• Play as Nancy Drew in this interactive mystery-adventure game
  • 20+ hours of thrilling game play; interview suspects
  • New puzzles tie directly to the storyline and give important clues
  • Solve the mystery on your own or team up with family and friends
  • 2 difficulty settings for both experienced and new detectives

Another gift for the niece. Review on behalf of. Fun adventure with a storyline that is a favorite of the series. Good puzzles and minigames. Love the western setting. Will play it over and over. Then will reread the book. Love the series.

I am a definite horse person. Though the game didn't focus on the horses, the whole ranch-y theme was very fun. I played the game all the way through twice. The only problem with the game is the whole barrel-racing thing. It's very hard and it took me a long time to get my horse to go fast enough. Some things (like the puzzle under the rock) are nearly impossible, but there are little cheats to get you through. I've found that all Nancy Drew games are much more easily played when using the help of a hints website. Overall a great game and a GREAT buy!

my granddaughter loves it

My 13 yr. old grandaughter was fascinated with this game. She could hardly leave the computer. She learned about saddling a horse, gathering eggs, building a fire, gathering the ripe vegetables and other interesting things that perhaps "city raised kids" don't get a chance to learn. I think this game is better than watching TV with all the agression, killing, fighting, that goes on. I was very pleased with the clean content of this game. A grandmother of five.

The Crime: A - Bess and George's Aunt Bet have chucked their life in Phoenix and bought Shadow Ranch. Now a phantom horse is appearing at night, heralding major accidents. Just before Nancy arrives, for example, Bess's uncle is bit by a rattlesnake and rushed to the hospital. What's going on here? Suspects include cook Shorty Thurmond, store owner Mary Yazzie, and ranch hands Tex and Dave. Fun fact - Mary Yazzie's character was named Mary Deer in the book. I don't know why they changed it. By this point in the series, I was looking for something meatier than yet another tale of buried treasure and phantom animals. The story is just too dang engaging to be ignored, though. Plus there are horses. Horses count for a lot in my book. Puzzles: A - Puzzles included everything from baking a cake to solving a little metal maze. The maze drove me insane. One puzzle in particular made me roll my eyes because the way you find the solution is utterly dumb. You're looking for a really old piece of information, and Bess and George, stuck at the airport, happen to find a book that contains exactly what you need to know. And by old, I mean like a hundred years old. It was so contrived. Then again, I couldn't think of anything better, either. Gameplay: A + The new game interface features a wider screen and an inventory you have to open to access. I thought the wide screen was great but the extra clicking irritated me, because if you may miss the little button to close it or change pages. You get used to it, though. Western life comes alive at Shadow Ranch, where you repair the chicken coop, perform daily tasks and always take care of your horse when you get back to the stable or Tex will have something to say to you! Other fun in the game includes invesitgating a ghost town, learning to use a lariat (lasso) and completing a barrel race in under ten seconds. You know how I said that DDI has everything but romance? Shadow Ranch has romance in spades. It's divine. Time Changes: This one takes place in three days. When you complete the tasks for a certain day, it will automatically change to night. Voice Acting: A Raspy-voiced grump Tex sounds a lot like grumpy Red Knott from GDML (same voice actor) but it was nice to hear him again, like a phone call from an old friend. Many of the voice actors hear have appeared in other games, so it's a treat for a long-time fan. Superlative delivery, as always. Favorites - "My anti-persperant's going to get a workout today!" Nancy "Ma'am." Dave Any compliment Dirk Valentine gives Frances Music: A + Country-western heaven. (Except for Shorty's yodeling.) You could almost feel the heat. IGraphics/Video: A + Getting better and better all the time. Bonus points for the animated sequences such as gallop of the phantom horse. Technical: A No problems, just peachy. Overall, If you love Nancy Drew, this one's for you. A Must-have.

Just another Nancy Drew game that I loved playing. Works really well.

Of all the Nancy Drew games, this one was my favorite. It's not like the actual book, but it was a really great game. The characters are great, the plot wonderfully planned and I enjoyed the whole 'out west' theme more than any other Nancy Drew game. It was clean and fun, and easy enough for anyone to understand. I really have no complaints, other than maybe the amount of traveling back and forth between places tries your patience after a while. I think I finished this game, when playing for the first time, in 2 days. And the game is interesting enough that you can play it over and over and it doesn't get boring.

One of the best Nancy Drew games I have played so far. The setting and game play were very good. Also there were no annoying repetitive tasks that had to be done over and over, such as cooking food 50 times in the white wolf. My only objection was that the metal/magnent puzzle was not designed well, it is far too sensitive. Overall, a fun game.

oh i loved this game...brought so many memories back from reading the book in high school..i recall.. i enjoyed this game..actually a fun game...puzzles hard enough to make you use your brain...talking to the characters was great...i thought i knew who done it, but i was wrong...never expect that person....great story line..interesting people...i learned alot about things used on the ranch...you get to use the phone to use the web...looking for information about the place and knowledge about the southwest was wonderful...i learned alot..learning about the cultures was interesting....learn about horses and much more... i highly recommend this game...well worth the money...i will play it again... i am not telling all that you do..it would ruin it...got to get and play to find out....like i said...fantastic game... i had not trouble down loading it on my pc...it practically loaded it self.... always remember to save your game every so often...if you dont, you start over...something goes wrong..do a second chance..and you get to complete what your doing without penalty...i just saved it alot...so i would not make the mistake...like my cat jumped on the keyboard and turned the pc off....i had to start over...but luckily i had bacially started and had not got to far.... you must buy to enjoy...nice.... the product came on time...actually a day sooner...package was tightly secured in a box...no damage what so ever...i recommend buying from this person again....... all i can say...is ....happy trails.....