Nancy Drew - Treasure in the Royal Tower

I am a definite fan of Nancy Drew games. Although earlier games of the series were marked "For adventurous girls, 10 and up", Her Interactive apparently realized that the market is much wider and now marks the games "For mystery fans, 10 to Adult". The newer phrase hits the mark (pun intended): the series is great for anyone looking to play a classic Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple or Nancy Drew mystery. In the age when both movies and games have moved into the non-stop thriller and action plots, these harken to the earlier age when the crimes were committed with a twist of a key, a misleading word and a smile rather than with a shotgun and chainsaw. Sometimes it's really fun to get back into the middle of odd characters, each of which may have a motive for a crime. And to discover whodunit.

"Nancy Drew - Treasure in the Royal Tower" is your typical Nancy Drew game. The setting is a mansion turned hotel in Wisconsin. Apparently the owner was your typical early century American, who pillaged European castles not only for artwork but for the whole towers wholesale. Well, maybe the positive side is that they escaped the World War II bombing.

The story is tied to the fortunes and misfortunes of Marie Antoinette. Anyone who has seen the recent movie (6/10), may guess at least some of the mysteries surrounding Marie's history. And even if you don't, by the end of the game Nancy will discover everything. The setting is nice, characters are sufficiently weird and phone conversations with Nancy's friends are as always hilarious. Don't get frozen outside! 7/10.