I really enjoy the Nancy Drew PC games. I've never come accross a game I was disappointed in.

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Another great PC game from "Her Interactive". Parents and grandparents can

feel safe when their children are playing these games -- they provide fun

and skill to PC game players of all ages.

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I have gotten all the Nancy Drew Series. But this is by far the best and most entertaining and educational!! I have been to Venezia and awaited with much anticipation for the Phantom of Venice and I was not at all disappointed but enthused by everything it has to offer. I speak Italian but found the way they had of teaching others was surely one for the books of learning any language with much ease and enjoyment! I look forward to putting my cat suit on and dancing in the club! lol got many boos at first but became a dancing queen in no time and worked har for my euros to get all those Italian shoes!! I was even happy to pick through the debris throughout Venice to earn extra money. (even though Venice is pretty meticulous) I love Scopa!!! A favorite card game of mines and several times played endless games with "Enrico"! The Phantom of Venice was never boring! It had tons of excitement and puzzles that will keep you on your toes. Che` Brava` Nancy Drew!!! Complimento!! Who ever gets this series will love it! I give it 10 stars if I could!! Buon` Fortuna tutti!!!(Good Fortune Every one!)

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I know that a good number of adults and older teens play these games, but it was great to have one my 11 and 14 year olds could play without cheating. I mean, the games say ages 10 and up, after all.

I had stopped playing them myself, because they were too busy and boring, but this one was really fun, even for me. The dancing was hilarious. I liked the clues. The dress-up was especially fun for my girls to play.

For us, this game was really fun. Like the haunted carousel. Silly and fun. Not some big drawn-out drama.

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Don't worry, no major spoilers!

I have played every ND game except for the first one, the Final Scene, The Creature of Kapu Cave, and the latest one, the Haunting of Castle Malloy. Needless to say, I can compare this one to all of the other ND games, which have been consistently phenomenal. Even the older ones are quite good, so the newer ones have a lot to live up to.

Pros

-The Phantom of Venice has incredible scenery (of course, it's in Venice) but it was even better than Danger by Design, which was set in France.

-The story was pretty good, and the plot introduced something new... Nancy actually being "officially" on a mission to catch a thief. For other games, it was more of "Nancy is here to kind of investigate" or "Something terrible happened, so vacation is canceled and time to sleuth." Also, the beginning of the game is thrilling (though a bit scary).

-There are a lot of extra things to do if you want, and fun ways to make euros (more than one, unlike in Old Clock or Danger by Design)

-Many characters, keeps you guessing who actually is behind it all

-Challenging but not impossible puzzles

-Ability to change clothes (a first!)

-At the end (NOT A SPOILER) it tells you what "extra things" you did, and gives you stars for it (other games just gave you a name)

-In other games, you may have thought that your alarm clock is your trusty friend (like in Icicle Creek, it really helped to skip to chores and stuff.) But in this game, you don't even have to worry about time! The only time change you need is with your bed, when you choose to sleep (kind of like in Danger by Design or Stay tuned for Danger.) Though unlike Danger by Design, Nancy doesn't complain about "Oh, it's late. I better go home." and skip to the next day. In this game, I think I slept a total of one night, and that was necessary. Besides this, you were free to go about your tasks.

-You still have your notebook to remind you of things.

-They recreated the opening song, and made it a lot cooler with graphics, etc. to set the game up.

Cons

-There is a new addition to the "interface." Instead of just a normal arrow, if you are "supposed to find something" your arrow is green. However, once you find it, it stays green. The green arrow is more irrelevant than it is useful.

-Again, it's one of those games that doesn't have Nancy's cellphone. You always have to use the phone in your room. However, the good thing is, you aren't required to call many people. In fact, you could probably get away without calling someone at all, because all the "necessary" phone calls will eventually just call you when you are in your room. Plus, you have your pager, which you can use to call the police (the people you're working for.)

-Some parts seem somewhat boring (one major part that I will not discuss because of spoilers.)

-You get a map, but you can't "visit" all the cool places in Venice. Only the places you really need.

-The gondoliers are terrible singers. You have been warned.

-Your game saves at every "second chance" thing, and it fills up all of your slots, and can get quite confusing at times.

-Instead of the actual thief, the character behind it all is just kind of someone in the crime ring. Too bad... this also got somewhat confusing.

-It might take a while to figure out the pager. The only feature on it that you regularly use is the "call" button, and the others, you start to wonder what they are for.

-The final chase is a bit confusing.

-The real real beginning starts with that stupid sequence of Nancy running up to her room and talking nonsense.

-Some of the earlier games had a LOT of really interesting history behind the games (like the secret of the scarlet hand) but this one was kind of modernized, and in fact, didn't really explain anything of history or Venice at all.

-Didn't have any of those cool cooking things (like in Shadow Ranch)

Conclusion

Another great game from the ND series and HerInteractive. Though it may seem as though there are a lot of cons, they are easy to deal with and nothing is too terrible. (I'm playing it for the second time!) It was a great improvement from the other Europe game, Danger by Design. It was also better than some of the other older ones, and overall was pretty amazing. Can't wait to get Haunting of Castle Malloy!

