Guest Author - Dana Spencer

Bonjour! Welcome to Nancy Drew: Danger by Design, the 14th game in the acclaimed Nancy Drew computer game series. You, as teen detective Nancy Drew, have been given an assignment to work as an assistant for Minette, a famous fashion designer in Paris. Sounds great, right? Wrong! Minette is dangerously behind on her work, throwing violent temper tantrums, firing her assistants left and right, and wearing a strange mask that she never takes off. It is your job to figure out why Minette is acting so strangely, and fast!

This game plays very well with easy controls and amazing graphics. There are lots of characters to talk to and places to explore (especially secret passageways!). And of course the handy dandy “Second Chance” option, in case anything happens, is a little miracle. All you have to do is click “Second Chance” and you will start right before where you went wrong, not back at the very beginning. This game is also educational, because almost the whole plot revolves around World War II, and to beat the game you have to learn about France’s part of it. But one of the best things about this game is the puzzles. They are all challenging, but a lot of fun at the same time.

One of the downsides of this game is the puzzles. Sometimes they can be hard and frustrating. I had to re-do the end part a million times before I won. Also the plot is somewhat lacking in action and excitement, and you will find that you will be spending most of your time running errands in exchange for information.

Over all, I would say that this is a good game, and I would recommend it to any one who is interested in Paris, fashion, the French Resistance, or who just wants to solve a mystery. Although this may sound like a “girly” game, I would recommend it to boys too, and I know many boys that like this game. I would recommend it for people age 10 and older, simply because it can be very difficult at times.

NOTE: This article is a guest article written by Dana Spencer, a young girl.