Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! is a puzzle mystery which sees you stepping into the shoes of determined super-sleuth, Nancy Drew.  75 years after actress Lois Manson was killed by a venomous snake on the set of Pharaoh, the film is being remade.  The production is being filmed on the location of the original set – however, since the first film was made it has been converted into a vintage theme park which subsequently went bankrupt.  Rumours abound about the curse of the set, a missing jewel and some famous lost footage and amidst all this strange accidents are occurring.

Your role in the game is to try and uncover the various mysteries surrounding both the new and original productions of Pharaoh, including the location of the lost jewel and missing footage and who is causing the accidents.  You do this by finding objects and solving puzzles, completing mini-games and successfully discussing events with members of the production team. 

The game begins with a straightforward tutorial, explaining that you need to find important objects in each room and pair them together in order to progress.  So, for example, you may need to find a screwdriver and pair it up with a plaque to undo it from a wall.  To find important objects you move your cursor around the room – if it sparkles, you can click the object to be shown a close up of it and sometimes a helpful hint suggesting what it might be used for.  You can then pair that object up with another item or, if you haven’t found everything you need yet, return to it later.  Located items have a small lens icon on them, so you can easily return to them.  Some items make your action bar active, a small bar at the bottom of the screen that turns blue when you can use it.  The action bar offers options such as examining an item more closely or touching it (which would include actions such as pull, push and so on) and as the game develops other options become available to you, including lock picking and the use of a torch. 

A goal box in the bottom right hand corner summarises what your current task is and next to that you can see the number of objects still to be found.  Also shown at the bottom of the screen are the journal icon and score.  The journal allows you to access details of the story so far, evidence uncovered (including video replays and audio journal entries), a map of places you have visited and a help section offering advice on how to play.  The score is tallied throughout the game and you receive points based on various actions, including solving puzzles and completing mini-games.  At the end of each chapter the points you have received are added towards your overall ranking.  If you are able to reach the highest ranking before the end of the game, a special ending is made available to you.

Mini-games occur frequently throughout the game and range from matching pairs of tokens to trying to make cocktails by combining the correct cubes in a glass.  Whilst these games themselves are not hugely challenging, they often put you under time constraints, making them more difficult than you might expect.  This is definitely a plus point though, as the games would be too easy otherwise. 

Another aspect of the game is dialogue.  Playing as Nancy you will converse regularly with four characters.  Each time you speak to someone you are given prompts to use to move the conversation forward.  If you choose the correct prompt, you receive bonus points.  If you choose incorrectly, you can prompt them again but the number of bonus points you receive when choosing the correct answer will be reduced.  The prompt options are based on things seen or heard in the game so far, such as a description of an event, object or something that has been said.  Although I was able to get the majority of the prompts, there were a few that I missed, suggesting I wasn’t paying quite enough attention at times (though luckily I did manage to obtain the special ending after giving myself a pep talk!). 

The game progresses sequentially overall, moving you automatically from location to location around the movie set as the story unfolds.  There are a range of locations, though you will return to certain areas more than once.  However, there is certainly enough variety to keep it interesting.  Within locations, some tasks can be done in any order but others will require a yet to be uncovered object or necessitate a small puzzle to be solved first.  It is almost always clear what you need to do next, however.  Despite the lack of hint system, it’s actually very difficult to get stuck.  The sparkling cursor makes objects fairly easy to find and if you find something but are not sure what to do with it, simply trying it in combination with other objects will eventually yield a result.  More often than not, however, it’s clear what has to be done.

In terms of difficulty, it has to be said that Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera , Curses! is not particularly demanding.  However, it does offer a dynamic array of puzzles, mini-games and challenges that keep the game incredibly varied.  Towards the latter stages of the game, some of the puzzles are timed, making even the most straightforward tasks more difficult and proving to be a good test of one’s reactions! To be honest, though, it wasn’t until I had completed the game that I even considered whether or not it had been challenging enough – the point being, that it was so absorbing it didn’t really matter.  Aimed at 7 upwards, it certainly offers enough diversity to appeal to all gamers and seasoned puzzle game lovers will surely still enjoy this title, even if they sail through it.  The key thing about this game is that it’s so much fun and highly entertaining.

In terms of visual appeal, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! is very bright and eyecatching with well designed locations.  The objects have a good clarity (which again makes them very easy to find).  The voice acting is also excellent, particularly for the ditzy but devious Eda Brooks, the leading lady of the new Pharaoh.  It’s nice to see a puzzle game offer so much in the way of dialogue, particularly with the interactive aspect of the prompts but also using voice acting to support it, rather than just relying on subtitles.

Overall Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! is everything a puzzle game should be.  It’s great fun, offers a wealth of different puzzles and challenges and ensures that there is something for everyone.  With an intriguing storyline, plenty of red herrings and one or two surprises, this is a must for puzzle fans and for those with a fondness for Nancy Drew, it’s surely a double dose of goodness!

**Review by Donna Haw**