Thanks for reading!

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I really enjoy the Nancy Drew Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice games and just wish there were more of the series compatible with Windows Vista. I am 57 and enjoyed this game as much as my 15-year old granddaughter does. Am anxiously awaiting the next one.

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I loved this game because it wasn't overly challenging like a few of the others in the series, but it wasn't too easy either. It also had many humerous sections in the game which made it more entertaining.

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As a mom, I have played most of the Nancy Drew games. I wish it were only to preview them for my children, but to be honest, I've gotten hooked. The Phantom of Venice is my favorite title so far. Logical progression without constantly feeling lost and not knowing what to do. Only had to consult hints a few times - some of the games on senior level are quite difficult. Also, I liked the fact that it didn't have magic, witchcraft, and ghosts.

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If you are a Nancy Drew fan this is a great game to add to your collection. Again you play as Nancy Drew to help solve a mystery. Although this isn't my favorite Nancy Drew game, it comes a close 3rd best in my opinion. The only thing different about this game is you can't call home for clues like all the previous games.

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Loved this game. We love Nancy Drew and have to have the games as soon as they are released. This one was no disappointment. If you are a mystery fan and like a good story to your game this is the one for you It was Great!!! Looking forward to the next one!!!

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In Nancy's eighteenth adventure from HerInteractive, Nancy makes good use of her passport in her second international outing, this time to Venice, Italy during Carnevale. Her old friend Prudence Rutherford (first heard from in Nancy Drew: Secret of the Scarlet Hand) has enlists her to discover the identity of the Phantom, a masked robber who's been making off with priceless antiques. The mysterious Phantom escapes detection, having knowledge of the security systems for each site.

Nancy's home base is Prudence's old palazzo, the Ca' Nascosta, now in a sad state of disrepair after Prudence sold it to a penny-pinching, ladder-climbing socialite. Nancy shares a room with Helena Berg, a young German journalist who is in love with Venice and hopes to move there. A British art restorer, Colin Baxter, develops a huge crush on Nancy while working on the Ca' and tries in vain to win her affection.

Italian culture is everywhere, and Nancy must even learn some basic Italian in order to participate in an important stakeout. You carry an Italian dictionary, which comes in useful for translating signs and documents. The background audio includes several conversations in Italian, but if you don't speak Italian, these aren't crucial to the game. Many times, characters are simply commenting on the Phantom and his adventures, or about personal events. Also included are several flavors of Italian gelato, the Italian card game Scopa, the various Carnevale masks, and Venetian architecture.

Nancy is working with the Guardia di Finanza, Italy's version of the FBI, to track the Phantom. Because it's Carnevale season, there aren't enough officers to tail him, so Nancy is given a PDA with tracking capabilities. There are several possible suspects, including Antonio Fango, the shady IT dealer who works across from Nancy's temporary residence, Enrico Tazza , a member of the Machiano Crime Syndicate and a fence for stolen goods , Colin, who has past secrets to hide, and the mysterious (and ungracious) hostess La Contessa Margherita Fauberg. Nancy has three modes of transportation: on foot (free), via vaporetto (water taxi, free), or by singing gondolier (between five and fifteen euros per trip). The main map is clearly laid out and is easy to navigate.

Like Nancy Drew: Secret Of the Old Clock, Nancy must earn money in order to purchase items needed in her investigation, including books and costume accessories. You begin the game with 200 Euros, and if you budget very wisely, you won't need extra money (those fashionable shopping trips, gelato cones and singing gondoliers really add up!). If you find yourself running short, there are several ways to earn extra income, including dancing in a nightclub dressed as a slinky black cat (!).I loved the variety of the nightclub dancing, although the character animation was jerky and I would have liked to see Nancy move more than just rotating her wrist in-between moves. From my own experience, you can earn between two to over thirty euros per dance depending on how well you nail the cues (for the hearing-impaired: the dance cues are auditory, but flashing colored lights also tell you which colored button to press).

I played the game on the Senior Detective level, which offers fewer step-by-step hints (there's no to-do list, for one) and more difficult puzzles, and the majority of the puzzles were sufficiently intuitive, but still challenging. The graphics are gorgeous as always; in scenes of the canals, visible from your bedroom balcony, the water ripples in real time. If you choose to ride a gondola (the amount varies depending on the gondolier), you're treated to a combination of still photos of Venice and rendered scenery which proves quite effective (along with the various Italian-language serenades taken from Italian opera and popular songs). Unlike some prior greats such as Nancy Drew: The Legend of the Crystal Skull and Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor, the actual story in "Phantom of Venice" is spread a bit thin; the game could have benefitted from one or two additional suspects. But the variety of puzzles, some of which are new to the series (stakeouts, tracking, jewel heists), and the inclusion of Italian culture make up for these shortcomings.

