Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Teenage sleuth offers puzzling PC mystery in Bahamas.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this is a compelling mystery adventure game where you must rescue your best friend. You can find yourself in scary situations including swimming in a sea with stinging jellyfish, running out of air while scuba diving, and having a cave collaspe in on you.

  • The messages in this game are positive ones in that Nancy and her friends are very loyal to each other. The game involves a kidnapping of one of Nancy's friends and she puts herself in danger to rescue her friend.
  • Nancy Drew is a excellent role model because she is smart, thorough,
    and creative. She is diligent about solving mysteries and always tries
    to help others.
  • This is a simple point and click PC game filled with puzzles. Most are solvable within the game, but one requires you to work outside of the game. The game keeps track of your pending  tasks and makes that task list available to you at all times. Hints are also available by feeding the parrot fruit.
  • Mild violence in terms of doing something in the game that can cause you harm including being sturng by jellyfish, running out of air while scuba diving, and having a cave collaspe around you.

What's it about?

In NANCY DREW: RANSOM OF THE SEVEN SHIPS, you join teenage sleuth Nancy Drew and her best friends George and Bess for a mystery set in an ecotourism resort in the Bahamas. The lush island setting creates a beautiful backdrop for a mystery involving the kidnapping of Bess and the hunt for a 300-year old treasure. As with all of the Nancy Drew mysteries from Her Interactive, you see the world from a first-person perspective as if you were Nancy Drew. You explore the island paradise by driving, walking, and even sailing. You will also go scuba dive and spelunking to find clues and must solve a series of puzzles. Adding to the fun are the island’s super-intelligent monkeys who play 3 minigames with you, and a parrot who can provide you with hints.


Is it any good?

 

This is a challenging Nancy Drew mystery which is more about solving puzzles than it is about talking to suspects to collect clues. The puzzles are varied, and most are neatly incorporated into the gameplay. For example, when trying to decode some secret writings, you can experiment with which symbols stand for which letters by simply placing letters of the alphabet in slots above the symbols and the rest of the message auto-populates. On the other hand, a Sudoku-like puzzle requires you to solve it on paper, not in the game.

The game offers longevity because you can play it on two levels of difficulty. Plus an excellent feature in the game is its "Second Chance" -- where if you take a risk that causes a fatal mistake, you are automatically returned to the point before your error. You will face some harrowing situations involving stinging jellyfish, running out of air while scuba diving, and having a cave collapse on you so it is good to have this feature. This is the kind of game that parents and kids will enjoy playing together.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about why Nancy Drew games are still fun after 20 of them have been produced. What makes these games so good?


This review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen
Kid, 13 years old
August 6, 2009
 
love it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
June 13, 2010
 
Slightly Disappointing
I was looking forward to this game alot, and I must admit I was slightly disappointed by it in the end. Don't get me wrong, now, it was a fantastic game. However, it wasn't quite as good as the other Nancy Drew games. It was definitely a bit trickier, and there weren't many characters. The characters that WERE there were poorly developed, too. I rate this iffy for 10+ because it is, as I said, slightly more challenging than its partners. I would still recommend it to any Nancy Drew fan, as it remains a masterpiece from HER Interactive.

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Kid, 13 years old
December 14, 2009
 
fun game
I love Nancy Drew!

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Teen, 15 years old
September 29, 2009
 
Ransom Of The Seven Ships SPOILER DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IT GIVES AWAY THE GAME
I like it. In this game you knew who the victim was and the villan because besides George Fayne the only other person on the island is Johnny Rolle who is also a old person you put away in old game his name is Dwayne Powers from game 2 in the series. In this game you finally get to see Bess and George 4 the first time ever. It dosen't have cognitive skills like game 1-9 .Still I highly recamnd it . Parents if your child struggles a lot in the game use a game walkthru at * gameboomers*

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Teen, 14 years old
July 26, 2011
 
A little iffy at times, but still a good game
This game may be a tiny bit intese for some people with the plot that revolves around someone getting kidnapped and also the monkies can be kind of agressive and the bird may be a bit loud (which isn't a huge concern). But it's some of the events which can be scary, like when Nancy gets trapped in a cave-in and talks about their not being much air, or *spoiler alert* at the end of the game when Nancy is trapped by the culprit, Dwayne Powers. But Nancy is a good role model and kids will get a kick out of Kou Kou the talking bird. Koukou is also very helpful because if you're playing on junior mode and you give her fruit, she can give you hints. But the puzzles can be a bit tricky and the last one can even be disturbing if you don't solve it correctly because then a cave-in occurs. Also, getting stung by jellyfish too many times can result in a very scary scene where one big one comes closer and closer. But, this game also gives you some lessons kind of hidden inside. Like how you have to come up slowly from the water when scuba diving because if you don't, Nancy dies. I actually find that reasonable because it teaches kids about the bends and it doesn't just let you come rising up to the surface. Overall, this game has a few flaws but it's a little less violent then some of the other games and like I said the kids will definetly like the talking bird. If you're looking for a good mystery then this is a good choice.

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Teen, 15 years old
March 22, 2011
 
perfect for anyone who likes driving the ND cars
I loved this game alot, its one of my faorites, and i love how they bring back an old character that nobody remembers (its a secret!!) its a pretty great game, and i love that instead of CALLING bess and george for hints, you actually get to see george in the flesh!! its a good game and i highly recomend it.

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This review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen
Platforms:Windows
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Girl
Developer:Her Interactive
Release date:July 14, 2009
Price:$20
ESRB rating:E for Mild Violence

This review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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