Game Details
Price
  • $20
Available on
Genre
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Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships (Windows)

common sense media says

Teenage sleuth offers puzzling PC mystery in Bahamas.


parents & educators 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.

Educational value: The mystery is full of intellectually challenging puzzles.
Positive messages: 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.
Positive role models: 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.
Ease of play: 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.
Violence: 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.
Sex: Not applicable.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.

More on Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships

What to talk about

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

What's the story?

What's the story?
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?

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.

Game themes & details

Game Details
Available on: Windows
Not available online
Genre: Girl
Developer: Her Interactive
Released on: July 14, 2009
Price: 20
ESRB Rating: E for Mild Violence
Screenshots

This review was written by Jinny Gudmundsen
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

pizzavince
teen, 15 years old
 
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.

208479
kid, 12 years old
 
love it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Novalita
kid, 13 years old
 
fun game
I love Nancy Drew!

jennyhumphery
teen, 15 years old
 
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*

shayshay96
teen, 15 years old
 
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.

DangerRanger101
teen, 13 years old
 
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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