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OK. I've played all of the ND games, and though this is not as good as the first ones, it is very good. Here is my review.

The Plot: In this game, you play as Nancy Drew who is working for the government organization called the GdiF. Your goal is to uncover the phantom who has been stealing Venice's valuable artwork. Even though the idea of a teenager working for the government is highly unlikely, you were somehow able to believe it in this game! I would give the plot a 10/10.

The Puzzles: The puzzles in this game were very easy in my opinion. They were not nearly challenging enough. The good thing about the puzzles were that many of them were more like mini-games. Therefore, you can play them over and over. I give the puzzles a hesitant 7/10.

The Characters: The characters were very well developed in this game. They were all realistic and believable. You felt like you knew them by the end of the game.

The Length: This game was just a tad short. Not as short as the previous game, Creature of Kapu Cave, but still pretty short. It only took me 3 days to solve! I give the length a 7/10.

Overall: This game was good. It was almost as good as the first ones, but not quite. If this is your first ND game, I would start with a different one. If you've already played the other games, I think you will really enjoy this one!

Hope I helped!

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This is definately the best Nancy Drew yet. This game is TWICE as long as the other games. This has to do with some puzzles that are very long to get through. (such as a card game that you have to win twice). Very fun puzzles, many surprises throughout the game. The animations are more detailed, just a great game!

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I have played about half the games in the Nancy Drew game series and have absolutely loved them all. But I must say, I have a couple favorites and Venice is probably my number one.

Set in Venice, Italy in the midst of "carnevale," an Italian celebration, the graphics are fantastic. The production crew obviously knew what they were doing when they created this game. You can hear people having conversations in the background and the architecture of the buildings is so realistic that you feel as if you are truly in Venice. I would rate the setting and graphics 5 stars.

And, the plot. Ah. It was clear unlike some other Nancy Drew games, you basically went to Venice for a rich socialite named Prudence Rutherford because she wanted you to help the Italian police and the GdiF (Italian FBI) track down the "Phantom" thief, a person who ran around stealing all of Venice's most precious artifacts without leaving any traces behind. Clear, strong plot that I would rate 5 stars.

There are several characters in this game, though a couple of them you don't actually meet face-to-face. Colin Baxter is from Oxford, England, and is way too enthusiastic about his work. He is an art restorer and bores you by making you watch his tessarae slides and later in the game you have to put a mosaic together. He is boring but can be quite amusing sometimes.

Helena Berg is a journalist currently living in Hamburg because that is where the offices of the magazine she writes for are. Her accent can be hysterical and she is a good addition to the game.

Margherita Fauburg is the owner of the Ca Nascosta, the place where Nancy is staying on her trip. She is very wealthy and misuses her money on dumb things. She spends all of her day on the altana, or the rooftop garden, sunbathing because she believes a good tan is important. She is very slightly irritating, but you get used to her boastful personality as you progress through the game.

Enrico Tazza is the owner of the private club, Casa de Giochi, or House of Games. He spends most of his time there trying to convince people to play Scopa, a traditional Italian card game, with him, and making Nancy perform tasks for him, but they chores he assigns you are kind of fun. Tazza is a solid character who the crew at HerInteractive evidently thought very carefully about.

Antonio Fango is a suspect in the thefts attributed to the "Phantom" and Nancy never speaks with him, but does spy on him from the altana and breaks into his office in Campo de Frari. Nice part of this game, but it is a little sad you never talk to him.

There are a few other characters you don't meet face to face, but I described the most important characters in the game. I would rate the characters and their various personalities 4.5 stars since you don't get to talk to Fango, Margherita is a little annoying sometimes, and Colin is about as interesting as a brick wall.

The puzzles were fun. One was a little annoying because you had to put a mosaic together for Colin while he searched for a replacement bulb for his microscope. They aren't too easy, but you don't spend hours staring at the screen trying to figure them out. They are very well explained and interesting, so I would rate them 4.8 stars because of the one mosaic puzzle that I found extremely boring.

There are various places you can go throughout the game, and you can go to them by simply clicking your way to them on a map. You can walk, go by vaporetto, or gondola, and you can optionally listen to a singing gondalier. The way of getting places and the number of different places you could go were amazing, so I'd give it 5 stars.

This game was very, very FUN!! If you got bored and didn't feel like working on the case, you could escape the pressure by dancing and selling flowers to the Rialto Market. If you earned a bunch of Euros, the Italian money, you could spent it by eating gelato or buying clothes from the costume store.

The ending was very confusing at first, but I looked up a cheat online and it helped me solve the puzzle(s!) at the end. It was relevant to the game and not off the hook like some endings on other games. I'd rate the ending 4.5 stars since I was confused, even on Junior level.

Overall, this is a perfect installment for the series. I hope all the Nancy Drew fanatics out there buy it, and if you've never played a ND game before, I reccomend this for your first one. You won't regret it. Ciao!

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i love all of these games,but this one was not as good and as long as some of the others.

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