, to uncover the mystery of Jake Hurley's legendary gold mine and see what's going on with the rumored ghost of Elizabeth Hurley.
Lori Girade, a young attention seeker amongst the media, has used her father's amazing wealth to restore Jake Hurley's train which you, as Nancy, are now aboard. Only the best have been invited onto the train by Lori: John Grey - TV show host of "Ghost Chasers" - who intends to use science to solve the mystery. Charleena Purcell - Romance novelist - who is using the invitation as a chance to learn about the mystery of Jake Hurley. Tino Balducci - Hot stuff cop - who sits there and looks pretty. Oh and he occasionally arrests a criminal or two. Frank and Joe Hardy - Working undercover with ATAC (American Teens Against Crime). Frank "the brains" doesn't believe in the supernatural whilst Joe "the cute one" thinks Elizabeth Hurley's ghost is out and about. Nancy Drew - Teenage girl detective since 1930, and to think she doesn't look a day over 16. Actually Lori didn't invite Nancy (you), Frank and Joe did, but nevertheless you are on the train headed towards... now where was that train headed?
 No one knows where Hurley's train is going except Lori, but you do know this... The train was found in Blue Moon Canyon with only the engineer inside (who was dead). Jake Hurley was rumoured to have found the richest gold mine in the world, and his wife, Elizabeth Hurley, died aboard the train when they were headed to the gold field. No one ever found Jake's body but Elizabeth was buried in Copper Gorge, a stop which you will visit along the way.
As Nancy you'll get to investigate by interviewing others on the train, cracking secret codes, unlocking hidden doors, and playing lots of fun games in between. The game play in the Nancy Drew mysteries has always been very user friendly. The whole game is played by using your cursor so all you need to do is point and click. Speech in this game also appears in text at the bottom of your screen for extra assistance. Your inventory, which contains all of the items you've picked up along the way, is also displayed at the bottom of the screen.
Nancy also has some new, high tech, crime solving, spy wear. That's right, her camera cell phone. Well why not? Every teenage girl these days seems to have one. Nancy can use her mobile to access the internet, send emails, take photos of evidence, and call her best friends Bess and George to get all the goss on Ned, her "study buddy" in the Nancy Drew novels. Bess and George can also provide you with built in hints if you request them.
 This is the 6th adventure I've had with Nancy, being a year since my last case made me quite eager to play. It took me about 10 hours to finish the game over a few after-school sessions on "Junior Detective". Although I do admit someone my age who's played 5 other Nancy games may as well be playing "Senior Detective". Even though I was 12 when I had my very first Nancy encounter, I still can't seem to bring myself to click "Senior Detective" on the start up screen.
It's always fun to play adventure games where a teenage girl is the hero. You can guess that I enjoy them a lot as I'm still playing them four years on. My only concern would be the ending, as all of the story didn't seem to quite tie up.
Looking back over the other Nancy Drew games I've played, Last Train To Blue Moon Canyon doesn't stand out as particularly better than many of the others. So if you've never played one of these games this one is as good as any other to start with. As I've mentioned in other reviews they are all fairly similar to one another which can get annoying if you're the sort of person who needs a change. I know I read books and watch movies that I've enjoyed over and over, so if you're like me and you're a keen Nancy Drew fan, then stick to what you like. If I had never played one before, then I would have loved this one.
To any girls, or guys who think they're man enough, who haven't tried out one of the Nancy Drew games I definitely recommend giving Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon a go. Even if you're not a 'computer game' type they're a lot of fun and can be played little bit by little bit whenever you have 30 minutes, or 6 hours to kill (no pun intend) as the case may be .
Copyright © Emily Sheehan age 16 2005.
All rights reserved.
System Requirements:
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, 1 GHz or greater P IV or equivalent, 128 MB RAM, 650 MB Hard Drive Space, 32 MB DirectX Compatible Video Card, 16 bit DirectX Compatible Sound Card, 24x CD ROM.
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