You don't have to be a Nancy Boy to play this game as time will tell that you will enjoy it.
The story begins that Nancy receives an invite from a 17 year old Emily Crandell who now runs the Lilac Inn. Emily thought that her neighbour after his death will leave her a large sum of money as her situation isn't quite peachy. After all, it is the 1930s and the great depression is well on its way. Of course after his death there was no inheritance money. Troubles then spooks poor ole Emily...she hears voices, items disappear only to reappear and even objects move out of their own accord. For Nancy it's a case to bury herself under.
The game presents itself quite nicely. Considering the game runs on 640x480 (is that gasping I can hear?) I was viewing this game on my wonderful 24' widescreen monitor and yes it shows a little pixilated however still looks wonderful. You view the game as a 1st person and top-down when driving her blue roadster throughout the small town of Titusville. When driving you need to watch out for potholes and the petrol gauge otherwise it's time for waste those few coins you have.
The voice acting is wonderful. Seriously how can you go past that genius Lani Minella who actually is the voice for Nancy (and please don't tell me who is she - you'll be surprised to know that Lani has voiced over 400 games and most-likely a game you have already played - look her up people). Other characters are also voiced well. The musical score suits well for the situation and yes there are actual musical instruments that plays these scores and not some keyboard synthesizer.
The puzzles are generally easy to work out however it's highly advisable to grab a pen and paper to write the clues down for easy reference. Most of the puzzles will test out your analytical, words, hand-eye co-ordination and whatever else. A fine mixture of puzzles to boot! I even caught my wife peering at the screen trying to solve the 'mind reading' puzzle and considering she's no PC game freak the game can easily capture a wider audience.
Even though the game advertises 20 hours of game play I thought it ended sooner than expected however that's the sign of a fine game. It actually took me around that mark so time did fly when playing this game. There are also two levels of difficulty however I didn't notice a massive change between the two levels other than lots more scribble in my notepad.
Overall I must admit I was a little skeptical when booting up this game as after all it's Nancy Drew however considering the movie being released and the novels have been sold in the millions and lets don't forget about all her fans this game is not to be missed. Well designed and easy to navigate it's a great introduction for those who wishes to play an adventure game or like me trying something a little different.
Last note: Go to http://www.freewebs.com/nancydrewmania/ for some cool Nancy Drew PC game stuff.